We live in increasingly stressful times. In addition, a sedentary lifestyle does not have any positive effect on our condition and health. People are intensively looking for ways to deal with these inconveniences. Yoga has become one of these ways, promising even the possibility of reducing the level of the stress hormone cortisol. Apart from its undisputed advantages, such as building strength and endurance, improving flexibility, coordination, bodily balance, and relaxation, yoga also has certain disadvantages, that should be considered. Let’s have a look at what yoga is all about.
Is yoga a set of exercises, a philosophy, or a religion? The literal translation from Sanskrit means union. Yoga is derived from the Vedic traditions of India and the Himalayas. Its time of creation is estimated at over 2,500 years ago. It is one of the philosophies that deal with the relationship between the body and the mind.
From the point of view of the religion, yoga is a form of self-improvement, meditation, and asceticism. Its aim is to develop harmony in body, mind, and environment. Yoga combines meditation and relaxation techniques with low-intensity physical activity, posture (so-called asanas), and breathing techniques (so-called pranayama). There are many varieties of yoga. It can be practiced in all respects, either purely religious or merely secular.
Currently, yoga in its various forms has penetrated the Western world. It is particularly popular in the fitness industry. It brings calmness, generates an awareness of one’s emotional being, and provides an inner strength and an ability to manage stressful situations. Yoga also improves memory, increases intuition, and self awareness, but that is not the end of a very long list of beneficial effects on our health.
Influence on the body
Yoga is very beneficial for health. It helps increase strength and tone, flexibility and stimulates the cardiovascular system improving the body circulation in blood vessels. First of all, it helps correct poor posture and alignment. Thanks to regular exercises, it is possible to strengthen and nourish the spine, increase joint mobility, develop suppleness, and correct alignments.
Regular exercises increase the flexibility and range of motion in our muscles and joints. It lengthens shortened muscles, releases tension in blocked areas of the body, increases movement through the joints, and untangle the knots that affect daily energy levels. What about the influence of the above mentioned cardiovascular system? It stimulates the heart and lungs, increasing the blood flow and strengthening the pulmonary system.
Regular yoga activity helps regulate hormonal production by improving the functioning of glands. It is also beneficial for the nervous system. It reduces anxiety and tension, working relaxing on the body and mind. Yoga helps to increase neurotransmitters’ amount in the brain and stabilize the nervous system’s response to stressful situations. Studies show that it is also beneficial for the immune system by increasing the ability to fight infections by stimulating the glands and lymph nodes.
Style
Yoga is one of the constantly evolving fields in the sport, having various styles and asanas engaging muscles into the exercise. Each asana varies in degree of difficulty, range of positions, action, or spiritual aspect so that everyone can find some asanas suitable and safe for them.
One of the more exciting types is the Bikram method, in which we do the basic positions, but in rooms with a temperature of about 40 degrees Celsius and humidity of 40-50%. Due to such conditions, the body can be more flexible, and also, with the help of sweating, the body removes many toxins. It is also a good idea for people who are concerned about losing weight. It sounds interesting, while for sure it is not recommended for people having cardiovascular problems.
Another example popular with women is pregnancy yoga or hormone yoga, which can help regulate hormones. Its creators believe it can help with infertility or premenstrual syndrome.
Some practices are based on activity in the presence of animals – this could be yoga on horseback, for example, where maintaining balance is very challenging but effective in developing our senses and skills. Yoga with dogs is also increasingly practiced in this category. It involves stretching, breathing, and massage not only for humans but also for our pets.
Following exciting and noteworthy practice is laughter yoga, which, as the name suggests, through appropriate exercises, allows us to improve our mood, reduces stress, decreases the level of cortisol, and contributes to the production of numerous endorphins called “happiness hormones”. This method can work very well, for example, as a complement to the treatment of depression.
No matter what type of yoga style you will choose, first of all always warm up. A good warm up enhances blood flow to the joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons.
Yoga for beginners
If you are a beginner, you better follow all instructions and do not perform more exercises than recommended. Why? Yoga exercises, like other physical activities, can lead to several injuries. We all have different body shapes due to some differences in the shape and size of particular bones, so the body can adapt differently to particular positions while performing exercises.
An easy exercise for one person can cause pain for another, so if you are not able to perform some asanas, try something more manageable like soft stretching to strengthen the muscles. If you feel pain while exercising, better avoid it. Yoga is not about performing an exercise perfectly. It is about improving the posture, flexibility, and shape after regular practice. Every type of sports activity needs some rest to give our body a chance to recover. For example – too intensive exercises lead to pain and sore muscles due to the increased amount of lactic acid that is produced in our muscles during intense physical activity.
Are you having hypermobility, hip replacement or knee ligament injury? Better avoid extreme hyperextension of joints and extreme movement to avoid injuries. The same applies to high blood pressure. If you have that, better avoid asanas requiring to bring the head below the heart not to overwhelm our cardiovascular system.
Ethical issues
Some people combine practicing yoga with spirituality, meditation, and faith in some way. They treat yoga as a form of quieting, preparing the mind and body, for example, for prayer. There are people who argue that it’s actually a religious practice and shouldn’t be practiced abusively without the goal of deepening one’s faith.
We can also encounter opinions of exorcists, who say that such activity exposes us to evil powers and believe that it can even be the cause of possession. A lot of controversy arises in connection with this. One questionable type of yoga, is tantra, which aims to bring partners together and use sexual energy to increase awareness. This option is also sometimes interpreted as a preparation for death. Everyone can have their own individual intentions, but it is worth noting that nowadays, we can distinguish so many types of this activity, and that it is usually used as a form of sport, relaxation, and health care, without involving any religious aspects.
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