Yoga is a 5,000-year-old
discipline from India, developed as a practice to unite the mind and body. The
word ‘yoga’ itself means ‘union’ and ‘union with the divine’ It is designed to
help achieve a more positive outlook on life and a focused, permanent sense of
serenity and peace. Since yoga is gentle, almost anyone can do it, regardless
of your age or fitness level.
I'm an amateur
when it comes to yoga, I may not know all of the asanas and the scientific
reasons behind all postures. However, I have reaped the benefits of yoga and it
has helped me tremendously.
Here are ten of my top
reasons why you should start doing yoga as soon as you can.
Breathing techniques
A big part of yoga is the
breathing exercises, which are incorporated into positions and then on their
own. The exercises encourage a more focused and centered way of breathing, and
while they might not be something you’ll do consciously every day, they’re
absolutely sure to provide methods of effective stress-management and generally
make you feel much better.
It helps to open your lungs and explore
what it means to breath consciously. I did face breathing problems which
occurred rarely, wherein I used to gasp for breath and had to yawn to fill my
lungs with air (yes its weird). Post yoga, I never had any of that breathing
issue till date.
Posture
A lot of us are comfortable slouching, and
have incorporated that as a lifestyle. That affects your body and posture to a
great extent, most of which you wouldn’t realize till you reach a specific age.
Yoga is pretty effective
at helping you develop some premium, proper posture, since a lot of the
breathing and seated positions require a straight back for proper effect. Good
posture is definitely going to develop during yoga practice. yoga will help
sculpt your back into the kind of poised posture that’ll make you walk taller
and feel immensely better about it. Yoga
poses strengthen and open tight areas of the body like the shoulders and
muscles of the upper back thus helping you keep good posture.
Spiritual and physical awareness
Yoga requires you to
contract or relax specific muscles as you stretch into each pose. This can help
you become more aware of your body’s strengths and weaknesses. Meditating helps
achieve a deeper awareness of the spiritual and of our body as a whole.
Shavasana is one such asana that has helped me immensely to get in touch with
my physical and spiritual self.To be aware of your body
parts and feel its rhythm is mesmerizing.
We practice yoga in a park,
which makes us aware of the wider universe and connects us to the sounds of
nature in the most beautifully soothing way. A lot of studio yoga also
incorporate music, which captures nature at its best.To relax in such an
atmosphere is soothing and calming to the nerves
Fires up the metabolism in a natural
way
Certain poses stimulate the digestive
system and metabolism naturally, particularly twisting postures, throat chakra
poses, and dynamic flows.
Physical and mental strength
Another side effect of yoga is that it will help
you develop some truly incredible mental and physical strength. The whole point
of yoga is to work on your body’s strength so that you can sit for longer in
meditation, and the physical investment in the stretches and positions ensures
that you’ll experience plenty of physical strength benefits as a result. Lunges
and stretches can increase your core strength as well as every muscle you can
think of; meanwhile, the exercises force you to focus on the moment. Meditation
helps to clear your mind, which helps alleviate stress and improve your mental
health. Understand the mind and
body connection. Yoga requires
you to focus all your energy on each movement or pose exactly. This can help
you feel the mind and body work together.
Meditation = Stress buster
The subconscious mind is super
powerful. When we do something positive like yoga, it sends a message to the
deeper mind that we really care about our wellbeing. When we keep doing this
regularly, we’ll be driven towards choices that continue to support our
wellbeing in everything we do.
If you can do every kind
of complicated pose under the sun, it loses all of its true meaning if it’s not
done with focus and thought. Meditation has been shown time and time again to
be a beneficial practice that everyone should implement into his or her daily
routine.
You can meditate anywhere quiet and at
absolutely any time you like. All it takes is five minutes with some alone time
and peace and quiet. Meditation improves your quality of life by allowing your
mind some time to process everything that goes on in your life. It’s a hugely
important and integral part of yoga practice and something that can really
change your life, allowing you to embrace calmness and serenity with ease. Increase your concentration. A main part of yoga is rhythmic,
focused breathing. This can help you focus.
Yoga soothes the mind and lower stress levels. It
does this by focusing the mind on the moment and the movements.
It’s a great workout
Yoga is a fantastic workout for your body as you are
using your body weight to move from one posture to another. You can adapt the
practices to your own speed and level of comfort. No matter which yoga
exercises you choose, the practices will always be part of a great workout
routine. There are some fantastic series of movements out there that are
perfect for every kind of day and for every kind of person, meaning there’s no
reason not to start doing some yoga as soon as you can. Gain strength and stamina. More
vigorous styles of yoga promote strength and stamina. Improve balance and stability. Balancing
poses require you to use your core muscles. This can help you improve your
overall stability.
Improved sleep
Another pleasant benefit
is that doing yoga can actually help you get better and faster sleep. I was one
of those twist and turn for hours together before falling asleep kind of
person. Post yoga, I fall asleep minutes after lying down on the bed.
Flexibility and
confidence
Yoga assists in flexibility in the entire
body, as a result of which many individuals gain confidence. The secret may be
that yoga asks you to tune in to how your body feels and what it can do—not how
it looks. Yoga concentrates more on mental and physical strength and awareness
than on a ‘perfect body’.
Research has shown that Yoga helps reduce
anxiety, increase body awareness and even speed the release of hormones that
rev arousal. All of that translates to a boost in libido, lubrication and
ability to achieve orgasm, experts say.
What better reason to start doing Yoga.
No Machines/ gears required
Yoga only calls for a mat, and comfortable
clothes. It doesn’t require any machines or footwear. Yoga only requires
comfort and presence of mind. All I carry for my yoga session are my mat and a
towel. There is no need to wait for machines, as you use your own body weight.
Yoga is simple and effective.
For all those in Sharjah or Dubai, there
is an association that offers Yoga sessions both in the morning and evening. They
are known as Friends of Yoga. It’s a free
course done for encouraging more people to adopt yoga as a lifestyle.
All you need to do is to make some time for yourself, and start yoga.
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