Why Yoga is Good for You
Maintaining a Healthy Mind and Body
Yoga is a lifestyle that leads ‘a healthy mind in a healthy body'.
Unlike other forms of physical exercises, such as aerobics, yoga supports the growth of all the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of an individual in a balanced manner.
The Importance of Yoga
Yoga facilitates the below:
· Fulfillment of equilibrium and harmony
· Encouragement of self-healing
· Elimination of negative blocks from the mind and toxins from the body
· Enhancement of personal power
· Improved self-awareness
· Aid in attention, focus and concentration, especially important for children
· Decreased stress and tension in the physical body by activating the parasympathetic nervous system
Benefits of Yoga
Physical Benefits
Improved Strength, Balance, and Flexibility
Gentle activity and deep breathing improve blood flow and stimulate muscles. Holding a pose for a few breaths can build strength and tone the body.
Yoga provides protection from injury and detoxifies the body.
Yoga also helps improve body posture when standing, sitting, sleeping, or walking. This would contribute to ease of body pain from improper posture.
2. Ease of Back Pain
Yoga is as good as basic stretching for relieving pain and improving mobility in people with lower back pain.
The American College of Physicians recommends yoga as a first-line treatment for chronic low back pain.
3. Alleviated Arthritis Symptoms
Gentle yoga has appeared to relieve some of the pain of tender, swollen joints for people with arthritis.
4. Improved Heart Health
Having a persistent yoga practice may alleviate stress levels and inflammation throughout the body, promoting healthier hearts.
Yoga can also impact the various factors influencing heart disease, including high blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and obesity.
5. Better Sleep from Relaxing Practices
A steady bedtime yoga routine can help prepare the body physically and mentally to have a proper restful sleep.
6. Weight Loss
Yoga improves mindfulness of the body and awareness of body sensations.
People who practice yoga may be more sensitive to hunger cues and feelings of fullness.
Mindful eating can lead to a more positive relationship with food and eating, and can influence eating behavior by decreasing emotional eating, stress eating, and binge eating.
7. Improved Immunity
The individual is a unified balance of the mind, body, and spirit. An irregularity in the body stirs up the mind and similarly, unpleasantness or agitation in the mind can appear as an illness in the body.
Yoga poses massage organs and strengthen muscles; breathing techniques and meditation relieve stress and improve immunity.
Mental Benefits
1. Increased Energy & Respiration and Elevated Mood
A regular yoga practice may boost mental and physical energy, increase alertness and enthusiasm, and lower negative feelings.
2. Ability to Cope with Stress
According to the National Institutes of Health, scientific evidence shows that yoga supports stress management, mental health, mindfulness, healthy eating, weight loss and quality sleep.
3.Building Better Relationships with the Community
Joining yoga classes can ease loneliness and provide an environment for group healing and support.
Yoga can even help develop personal relationships with friends, family, or loved ones.
A mind that is relaxed, happy and contented is better able to deal with sensitive relationship matters.
4. Motivating a Meaningful Self-Care Routine
Yoga is a self-journey that promotes health, wellness, and better relationships with oneself and others. Self-care is a balance of both physical and mental wellbeing, by making room for healthier choices every day.
5. Elevated Awareness Levels
The mind tends to wander – remembering the past or thinking about the future – and not focusing on the present. By becoming aware of this habit, the individual can relieve stress & worry and relax the mind.
Yoga practice and pranayama, or breathing techniques, can help bring awareness to the present moment, where the mind can be at ease.
