Thursday, 28 May 2009

The Physical and Mental Benefits of Yoga

It is advocated by knowledgeable personalities and by those who have experienced it, the following benefits are certainly available if practiced regularly and sincerely:

Physical benefits

Flexibility: By turning, twisting and stretching in proper manner, will certainly make the body muscles more flexible. One can get flexibility in hamstrings, back, hips and shoulders.

Muscle tone: As the muscles gets stronger through Yoga, one can get long, lean increased muscles tone.

Strength: Many Yoga poses need you to support the body weight in a different manner, including balancing on one leg or supporting yourself with your arms. Some of the Yoga poses requires slow movement of the body in and out of poses which increases strength.

Breathing: Yoga breathing exercise called Pranayama teaches clearly how to breath properly resulting in better functioning of lungs. Pranayama, the Yogic breathing exercise , focuses the attention on the breath and teach us how to better use our lungs and thereby benefit our entire body. Some specific breathing exercise also help clear the nasal passage and have calming effect on the central nervous system that benefits us physically and mentally.

Prevention of pain: Increased strength and flexibility that is attained through Yoga, help prevent back pain especially for those who work with computers for long hours and car drivers driving through long stretches or otherwise. In fact, Yoga improves body alignment.

Mental Benefits

Stress reduction: Yoga is good for relieving mental or physical stress. Concentration which is essential part of Yoga, melt away the day to day stress while doing the Yoga and seem to bestow a lasting peaceful composure. Emphasis Yoga places on being in the moment help relieve stress as you stop dwelling about the past or future anticipations. Yoga provides the much needed break from stresses and put things into proper perspective.

Mental calmness: Yogic exercises being intensely physical, keeps the mind concentrated during the process, thereby, mental calmness descends automatically. No other thoughts can possibly engulf you. Yoga's meditation techniques help calm the mind.

Body awareness: One gets the essential awareness of his body through Yoga. Subtle changes of body movements during Yoga session or afterwards make you feel better aligned to day to day needs and better comfort. One becomes more confident about his self mentally or physically.

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