| Written by Debra Hartsell
|
Tuesday,
26, May 26, 2009 15:20
|
What Yoga Does For Me
E lvis Presley Lyrics "yoga is as yoga does"
There’s nothing youthful
about having a sore back,
feeling overwhelmed, or
losing flexibility. Whenever
I don’t do yoga for a few
days, I start to feel all of
these. For every day I don’t
do yoga, it takes two or
three days to get me back on
course… which is a good
reason to never stop!
It is learning to stay
strong even when its the
most difficult thing to do.
Like George Washington
Carver said, "how far you go
in life depends on your
being tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged,
sympathetic with the
striving, and tolerant of
the weak and strong. Because
someday in life, you will
have been all of these
things." I try to see life
from everyone's perspective,
like MLK said, "an
individual has not started
living until he can rise
above the narrow confines of
his individualistic concerns
to the broader concerns of
all humanity." I am just
trying to start living.
Q1. What are the physical
benefits of practicing yoga?
Yoga is a powerful
discipline that can improve
health and fitness. Regular
yoga practice has been known
to increase the stamina,
flexibility, stability and
strength. Practicing of yoga
postures also brings a
feeling of well-being to the
entire body by stimulating
the organs and improving the
circulation. As the body
works more efficiently,
problems like headaches,
back pain, stiff hips and
digestive disorders can all
be alleviated. Pranayama,
the breathing techniques can
lower the blood pressure,
increase cardiovascular
efficiency and aid
relaxation.
Q2. What are the mental
benefits of yoga?
Just as yoga can help us
increase our physical health
and fitness, practicing of
yoga has also been found to
beneficial to our mental
health. Yoga can help reduce
stress, improve
concentration alleviate mood
swings. It brings awareness
and the ability to be
'still'. Practicing
pranayama helps bring mental
clarity and calm.
Q3. What are the diseases
that can be cured by yoga?
Yoga can be useful in
reducing the effects of the
diseases like hypertension,
spondilytis, asthma,
arthritis, slip disc,
digestive disorders,
menstrual disorders, mental
disorders and sleeplessness
and many more like these.
Q4. What is the advantage of
Yoga over to other
exercises?
Exercise increases strength
and stamina of the muscles
but Yoga affects complete
body mind complex and
triggers a change from
negative to positive
direction on the physical,
mental, spiritual plane of
existence.
Q5. Can Yoga delay middle
age?
Yoga is the greatest form of
exercise there is. After our
mid-20s, the venous supply
to the disks of the spine
naturally atrophies.
Through yogic exercises that
bend and stretch the spine,
fresh blood and nerve flow
revitalize all the major
glands and organs. Unlike
other forms of exercise,
which develop fitness by
stressing the body, yoga
builds strength and
endurance while lowering the
stress hormones that age us.
Q6. Can yoga make me
stronger?
It's a proven fact that yoga
does makes you stronger.
Some balance postures such
as Tree Pose and Shoulder
stand require enormous
muscle control in order to
prevent you from falling
over. This helps to build
and strengthen your muscles.
The muscles you develop
during yoga are more likely
to be elongated, because
while you are strengthening
them, you are simultaneously
lengthening them. You also
do not focus on an isolated
muscle, but actively recruit
the smaller muscle groups as
well. You truly work your
entire body when you
practice yoga. In addition
to all its other benefits,
yoga can help you improve
muscle fitness.
Q7. Can yoga relieve my back
pain?
Studies have shown that yoga
is a good exercise for those
suffering from back pain,
particularly in the long
term. Many of the postures
in yoga gently strengthen
the muscles in the back, as
well as the abdominal
muscles. Back and abdominal
muscles are essential
components of the muscular
network of the spine,
helping the body maintain
proper upright posture and
movement. When these muscles
are well conditioned, back
pain can be greatly reduced
or avoided. However, not all
yoga asanas can
automatically relieve the
pain, some might even
aggravate the pain. So it is
advisable to perform the
poses under the guidance of
a trained yoga teacher. Some
helpful poses are the camel
pose, corpse pose, cat
stretch.
Q8. I'm stressed out - will
it help me to relax?
Yes, definitely, Yoga helps
in reducing physical, mental
and emotional stress. Yoga
is well-known for its
calming effects. Because of
the body/mind connection, if
the muscles are relaxed by
stretching, the mind will
also relax, with less
anxiety and better sleep
patterns.
Q9. Can Yoga help cure
migraines?
Migraines which are caused
by the constriction and
dilation of blood vessels to
the brain can be made more
manageable through yoga.
Regular practice of yoga,
including postures,
pranayama and meditation can
help relieve the suffering.
Postures will help improve
blood circulation and also
relieve physical tension and
stress, which may be a
contributing factor to
migraines.
Q10. Can Yoga treat
arthritis?
