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Try not to look at this until you’ve done all the exercises that go with the listening.

Why yoga?

Jackie: For this week's podcastsinenglish.com I'm talking to Jim who is

completely mad about Yoga. Hi, Jim.

Jim: Hi

Jackie: Jim, when did you first start doing yoga?

Jim: Well, Jackie, it was 30 years ago now.

Jackie: Oh, a long time.

Jim: It was. My wife started doing yoga indoors and I was very, very fit at
the time, did a lot of running, played a lot of football and I thought,
well that looks pretty easy but I didn't find it easy at all in fact it's
extremely difficult. But once I started I found it was very, very easy
to improve and...

Jackie: So you got... you got better quite quickly.

Jim: Yes, that's right, yes.

Jackie: What made you stick with it? All... after all this time.

Jim: I think it's the benefits it gives you. It makes you very healthy, makes
your body er... very flexible, improves your sleep.

Jackie: You sleep better at night?

Jim: Certainly, yeah.

Jackie: It's a physical thing, right? But is it not a mental thing as well?

Jim: There's many sides to yoga. Er... yoga means to... to join body, mind
and soul and it's a process of stilling the consciousness.

Jackie: So yoga is made up of these different postures, isn't it?

Jim: It is yes, postures called asanas.

Jackie: Asanas. And what is the benefit of doing those different postures,
then?

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Jim: Well, there are many hundreds of different postures um... all can
exercise different parts of the body. A lot of the postures also work
on the internal organs so all... you're exercising er... both your body
but your internal organs at the same time.

Jackie: So it's not just your muscles, then?

Jim: No it isn't, it's... it's for the whole of you, it's for your... your whole
body and your mind.

Jackie: So it's a holistic exercise?

Jim: Er... that's a good description I'd say, yes.

Jackie: Oh

Jim: But yoga is for everybody. It's for all ages and for all levels of ability.
Um... it doesn't matter where you start there's something there for
you. A good yoga teacher will welcome practitioners of any age.

Jackie: And you don't have to be fit and healthy to do it because that's one
of the benefits is that you will become that.

Jim: Well, a lot of people start yoga because they've got particular
physical problems, perhaps a bad back, or a sore knee, or something
like that.

Jackie: And that will help.

Jim: And they'll do yoga postures to help put these things right.

Jackie: If there are some listeners who are interested in... in trying yoga for
the first time how should they go about doing that?

Jim: I would look for an Iyenga yoga teacher. The good thing about Iyenga
yoga teachers is that they're extremely well-trained, very
experienced.

Jackie: They're professionals.

Jim: They are professionals.

Jackie: Jim, thank you very, very much and er... I think you're going outside
with your mat now, aren't you?

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