The ancient Indian practice of yoga is a beautiful discipline, which works on the unification of the body, mind and soul. It enhances one’s awareness of the self and how an individual fits into the cosmos of the universe. Unlike most other forms of exercise, yoga does not need any space or instruments. The best thing about yoga is that no one is ever too old or young to practice it. Being non-invasive and non-straining on the body, it can be practiced even by sick and disabled individuals. There are several ways yoga can transform your life.
Yoga Helps Relieve Our Everyday Stress
Our everyday lives are filled with stress from most aspects of our existence. Work, studies, deadlines, chores, lists and everything else takes a huge toll on us as we are left constantly stressed about what to do next. We are left with very little time to relax, decompress or even enjoy. Yoga is a great stress reliever. Being a practice that involves both the mind and the body to perform, it helps you focus on the action leaving behind your worries. In order to achieve the desired effect, it is based on a combination of physical poses or asana, controlled breathing or pranayama, and meditation or relaxation, savasana. This gently takes the mind through processes of decompressing and letting go of stress. Practiced on a regular basis, it will show excellent results on your ability to handle stressful situations in life.
Yoga Reduces Chronic Health Problems
Stress is a major cause of health problems in the modern world. From high blood pressure to insomnia and more, we face various effects of stress everyday. Yoga works by relaxing the mind and body, relaxing and rejuvenating. Thus, it helps control blood pressure, blood sugar levels, encourages better sleep, and improves overall physical health immensely. There are many ways yoga can transform your life and help reduce a number of health conditions as well. There are asanas and exercises, which are designed to improve certain specific aspects of physical health. Yoga has an excellent pain relieving effects, and hence, it works wonders for people suffering from chronic pain from conditions such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis and more.
Yoga Improves Mental Health Disorders
Yoga has excellent effects on calming the mind, unraveling the tangles of stress, pressure, and worries. But that is not all, because regular practice of yoga has a huge impact on mental health conditions. It helps in reducing the symptoms of several mental health conditions such as depression, borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia etc. It has shown great effects on helping children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD improve their focus and attention span. It improves cognitive functions in children with developmental delays. It works wonders for the elderly people who are facing a loss of cognitive functions owing to degenerative diseases. Starting early, yoga can also help in slowing down the process of brain degeneration with age.
Yoga Enhances The Body’s Functioning
Yoga regulates and improves the functioning of our organ systems. It increases blood circulation, and thus, helps reduce high blood pressure, risks of heart diseases, pain, swelling and helps as well as improves hair and skin health. Yoga also stimulates the flow of essential hormones, which helps in the reduction of several health conditions caused by an imbalance in the endocrine system. It is highly effective for patients who are suffering from PCOD and other gynecological conditions. Yoga is also highly beneficial for several disorders of the digestive system. It enhances the functions of the liver, improves digestion and reduces problems like flatulence, indigestion, bloating etc. There are several ways yoga can transform your life, and a great deal of literature which can help you do your research and understand the effects of individual poses.
Yoga Boosts Confidence And Self Image
Yoga is excellent for weight loss and it helps tone the muscles, improving strength and shape. This goes a long way in giving a major confidence boost. Everyday as we go through life, insecurity builds up as the society and popular media tries to sell an impossible image of perfection. Yoga also encourages a person to contemplate and go on a journey into one’s self, rather than focusing on what we see externally. This helps in understanding oneself better and thus, improves one’s self image, therefore, helping do away with insecurity.
Yoga Offers Peace And Improves Patience
Often we find it difficult to come to terms with our pain, disappointment, failure, hurt and other emotions which cloud our mind. Practicing yoga regularly and attending yoga retreats helps you come to terms with all the resentment and negative emotions, to let go of it. This offers you peace of mind. As you learn to be at peace with your life, you become more patient and tolerant. You learn to react less to negativity and work on surrounding your life with happiness. It also improves your professional life and inter-personal relationships as well.
Yoga Makes You A Kinder And Better Person
Yoga is a journey to oneself, introspection into the soul and understanding how we fit into the scheme of life. It is more than just an exercise; it is a philosophy which encourages a person to not only treat himself or herself well, but also to treat others with kindness. It is not just limited to other human beings, but also to nature and other species as they share the same space with us. As yoga teaches one to value the soul over body, it also teaches one to be nicer to other people, to be more considerate and understanding. Essentially it helps one be a better person.
It is always the right time to start on your yoga journey. You will be able to see amazing effects on your mind, body and soul almost immediately. Join your local yoga class, attend yoga retreats, and you will experience its immense benefits. Even if you do not have that kind of time yet, you can simply start by following good yoga blogs. While yoga is not necessarily a standalone course of treatment; it helps in relieving several health issues and along with standard medical treatment. It can really do wonders! Over time not only will you see amazing differences in your health, you will transform as a human as well.
