International Yoga Day

What does Yoga have to offer?

International Day of Yoga, or commonly and unofficially referred to as Yoga Day, is celebrated annually on 21 June since its inception in 2015. To mark the fourth anniversary of International Yoga Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led an estimated 50,0000 volunteers at Dehradun, India.

Various such events hosted in other parts of the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Yoga acted as a force in unifying the world and also performed various asanas as part of the celebrations. In today’s section, we decided to bring down the benefits of practicing yoga daily.

Yoga is a form of exercise that originated in ancient India and is practiced widely across the world today. Yoga is often partially understood as being limited to asanas or poses, and its benefits are only perceived to be at the physical level. It enhances your physical strength and largely contributes towards your mental health and spiritual growth.

Western science is starting to provide some concrete clues as to how yoga works to improve health, heal aches and pains, and keep sickness at bay.

Fitness

  • Yoga poses, pranayama (breathing techniques) and meditation are a holistic fitness package.
  • Practicing yoga can improve posture and ensure that your body is in optimal functioning condition.
  • Yoga for fitness poses will work your entire body, burn fat, and tone muscle.
  • It offers Improved cardiovascular system, lymph system & respiratory system, Less fatigue and balanced cholesterol level.

Flexibility

  • Yoga poses are designed to strengthen and stretch the muscles, so increased flexibility is a natural outcome. What you may not know however is that flexibility itself provides many health benefits.
  • Increased flexibility in the muscles can help prevent injuries, heal aches and pains, help with balance, increase blood flow, and improve posture among many others.
  • Spine strength – Back and abdominal muscles are essential components of the muscular network of the spine, helping the body maintain proper upright posture and movement.
  • It offers the optimum movement of your knees, shoulders, elbows, spine, and other joints.

Muscle Strength

  • Yoga helps increase strength in very specific muscles and muscle groups. Muscle strength improves by remaining in these yoga positions and incorporating various movements.
  • Many of the postures in yoga gently strengthen the muscles in the back, as well as the abdominal muscles.
  • During Yoga positions, certain muscles flex, while others stretch, promoting relaxation and flexibility in muscles and joints.
  • Stretching with yoga increases nourishment of the muscles.

Better balance and coordination

“Yoga puts more pressure on the bone than gravity does,” said Dr. Fisherman.

  • Yoga can help you get stronger bones and what asanas promote better bone health. It helps to prevent osteoporosis, according to Harward Health publishing.
  • Many postures in yoga require that you lift your own weight. Weight-bearing activity is often recommended for patients with bone loss.
  • Yoga’s ability to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol may help keep calcium in the bones.
  • Yoga is good for a range of motion, strength, and coordination.

Heart Health and circulation

  • Stretching with yoga increases blood flow, allowing nutrients to flow in, toxins to flow out.
  • Yoga also gets more oxygen to your cells, which function better as a result.
  • According to the American Heart Association, yoga leads a heart-healthy lifestyle, it really is possible for a yoga-based model to help prevent or reverse heart disease. It may not completely reverse it, but you will definitely see benefits.

AHA Recommendation:

  • For Overall Cardiovascular Health: At least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity at least 5 days per week for a total of 150 minutes OR At least 25 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity at least 3 days per week for a total of 75 minutes; or a combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity.
  • AND Moderate- to high-intensity muscle-strengthening activity at least 2 days per week for additional health benefits.
  • For Lowering Blood Pressure and Cholesterol: An average 40 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic activity 3 or 4 times per week

Immunity

  • An immune system that is functioning well prevents illness and promotes healing by fighting off common infections, healing wounds, and scavenging early cancer molecules.
  • Also along with medication, Yoga has shown complementary action on;

– Flu and other common infections, Rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis

– For those with immune system disorders, such as HIV/AIDS and adrenal insufficiency, you can boost immune system functioning while also fostering your physical and emotional wellbeing.

  • The collection of research trials indicate yoga has a promising anti-inflammatory effect in the body.

Healthy Lifestyle

  • Stress is the reason for many of the physical problems that we face today: it causes high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and asthma. Yoga includes rhythmic breathing which helps release the stress from your system.
  • A regular practice gets you moving and burns calories and the spiritual and emotional dimensions of your practice may encourage you to address any eating and weight problems on a deeper level.
  • The effect yoga has on calming the mind and the body will help you rest better at night.

Concentration and Inner peace

  • Studies have found that regular yoga practice improves coordination, reaction time, memory, and even IQ scores.
  • Yoga encourages you to relax, slow your breath, and focus on the present, shifting the balance from the sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic nervous system.
  • In other words, it slows down the mental loops of frustration, regret, anger, fear, and desire that can cause stress.

Yoga is the journey of self, through the self, to the self.

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