Yoga, used mainly for meditation purposes and to better connect with a higher power, has been around for 5,000 years. Over the years, yoga has taken on many variations to improve mental and physical strength.
Yoga is a type of exercise that will push the pause button on your chaotic modern lifestyle. It is easy to follow the graceful moves and look good during a yoga session while at the same time heightening your internal and external mental awareness.
As yoga has developed and been transformed, modern yoga has taken on the shape of a gymnastic type exercise, rather than a spiritual connection to divinity. The basic benefits of yoga have not changed, in spite of the mental focus of the exercise. For instance, modern day yoga is helpful for reducing stress and anxious thoughts. Below are some additional benefits of practicing yoga on a regular basis:
1. It allows you to connect better with emotions and boosts your self-esteem. Low self-esteem is a major problem among many individuals, and many treat this in a negative manner by taking drugs, overeating, or working excessively. Practicing yoga will help you view yourself in a positive light and live an overall healthy lifestyle. Through daily yoga study, you will begin to feel and embrace emotions of gratitude, peace, forgiveness, and empathy.
2. Balance is improved. Proprioception is the ability to feel what the body is doing in the current space. Individuals with poor posture, usually have inadequate proprioception (which has a direct link to chronic back and knee pain). When body balance is good, falls are less frequent, and this means more independence (especially for the elderly).
3. Digestive issue such as ulcers, IBS and constipation are often the results of stress. Yoga, like any other type of physical activity, can ease digestive issues and allow the body to more easily and effectively eliminate waste.
4. Bone health is strengthened and cartilage/joint breakdown is slowed. It has been researched and proven, that weight bearing exercise will strengthen bones and minimize the effects of osteoporosis. Yoga requires that your body weight is lifted in many of the poses. Also, joints are engaged in their full range of motion during yoga poses, and this is helpful in minimizing the effects of painful arthritis.
5. Tap into inner strength. For instance, you will find that without much effort, you are eating better and walking away from destructive behaviors, such as cigarette smoking.
6. Peace is brought into a hectic daily schedule, and intimate relationships may improve. Regular yoga practice increases feelings of compassion and friendliness. Yoga focuses on inner peace and not trying to take on more than what you need, as well as avoiding negative thoughts and actions. It also helps to beat low sexual stamina. All these things will improve your relationships, but even more so, you will see a significant change in your most intimate relationships.
Yoga is a changing art form. For instance, daily yoga practice can help you lose weight if you are obese. Yoga will also help you get stress and anxious feelings under control if you feel overwhelmed. There are specific yoga poses that will help alleviate almost anything that ails you – whether physical or mental.
Regardless of your age or physical limitations, yoga is available to you. There are currently over twenty (20) million people living in the United States (including senior citizens, children, and pregnant women), who have incorporated the art of yoga into their daily lives.
Yoga is much more than achieving inner peace; it has become a growing industry that seems to have a taken on a life of its own. It is estimated that more than ten (10) billion dollars are expended on yoga material (such as clothing, group classes, mats and blocks and other accessories) in just the United States. Also, the number of people seeking to teach yoga as a full-time career is growing.
Like many others before you, you are encouraged to make modern day yoga an important part of your day. If you do, we assure you that the calm within your spirit will be found amongst the chaotic environment that you may currently find yourself in.
References:
1. http://www.artofliving.org/in-en/health-and-wellness/yoga-for-better-health
2. http://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/health-benefits-yoga/
