Benefits of Yoga

Top 10 reasons to try "Yoga for Life" from the Yoga Alliance
1. YOGA FOR ? STRESS RELIEF: Yoga reduces the physical effects of stress on the body. By encouraging relaxation, yoga helps to lower the levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Related benefits include lowering blood pressure and heart rate, improving digestion and boosting the immune system as well as easing symptoms of conditions such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, asthma and insomnia.

2. YOGA FOR ? PAIN RELIEF: Yoga can ease pain. Studies have demonstrated that practicing yoga asanas (postures), meditation or a combination of the two, reduced pain for people with conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, auto-immune diseases and hypertension as well as arthritis, back and neck pain and other chronic conditions. Some practitioners report that even emotional pain can be eased through the practice of yoga.

3. YOGA FOR ? BETTER BREATHING: Yoga teaches people to take slower, deeper breaths. This helps to improve lung function, trigger the body’s relaxation response and increase the amount of oxygen available to the body.

4. YOGA FOR ? FLEXIBILITY: Yoga helps to improve flexibility and mobility, increasing range of movement and reducing aches and pains. Many people can’t touch their toes during their first yoga class. Gradually they begin to use the correct muscles. Over time, the ligaments, tendons and muscles lengthen, increasing elasticity, making more poses possible. Yoga also helps to improve body alignment resulting in better posture and helping to relieve back, neck, joint and muscle problems.

5. YOGA FOR ? INCREASED STRENGTH: Yoga asanas (postures) use every muscle in the body, helping to increase strength literally from head to toe. And, while these postures strengthen the body, they also provide an additional benefit of helping to relieve muscular tension.

6. YOGA FOR ? WEIGHT MANAGEMENT: Yoga (even less vigorous styles) can aid weight control efforts by reducing the cortisol levels as well as by burning excess calories and reducing stress. Yoga also encourages healthy eating habits and provides a heightened sense of well being and self esteem.

7. YOGA FOR ? IMPROVED CIRCULATION: Yoga helps to improve circulation and, as a result of various poses, more efficiently moves oxygenated blood to the body’s cells.

8. YOGA FOR ? CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONING: Even gentle yoga practice can provide cardio-vascular benefits by lowering resting heart rate, increasing endurance and improving oxygen uptake during exercise.

9. YOGA FOR? FOCUS ON THE PRESENT: Yoga helps us to focus on the present, to become more aware and to help create mind body health. It opens the way to improved concentration, coordination, reaction time and memory.

10. YOGA FOR? INNER PEACE: The meditative aspects of yoga help manyto reach a deeper, more spiritual and more satisfying place in their lives. Many who begin to practice for other reasons have reported this to be akeyreason that yoga has become an essential part of their daily lives.



What is Yoga?

Yoga is an ancient tradition that subscribes to no religion. It began in India more than 5,000 years ago and was used as a tool to help yogis reach nirvana. Today, the ultimate goal of yoga is still to reach nirvana; however, in this modern age of high technology and "bigger is better", we have found yoga to be an empowerment tool on a regular basis. Its positive effects can be seen and felt every day through deeper relationships, more focused career paths, and a simpler, more honest way of communicating with ourselves and others.

Yoga combines spiritual traditions, physical movements, and a philosophy of life that leads to enlightenment. Yoga deepens our spirituality, and matures our attitudes and intentions toward life by integrating body, mind, and spirit.

The word "Yoga" comes from the Sanskrit "yuj", meaning "union" or "yoke". Therefore, the practice of yoga seeks to create unity between the mind, body, and spirit of a person. We'll become less fragmented inwardly and become more comfortable in our own skin, developing greater self-confidence, inner strength, and a profound peace that overflows from our yoga mat to the everyday details of our life.

Whether you want to lose weight and get fit, reduce stress and cope with life better, or explore your own spiritual path, yoga offers a way to cultivate personal awareness with more than physical relaxation. It is a pathway to a greater understanding of the question "Who am I?"

Comfortable clothing and a quiet place to practice are ideal. Yoga can be practiced anywhere at any time of the day or night. A morning practice is beneficial to prepare you for a new day filled with energy and focus. On the other hand, a practice in the evening helps to bring closure of the day.



Various Paths of YogaThere are many types, branches or paths of Yoga. Each path places a different emphasis to help perfect a different aspect of human personality, in different stages of an aspirant's development. All these come from a single framework and bring us the same ultimate goal.




1. Hatha Yoga (Yoga of Body and Mind Purification)
2. Jhana Yoga (Yoga of Enquiry, Knowledge)
3. Karma Yoga (Yoga of Action)
4. Bhakti Yoga (Yoga of Devotion)
5. Mantra Yoga (Yoga of Recitation)
6. Kundalini Yoga (Yoga of Energy)
7. Raja Yoga (Yoga of Meditation)


Nowadays we have even more branches of Yoga and majority of them are derived from Hatha Yoga.
6. Astanga Yoga

and etc ....


1. Vinyasa
2. Partner Yoga


3. Yin Yoga
4. Iyengar Yoga
5. Hot Yoga (Bikram)



Wish you have a wonderful experience with Yoga

 
Site Meter