Yoga is an ancient practice that may have originated in India. It involves movement, meditation, and breathing techniques to promote mental and physical well-being.
Yoga involves disciplining the mind and body through exercises and meditation.
Effect on your health
How it's effect your body and health?
Yoga works on the whole person, bringing mind and body into harmony. The postures demand enormous concentration and stilling of the mind. Yoga and psychotherapy have several similarities. The goal of both practises is to bring the person into harmony with the environment, both human and material. Both practices work on the principle of self-knowledge, which can be channelled into a positive lifestyle.
• Cardiovascular system: The most well-known studies of the Eastern medical practices of meditation and yoga along with a vegetarian diet show positive cardiovascular effects.
• Asthma: A traditional yoga system of meditation and breathing, Sahaja yoga, has been studied in poorly controlled asthma in adults.
• Respiratory System: Yoga promotes postures to facilitate lung expansion.
• Anxiety: Yoga breathing techniques help to calm anxiety and facilitate muscle relaxation.
• Obesity: Some yoga postures, besides expending calories and mobilizing bone and soft tissue structures, are thought to stimulate the thyroid gland and reduce fat accumulation in specific areas.
• Diabetes mellitus: Yoga is believed to improve blood circulation, enhance the activity of the pancreas, stimulate insulin secretion, promote digestion, and help with disease control.
• Balance: In the light of research yoga is improving a person’s balance.
• Back pain: Weekly yoga classes are reducing back pain.
• Other effects: Meditation is believed to improve oxygen use.
Risk and side effects
Many types of yoga are safe for people when a well-trained instructor is guiding the
practice.
It is rare to incur a serious injury when doing yoga. The most common injuries among people practising yoga are sprains and strains.
However, a person who is pregnant or has an ongoing medical condition, such as bone loss, glaucoma, or sciatica, should consult a healthcare professional, if possible, before taking up yoga.
How to improve?
Do Mindfulness Meditation during yoga exercise
In a yoga class, as you learn to do yoga poses, you will be instructed to notice your breath and the way your body moves during the exercises. This is the foundation of a mind-body connection.
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Learn about the breathing techniques
Breathing techniques are an essential part of yoga —not only do they help you to stay focused while practising yoga, but they can also help reduce stress relax the nervous system and calm the mind. There are so many breathing techniques used for different causes. Use every technique for its purpose.
Find the right teacher, tradition, and studio
Those are so important to do it right your practise and also decrease the risks of injury.
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Buy a great yoga mat
Having a high-quality mat will give you a solid foundation on which to build a great practice.
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Keep a yoga journal
Keeping a dedicated journal for your yoga practice is a great way to set and keep track of your intentions and goals.
References
- Yoga: a therapeutic approach, Nirmala N. Nayak, MDa, Kamala Shankar, MD
- 11 ways to improve your yoga practice, Timothy Burgin, 2018, YogaBasics
- How does yoga work? , Medical News Today
- Yoga for everyone, Kelly Couturier, The New York Times