Benefits Of Yoga
With so many benefits to regular Yoga practice, it is hard to know where to start. Due to the nature of the practice, there are aspects to be gained not just in the physical realms, but also mental/emotional and ultimately spiritual. Yoga teaches us to be more understanding, compassionate and accepting of ourselves and through this process, gives us the ability to then share this with our family, friends and community. Many of us are looking for a sense of peace and harmony that regularly eludes us due to the pursuit of these things in physical form and outside of us. When we come back to ourselves and connect with our true nature, we discover that they were there all along. This realisation ends our search and connects us to our real and true identity.
I have divided the following into three sections, physical, emotional/mental and spiritual. Please feel free to review this page according to your interests.
Physical Benefits of Yoga
Often the beginning of a chosen journey into Yoga, the physical benefits alone can offer release from many chronic and acute ailments and long term spinal and structural misalignments. Back pain, high blood pressure, asthma, arthritis and weight reduction/managements are all aspects that are proven to be improved by regular Asana practice. Physicians and scientists are discovering brand new health benefits of Yoga everyday. Studies show it can relieve the symptoms of the above along with arteriosclerosis, chronic fatigue, diabetes, and obesity.These are some of the physical benefits you can expect to gain from regular practice of yoga:
- Reduced muscular and mental tension
- Improved function of circulatory, respiratory and immunity systems
- Awakened hidden reserves of energy within the nervous, endocrine and cardiovascular systems
- Improved flow of nutrients to body tissues
- Elimination of waste products
- Relief of pain and stiffness
- Stable autonomic nervous system equilibrium
- Pulse rate decreases
- Respiratory rate decreases
- Blood Pressure decreases (of special significance for hyporeactors)
- EEG - alpha waves increase (theta, delta, and beta waves also increase during various stages of meditation)
- EMG activity decreases
- Cardiovascular efficiency increases
- Respiratory efficiency increases
- Gastrointestinal function normalizes
- Endocrine function normalizes
- Excretory functions improve
- Musculoskeletal flexibility and joint range of motion increase
- Breath-holding time increases
- Grip strength increases
- Eye-hand coordination improves
- Dexterity skills improve
- Reaction time improves
- Posture improves
- Strength and resiliency increase
- Endurance increases
- Energy level increases
- Weight normalizes
- Immunity increases
- Pain decreases
- Steadiness improves
- Depth perception improves
- Balance improves
- Integrated functioning of body parts improves
Asthma
Studies conducted at Yoga institutions in India have reported impressive success
in improving asthma. It has also been proved that asthma attacks can usually
be prevented by Yoga methods without resorting to drugs.
Physicians have found that the addition of improved
concentration abilities and yogic meditation together with the practice of
simple postures and pranayama makes treatment more effective. Yoga practice
also results in greater reduction in anxiety scores than drug therapy. Doctors
believe that Yoga practice helps patients by enabling them to gain access
to their own internal experience and increased self-awareness.
Respiration Problems
Patients who practice Yoga have a better chance of gaining the ability to
control their breathing problems. With the help of yogic breathing exercises,
it is possible to control an attack of severe shortness of breath without
having to seek medical help. Various studies have confirmed the beneficial
effects of Yoga for patients with respiratory problems.
High Blood Pressure
The relaxation and exercise components of Yoga have a major role to play in
the treatment and prevention of high blood pressure (hypertension). A combination
of biofeedback and yogic breathing and relaxation techniques has been found
to lower blood pressure and reduce the need for high blood pressure medication
in people suffering from it.
Pain Management
Yoga is believed to reduce pain by helping the brain's pain centre regulate
the gate-controlling mechanism located in the spinal cord and the secretion
of natural painkillers in the body. Breathing exercises used in Yoga can also
reduce pain. Because muscles tend to relax when you exhale, lengthening the
time of exhalation can help produce relaxation and reduce tension. Awareness
of breathing helps to achieve calmer, slower respiration and aid in relaxation
and pain management.
Back Pain
Back pain is the most common reason to seek medical attention. Yoga has consistently
been used to cure and prevent back pain by enhancing strength and flexibility.
Both acute and long-term stress can lead to muscle tension and exacerbate
back problems.
Arthritis
Yoga's slow-motion movements and gentle pressures reach deep into troubled
joints. In addition, the easy stretches in conjunction with deep breathing
exercises relieve the tension that binds up the muscles and further tightens
the joints. Yoga is exercise and relaxation rolled into one - the perfect
anti-arthritis formula.
Weight Reduction
Regular yoga practice can help in weight management. Firstly, some of the
asana's stimulate sluggish glands to increase their hormonal secretions. The
thyroid gland, especially, has a big effect on our weight because it affects
body metabolism. There are several asana's, such as the shoulder stand and
the fish posture, which are specific for the thyroid gland. Fat metabolism
is also increased, so fat is converted to muscle and energy. This means that,
as well as losing fat, you will have better muscle tone and a higher vitality
level. Yogic practices that reduce anxiety tend
to reduce anxious eating. In addition, yoga deep breathing increases the oxygen
intake to the body cells, including the fat cells. This causes increased oxidation
or burning up of fat cells. Yogic exercises induce more continuous and deeper
breathing which gradually burns, sometimes forcefully, many of the calories
already ingested.