Yes, yoga poses provide
relief to stiff and damaged
joints. Yoga's controlled
movements and gentle
pressures reach deep into
troubled joints.
The mild form of stretching
involved in the practice of
yoga can help strengthen
your joints which is crucial
in preventing and dealing
with arthritis. It also
reduces stiffness and makes
your joints function
normally. In addition, the
controlled stretches in
conjunction with deep
breathing exercises, relax
and release the muscles that
have seized up around the
joints to protect them.
Q11. Can yoga treat obesity?
That depends on the type of
yoga you are doing and how
frequently. Very vigorous
types of yoga practice, such
as Ashtanga and Vinyasa are
cardiovascular exercise and
may help you lose weight if
done regularly, along with
proper diet changes. Regular
practice of Yoga and
controlled life style
reduces obesity. Yoga has
different effect on obesity,
which is permanent in nature
than other techniques for
obesity reduction. Weight
loss is permanent but one
needs to practice few
important techniques
regularly.
The Yoga principle on
healthy diet and the
practice of the Asanas will
help balance the endocrine
system, tone the abdominal
organs, stimulate both the
nervous and circulatory
system, and reduce stress.
Yoga also helps one to gain
a better understanding of
ones self, leading to
acceptance and appreciation
which will help eliminate
the psychological reasons
for Obesity. The practice of
Yoga deals with all the
aspects of an individual:
the mind, body and spirit,
giving a person control over
his mind and body and making
the effect more permanent
than other techniques.
Q12. Can yoga cure insomnia?
Yoga has a stimulatory
effect on nervous system and
the brain in particular.
Certain yoga postures
increase the blood
circulation to the sleep
center in the brain, which
can normalize your sleep
cycle. You will have a more
restful sleep because of the
relaxing aspect of yoga and
the subsequent relieving of
stress, tension and fatigue.
Q13. Can yoga bring energy?
Yoga is a brilliant
energizer. The postures and
other techniques stimulate
your body's energetic system
to make you feel more alive.
In many Western exercise
systems, energy is thought
of as something to be used
up - we talk of expending
energy to burn calories.
However, the yogic
understanding of energy is
not related to burning
calories at all- in yoga,
energy is related to a
subtle force called prana.
This subtle energy is said
to flow through all living
things. The practice of
yogic postures assists the
flow of prana and thus helps
in the free circulation of
throughout our energetic
system.
Q14. Can yoga help me in
PMS?
Premenstrual Syndrome or PMS
is characterized by
uncomfortable mental and
physical symptoms that can
occur up to two weeks prior
to the onset of
menstruation. Several yoga
poses are proven to ease
menstrual pain. It also help
your mind and body adapt
with stress, anxiety and
depression making you feel
relaxed and calm, and
enabling you to cope with
psychological symptoms of
PMS.
Q15. Can yoga help me ease
stress and postpartum
depression?
Yes, definitely, yoga,
Kundalini yoga in particular
can help reduce stress and
overcome post-partum
depression. It is the
breathing, along with the
repetition of sounds and
visualizations that help
balance our hormones,
purging the negative
chemicals that can cause
some women to experience
postpartum depression. After
giving birth, a woman's body
makes a complicated
physiological switch from
pregnancy to nursing, and
yoga can help a woman keep a
healthy relationship with
her body.
Q16. Can yoga help keep a
check on my blood pressure?
The relaxation and exercise
components of yoga have a
major role to play in the
treatment and prevention of
high blood pressure or hyper
tension. 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.
Q17. I'm stressed out - will
it help me to relax?
Yes, definitely, Yoga helps
in reducing physical, mental
and emotional stress. Yoga
is well-known for its
calming effects. Because of
the body/mind connection, if
the muscles are relaxed by
stretching, the mind will
also relax, with less
anxiety and better sleep
patterns.
Q18. How does Yoga help in
my everyday life?
In this modern city, there
is hardly anybody who
doesn't suffer from some
kind of stress. He is always
in search of sailing the
ship on the way of happiness
and peace of mind. The
stable mind and well tuned
body can give him a real joy
which does not vanish like
our materialistic happiness.
These things can be achieved
through Yoga. Yoga can
control the working of mind.
Once you begin to practice
regularly, yoga will help
you to live your life with
renewed positivism and
enthusiasm.
Q19. Can Yoga improve my
personality?
The physical development as
well as psychological
improvement can be obtained
by Yoga. The proportionate
body structure can lead to
increase your confidence.
The stability of mind,
increase in the
concentration of the mind
can be obtained with the
help of Yoga.
Q20. Will yoga help me in
playing my game (e.g.
tennis) better?
Yoga can be tremendously
beneficial to your game.
Yoga poses stretch and
strengthen the muscles and
that increases your reach
and power. Yogic breathing
expands lung capacity and
purifies blood. Yogic
meditation helps the player
to become calmer and
centered in whichever game
they are playing.
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