Yoga is derived from a Sanskrit word i.e. Yuji. This word means union or yoke. Yoga is a thousand-year-old technique that is practiced widely. This ancient practice brings the mind and body together. It encourages the connection between body, breath, and mind that are fundamental components of human beings. It incorporates meditation, poses as well as breathing exercises that reduce stress and encourage relaxation.
Styles of Yoga
Depending on the areas of focus, there are numerous yoga styles. They vary in pace, from restorative classes that focus on relaxation and meditation to vigorous power classes that increase the heart rate. It is about finding the one as per your preference as what you enjoy and what is right for the body. Here are a few popular yoga styles
- Hatha Yoga: It is a slower and gentle yoga that teaches the way to hold the postures for several breaths.
- Bikram Yoga: This style of yoga is practiced in a heated room. It combines the breathing exercise with an energetic series of poses.
- Yin Yoga: In this yoga style, the postures are held for a few minutes. The meditative practice targets the deep tissues as well as improves flexibility.
- Vinyasa Flow Yoga: It is the yoga style that connects breathing with a fast change between the posture, allowing you to flow between every posture. These fun-filled and intense classes help to increase heart rate.
Apart from these, there are several other styles such as Iyengar yoga, Ashtanga yoga, and Kundalini yoga.
Advantages of Practicing Yoga
Yoga is like an antidote to the hectic lifestyles that often overtax the nervous system. It is a workout that does more than strengthening muscles and burning calories. It offers incredible benefits to the body as well as the mind. The list of amazing health benefits includes
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Improves Balance
Practicing yoga regularly increases proprioception and improves balance. Proprioception refers to the ability of the body to see or feel its position in space. Usually, people with dysfunctional movement patterns or bad posture have poor proprioception that is linked to back pain and knee problems. When you have better balance the chances of falls are less. This is the reason why yoga is a must for elderly people as it makes them more independent.
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Improves Flexibility
Another major benefit is improved flexibility. Inflexibility in connective tissues as well as muscles can lead to poor posture. Moreover, a tight hamstring can result in lumbar spine flattening that can cause back pain. By making your body flexible with yoga for body, you can prevent such problems. In the beginning, you might not be able to touch your toes. However, if you practice and stay determined, you would notice loosening and the poses seeming impossible would become possible.
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Increases Blood Flow
One of the major benefits of yoga is that it gets the blood flowing. Specifically, the relaxation exercises help the circulation in hands as well as feet. It also helps to get oxygen to cells due to which they function better. Twisting poses wring out the venous blood from the body’s integral organs and makes the oxygenated blood flow in when the twist is released.
Handstand, shoulder stand, and headstand are the inverted poses that encourage the venous blood from the pelvis and legs to flow back to the heart. Moreover, it helps boost the red blood cells and the level of hemoglobin. By lessening the clot-promoting protein’s level in blood and making platelets less sticky, it helps make the blood thin. As a result, there is less risk of heart attacks as well as strokes.
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Improves Bone Health
It is a well-known fact that weight-bearing exercises toughen the bones and help avoid osteoporosis. Many postures in yoga for the body require the person to live their weight. And, few postures such as Upward and Downward facing dogs, help strengthen the bones of arms that are exposed to osteoporotic fractures. Yoga helps lower the stress hormones and might help to keep calcium in bones.
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Perfects the Posture
The head is a ball that is heavy, big, and round. When the brain is balanced over a straight spine, it requires less work for back muscles as well as the neck to support it. Poor posture can cause neck, back, other muscles, and joint problems. When you fall, the body might compensate by flattening the inward curves in the neck and lower back. It could cause pain and spine’s degenerative arthritis. However, by practicing Gomukhasana, Bhujangasana, Pattondanasana, you can correct the posture.
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Improves Strength
Yoga is not about bending or stretching only, it requires a good amount of strength. In order to boost metabolism, prevent injury, and make everyday tasks easier, it is crucial to have physical strength. By repeating as well as holding poses, you would be able to increase your strength.
