Discovering Yoga for Health Benefits

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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 a short word, or can be said to be a nick name for the old word “Yogasana”. It is an exercise that involves the body, mind and spirit of the practioner. People who practice Yoga are known as Yogis. To fully experience the benefits of yoga, one should have the firm belief that it will benefit him, as it is an exercise strongly connected to the human mind.

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 involves postures and movements and the alignment of the 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 helps to stretch legs and arms and provides strength to the bones, thus increasing the balance of the body.
Uttanasana is a yoga posture in which the body is extended upwards and then bent in the forward position to touch the toes. It relaxes the mind and stretches the neck, back and legs,.
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 to increase the flexibility of the hamstrings and back.
Bhujangasana or The Cobra posture is performed by laying down flat on your stomach on the floor. It helps to open the chest bone and heart and also stretches and strengthen the back bone, legs and arm bones.
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. Increases flexibility in the hamstrings, back, and arms.
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. It opens up the torso and increases the flexibility in back bone.
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 helps improve thyroid function as well as circulation. It also provides strength to abdomen muscles and organs and provides stretch to upper back bone.
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 hundreds of benefits of yoga. Here are just some of them:

Fortifies the immune system and increases the body’s natural healing ability.
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 helps with both learning and memory.
It promotes cardiovascular health.
It regulates and stabilizes the nervous system.
It improves blood pressure and lowers the heart rate.
It activates the somatic cells of the brain and helps people in increasing awareness.
Normalizes the endocrine glands and gastrointestinal function.
It brings about greater energy and equilibrium.
For some people it helps in controlling their weight.
Yoga boosts the balancing efficiency of the body.
It helps to relax the mind therefore reducing tension, depression, and anxiety.
Yoga helps to decrease the cholesterol level in blood.
It can help you manage and control diabetes.
It tunes and tones the muscles.
It proves as a treatment for arthritis, arteriosclerosis, chronic fatigue, asthma, hepatitis, insomnia and AIDS.
Practicing yoga can help to slow down the aging process.