Detoxification
·Massaging of ALL Organs of the body – Yoga is perhaps the only form of activity which massages all the internal glands and organs of the body in a thorough manner, including those – such as the prostate - that hardly get externally stimulated during our entire lifetime. Yoga acts in a wholesome manner on the various body parts. This stimulation and massage of the organs in turn benefits us by keeping away disease and providing a forewarning at the first possible instance of a likely onset of disease or disorder.
By gently stretching muscles and joints as well as massaging the various organs, Yoga ensures the optimum blood supply to various parts of the body. This helps in the flushing out of toxins from every nook and cranny as well as providing nourishment up to the last point. This leads to benefits such as delayed ageing, energy and a remarkable zest for life.
Mental/Emotional Benefits
Regular Yoga practice creates mental clarity and calmness, increases body awareness, relieves chronic stress patterns, relaxes the mind, centres attention and sharpens concentration. Yoga strives to increase self-awareness initially on a physical level and later on a psychological level. People who study Yoga learn to induce relaxation and then to use the technique whenever pain appears. Practicing Yoga can provide chronic pain sufferers with useful tools to actively cope with their pain and help counter feelings of helplessness and depression.
Mental Performance
A common technique used in Yoga is breathing through one nostril at a time,
a technique call Analoma Viloma. Electroencephalogram (EEG) studies of the
electrical impulses of the brain have shown that breathing through one nostril
results in increased activity on the opposite side of the brain. Some experts
suggest that the regular practice of breathing through one nostril may help
improve communication between the right and left side of the brain. Studies
have also shown that this increased brain activity is associated with better
performance and doctors even suggest that Yoga can enhance cognitive performance.
Mood Change And Vitality
Mental health and physical energy are difficult to quantify, but virtually
everyone who participates in Yoga over a period of time reports a positive
effect on outlook and energy level. Yogic stretching and breathing exercises
have been seen to result in an invigorating effect on both mental and physical
energy and improved mood.
According to medical scientists, Yoga therapy is successful because of the balance created in the nervous and endocrine systems which directly influences all the other systems and organs of the body. The very essence of Yoga lies in attaining mental peace, improved concentration powers, a relaxed state of living and harmony in relationships.
Psychological Benefits of Yoga
- Somatic and kinesthetic awareness increase
- Mood improves and subjective well-being increases
- Self-acceptance and self-actualization increase
- Social adjustment increases
- Anxiety and Depression decrease
- Hostility decreases
- Concentration improves
- Memory improves
- Attention improves
- Learning efficiency improves
- Mood improves
- Self-actualization increase
- Social skills increases
- Well-being increases
- Somatic and kinesthetic awareness increase
- Self-acceptance increase
- Attention improves
- Concentration improves
- Memory improves
- Learning efficiency improves
- Symbol coding improves
- Depth perception improves
- Flicker fusion frequency improves
- Sleep patterns improve
Biochemical Benefits of Yoga
- Glucose decreases
- Sodium decreases
- Total cholesterol decreases
- Triglycerides decrease
- HDL cholesterol increases
- LDL cholesterol decreases
- VLDL cholesterol decreases
- Cholinesterase increases
- Catecholamines decrease
- ATPase increases
- Hematocrit increases
- Hemoglobin increases
- Lymphocyte count increases
- Total white blood cell count decreases
- Thyroxin increases
- Vitamin C increases
- Total serum protein increases
Spiritual Benefits
Yogic theory and practice lead to increased self-knowledge. This knowledge is not merely that of the practical kind relating to techniques, but especially of a spiritual sort pertaining to grasping something about the nature of the self at rest.
Through the practice of Yoga, we become aware of the interconnectedness between our emotional, mental and physical levels. Gradually this awareness leads to an understanding of the more subtle areas of existence. The ultimate goal of Yoga is to make it possible for you to be able to fuse together the gross material (annamaya), energetic (pranamaya), mental (manomaya), intellectual (vijnanamaya) and spiritual (anandamaya) levels within your being.
The meditative practices through Yoga help in achieving an emotional balance through detachment. What this means is that working with awareness creates an ability to simply observe ourselves and life's events with detachment thus becoming less affected by the happenings around you. This in turn creates a remarkable calmness and a positive outlook, which also has tremendous benefits on the physical health of the body.
The ultimate goal of traditional yogis was “self realization” or “enlightenment”, a concept, which perhaps is quite esoteric to you and me. The first step on this path is to reduce peripheral mental activity through bringing awareness into the body, and then later through relaxation and meditation to simply observe the breath. This helps to quiet the mind and take us to a place of peace. The reduction, and ultimately cessation of mental activity is the goal or aim of meditation. On experiencing this state we become aware of our unity with all things and our essential nature of peace.
When you achieve the yogic spirit, you can begin knowing yourself at peace. The value of discovering one's self and of enjoying one's self as is, begins a journey into being rather than doing. Life can then be lived practicing "Yoga off the mat". Knowing the self at rest, at peace, as a being rather than merely as an agent or doer, is a genuine kind of knowledge which usually gets lost in the rush of activities and push of desires. The value of discovering one's self and of enjoying one's self as it is, rather than as it is going to be, is of the highest value.
