Discovering Yoga for Improved Health

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Yoga has been around for ages. It is an exercise; basically composed of ancient principles and theories that explain the connection between the mind and body of human beings. The benefits of practicing yoga are well documented by modern science. yoga is short for yogasana which means position or posture. It benefits not just the body, but the mind and spirit as well. People practicing and doing Yoga are known as Yogis. To get the most out of meditation and yoga, it can be quite helpful to keep a positive attitude.

Yogis believe yoga brings health to the body and peace to the mind. So people practice yoga relax the body and mind and to improve health and fitness. Yoga is concerned with movements, patterns, postures and alignment of the human body. Most yoga postures can be practiced by people of all ages, however one should have the guidance of a qualified teacher when starting out.

Types of Yoga postures

There are many types of yoga postures. Some of the more well-known postures are discussed as follows:

Sukhasana or Lotus is a sitting pose of yoga and is easy to perform. It is used as a starting position of yoga exercises. It helps to open and strengthens the groin, hips and lower back bone.
Tadasana or Mountain pose is used to improve the balance of mind and posture of the body.
Virabhadrasana or Warrior is a yoga pose that can be performed after Tadasana or mountain pose. It strengthens the bones, stretches the arms and legs, and improves balance.
Uttanasana is a yoga posture in which the body is extended upwards and then bent in the forward position to touch the toes. Helps to stretch the back, neck and legs and soothe the mind.
Adho Mukha Svanasana or Downward Facing Dog is a yoga posture performed by putting and maintaining forehead on the floor in front of you. It helps in stretching and increasing the flexibility the back bone and hamstrings.
Bhujangasana or The Cobra posture is performed by laying down flat on your stomach on the floor. It helps open the chest area and heart and stretches and strengthens the spine.
Janu Shirshasana is head to knee pose of yoga exercises. It’s perfomed while sitting on the floor and attempting to touch the hand to the foot. It helps in improving the flexibility of the arms, back bone and hamstrings.
Trikonasana or the Triangle is a yoga pose in which the body is bent in the form of a triangle by separating the feet 3-4 feet and then touching one foot with one of your hands. Improves spinal flexibility opens up the torso area.
Ardha Sarvangasana or Half Shoulderstand is a yoga pose that is formed by lying down on your back with elbows and lower arms on the floor and rise you legs up in the air. It improves circulation and thyroid function. It also improves the strength of the abdominal muscles and organs, and stretches the upper back.
Sethu Bandhasa or the Bridge is that yoga posture in which the body is laying down on the floor with arms resting at its sides while the body is risen such that the head, neck and feet are on the floor but the middle part of the body including tail, tail bone and spine is raised in the shape of an arc. This pose helps in opening the chest and in increasing the flexibility and strength of the lower back bone and abdominal muscles.
Hatha Yoga is the most difficult and demanding type of yoga postures as it requires very hard exercises and practices, immensely involving every muscles of the body.
Pranayama is a yoga posture that involves breathing exercises.
Dog and Cat posture helps in increasing the strength and flexibility of spinal cord.
Savasana or the Corpse posture is performed at the end of yoga exercises session to relax the body and also provides a refreshing effect on the mind. It is an easy pose to perform.

Benefits of practicing yoga

There are really countless benefits to practicing yoga. Some of them are listed below:

It increases the body’s healing power and boosts the immune system.
It helps in relaxing the mind and increases its steadiness and ability to concentrate and perception.
It increases the flexibility of the muscles and bones of the body.
It improves memory and learning.
It promotes cardiovascular health.
It helps provide stability to the nervous system.
Lowers heart rate and blood pressure.
It increases awareness and improves brain function.
It helps in normalizing the gastrointestinal and endocrine glands’ functionality.
It brings about greater energy and equilibrium.
It can help with weight control.
Yoga boosts the balancing efficiency of the body.
It relaxes the mind thus decreasing anxiety, tension, and depression.
Helps lower cholesterol.
It can help deal with diabetes.
It tunes and tones the muscles.
It proves as a treatment for arthritis, arteriosclerosis, chronic fatigue, asthma, hepatitis, insomnia and AIDS.
The aging process can be slowed down by practicing yoga.