Yoga – A way to Live Healthy Life

Yoga is an integrated means of synchronizing mind, spirit and body and is an essential way of life.

Yoga is an ancient Indian body of knowledge that dates back more than 5000 years ago.

The word “Yoga” came from the Sanskrit word “yuj” which means “to unite or integrate.”

Yoga is an art and takes into consideration your mind, body and soul in reaching divinity. Your body must be purified and strengthened through various practices.

Yoga focuses on harmony and body. The aim of yoga is to strike the balance between mind and body to attain self-enlightenment.yoga

To achieve this, yoga uses breath, movement, relaxation, meditation and posture in order to establish a healthy, balanced and lively approach to life.

Yoga offers various modes of effective physical therapy that can help alleviate painful conditions such as stiffness of neck, improved blood circulation, arthritis, constipation, back and feet, improving respiratory conditions, increasing lung capacity and relieving insomnia.

The basic idea of yoga is to unite the individual or atma soul with universal or paramatma soul. By cleansing your mind and controlling your thought process, you can return to that primitive state when you are nothing but a part of the divine self.

The three main aspects of yoga are:

Asanas or poses:

The various poses of yoga give your body flexibility, strengthen the muscles and reduce the fat. Many asanas are aimed at improving the blood circulation and functioning of specific organs in your body.

Pranayama or breathing:

Pranayama is the important aspect of yoga which purifies the subtle energies flowing through the body. The breathing techniques of yoga are an effective tool to energize, harmonize, calm and tranquilize the body and mind. All poses are to be properly coordinated with exhalation, inhalation and holding of breath.

Meditation:

Meditation is a way to control the mind’s restlessness. Regular meditation trains your mind to be calm, relaxed and detached. It is extremely helpful in stressful situations. It controls overreaction, losing temper and emotional outbursts.

Meditation and pranayama have capacity to reduce the stress inducing hormones. It restores calm, promotes positivism and encourages patience. It will keep you fresh and rejuvenated both physically and mentally.

The aim of yoga is knowledge of the self. Yoga outlines methods of achieving this.

  1. eternal vows or yamas
  2. observances or yamas
  3. yoga postures or yogasanas
  4. breath control exercises or pranayama
  5. withdrawal of senses from distractions outside the world or pratyahara
  6. concentration on an object, place or subject or dharana
  7. continuance of this concentration meditation or dhyana
  8. ultimate stage of yoga meditation or samadhi

Benefits of Yoga:

There are numerous benefits of yoga. Some of the benefits of yoga include improvement in mental health, anti-aging, development of personal and social values, increase in knowledge and wealth, balance and flexibility of the body. Yoga also helps in improving sexual life, weight loss, and strength.

Yoga is a good way of relaxation. It can ease the tension building in your muscles and joints without experiencing overexertion and fatigue. Yoga makes you look younger. Yoga provides inner peace and radiant health.

Healing benefits of yoga are enormous that you feel better at the end of recovery. Yoga enhances your understanding of life. Yoga changes your perspective about life.

You can see positive effects of yoga as you practice it. The sense of feeling good envelops around you.

The driving force of yoga is aimed at monumental, life changing discovery of who and what you actually are. Yoga gives you the strength to unravel the truth with which you will begin to live with security, confidence and inner psychological peace. Yoga changes your life.

Before starting yoga remember these points:

  1. If you want to enjoy don’t push too hard. You may hurt yourself in the process.
  2. Know your body limits and workout.
  3. It is recommended to start with a yoga teacher.
  4. consult a health care professional before starting the yoga exercises if you have any medical conditions