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Eases Pain
Several studies stated that performing meditation and asana helped reduce pain in people with back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, etc. Yoga helps ease the pain. Moreover, when you relieve pain, the mood improves and you are inclined to be active and do not require medication.
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Boosts Metabolism
Practicing yoga in the morning would help to keep the breath, blood, and muscles moving before you have breakfast. This way your body would absorb nutrients from the food. Moreover, regular practice could help in building muscles as well as boost the metabolism drastically.
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Regulates Body Clock
With the invention of electricity as well as the light bulb every person can hack the night time. Therefore, it is not obvious to wake up when the sun rises. However, getting up earlier and practicing Indian Yoga would make changes. You would notice that your body clock is coming back into balance and improvement in sleep as well. As per Ayurveda, in the hours between 10 pm to 2 am, the body rejuvenates naturally. And, the hours between 6 am to 8 am are for exercise and spiritual practice.
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Keep Virus and Allergies Away
Cleansing practices or kriyas are significant elements of yoga. These include everything from breathing exercises to intricate intestine’s internal cleansing. For instance, Jala neti involves mild lavage of nasal pages with salt water eradicates viruses and pollen from the nose and helps drain sinuses.
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Relaxes System
Yoga helps to decrease blood pressure, increase the flow of blood to reproductive organs and intestines, and lower heart rate. It inspires you to slow your breath, relax, and focus on the present by shifting the balance to the parasympathetic nervous system from the sympathetic nervous system. Vrikshasana, Padmasana, Adho Mukha, Svanasana, Sidhhasana, etc. are popular postures of yoga for spirit.
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Drops Blood Pressure
It is worth noting that yoga benefits individuals having high blood pressure. People with hypertension can do Savasana while lying on a couch. Practicing this asana continuously for a few weeks would surely drop the blood pressure.
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Boosts Immune System
To keep the immune system healthy, movement is significant. When you do stretches as well as move organs, your body tends to drain lymph. It helps your lymphatic system fight infection, finish cancerous cells as well as dispose of toxic waste. By practicing Tadasana, Bakasana, Shalabasana, and pranayama, you can improve immune function. Moreover, meditation provides strong support to immune system functionality.
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Ups the Heart Rate
When the heart rate gets into the aerobic range regularly, the risk of heart attack is low. It is important to note that not all yoga styles are aerobics. However, when you take the flow or ashtanga classes, you can boost the heart rate into the aerobic range. Even if the yoga exercise does not make your heart rate up, it can improve cardiovascular conditioning.
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Make You Happy
According to research, consistent yoga practice decreases the levels of monoamine oxidase as well as cortisol and increases serotonin levels. In case you feel sad often, do not worry. Take your yoga mat and start doing the Natarajasana, Anjaneyasana, Navasana, and Ustrasana regularly. Practicing these popular poses of yoga for mind would open-up your heart, release happy hormones, and bring joyful feelings.
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Provides Peace of Mind
Stress is a root cause of numerous health problems like insomnia, high blood pressure, migraines, and heart attack. However, when you learn to calm down your mind, you would be able to live a healthier as well as longer life. Yoga is known to slow down mental loops of regret, fear, desire, frustration, and anger that causes stress. With yoga, you can quell your mind’s fluctuations and release the stress.
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Increases Self Esteem
Many people suffer from low esteem and to handle that they consume drugs, work too hard, or even overeat. Doing this results in poor physical and mental health. Opting for a positive approach and practicing yoga is a great way to handle the problem. When you practice yoga on a regular basis for self-examination as well as betterment, you tend to see a different side of yourself. You would experience feelings of empathy, forgiveness as well as gratitude.
Yoga is an amazing form of exercise. It is gentle yet exciting as well as promises numerous advantages. Though, there are several people that make fun of yoga, its ability to boost health makes it worth trying. In case you never tried yoga, it is advised to try it once; it might change your life.