Yoga for fitness and good health

Yoga is an ancient art of developing harmony between your body and mind. Regular practice of yoga positions adds flexibility to your body and provides strength for natural healing to stay fit, both physically and mentally. The health benefits of Yoga are so enormous that they are still being discovered by scientists almost everyday. The benefits of this ancient art include physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, good mental health and natural healing.                    

The art of Yoga has evolved over many centuries in ancient India. Yoga keeps the mind and body of a person fit by slowing down the natural aging process. It reduces the amount of toxins absorbed by our body cell and thus slows down its deterioration.

The physical well being of a person is an obvious benefit of Yoga. There are specific exercises (asanas) that are aimed at losing weight from specific parts of your body namely; the waist or hips. Yoga helps to improve blood circulation, helps to deal with Gastrointestinal problems and respiratory problems, normalizes blood pressure levels and helps to keep it under control,  improves our cardio-vascular efficiency, improves physical strength and stamina; to name a few.

Beyond the more obvious physical benefits, Yoga can help us at various Spiritual levels. At a basic level Yoga helps to improve our level of concentration and mental clarity. At an advanced level it improves thought control, mind control and is also known to help to develop psychic powers.  It helps us realize and experience how we are One with nature. It is a sort of enlightenment that makes us feel at par with the universe. We become more aware of the lives of people around us and how they are intertwined with our own. This makes us feel at peace with ourselves. Purifying, healing and rejuvenating exercises can restore health, force of life, joy and also lengthen life span. Certain exercises, such as Laya Yoga practices serve liberation, salvation of the soul and reinvent our relationship with God. The realization of ones spiritual self makes us a better person.

The three main components to the practice of Yoga are: breathing, concentration and posture also known as asanas. All three components improve personal discipline and work together for specific objectives.

One of the most commonly practiced asanas is the Sirsha asana or the Headstand Pose. The headstand pose exercise can be done if you kneel down and place your arms flat on the floor. Interlock fingers of both hands. Place your head between your hands, flat on the floor. Raise your back from the kneeling position so that you are on the tip of your toes, with your head still on the floor. Raise your legs slowly off the floor so that they extend upwards, keeping the body aligned and balanced. Breathing techniques used during the exercise enhance the overall effect.

Breathing techniques, also known a pranayama, is aimed at bringing more oxygen into our blood stream thereby improving the efficiency of our system. Breathing techniques go hand in hand with the various asanas.

Yoga is immensely beneficial in our present day lives. Yoga, not only relieves office work tension but can de-stress us on a long flight to help us becoming a better person in today’s outright competitive and religiously divided world. It harmonizes our unbalanced lifestyles and provides emotional stability to our personal lives.  A few minutes of yoga practice daily can benefit health enormously.

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