Yoga for Health
Yoga has been around for ages. It is composed of age old principles that correlate with the connection between a person’s mind and body. The benefits of practicing yoga are well documented by modern science. Yoga is the short form of the word yogasana. This exercise involves the body, mind and soul of a human being. People who practice it are called Yogis. In order to fully reap of the rewards of practicing yoga exercises, one should believe that it will indeed benefit him, as it is an exercise strongly connected with the mind.
Yogis believe yoga brings health to the body and peace to the mind. So, people practice yoga to feel fit and relax their minds of stress, depression and tension. Yoga involves postures and movements and the alignment of the body,. Different yoga postures can be performed and practiced by people of all ages but it is recommended for beginners to practice Yoga under the supervision of experts.
Types of Yoga postures
There are many types of yoga postures. Some of the more well-known postures are discussed as follows:
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Sukhasana or Lotus is a sitting pose of yoga and is easy to perform. It is often used as the starting position. It is useful for strengthening and opening the lower back, groin, and hips.
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Tadasana or Mountain pose is used to improve the balance of mind and posture of the body.
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Virabhadrasana or Warrior is a yoga pose that can be performed after Tadasana or mountain pose. It stretches both arms and legs and strengthens the bones.
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Uttanasana is a yoga posture in which the body is extended upwards and then bent in the forward position to touch the toes. It helps in stretching the neck, legs and back bones, while also provide relaxation to the heart and mind.
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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.
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Bhujangasana or The Cobra posture is performed by laying down flat on your stomach on the floor. It helps open the chest area and heart and stretches and strengthens the spine.
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Janu Shirshasana is head to knee pose of yoga exercises. It is performed by sitting on the floor and trying to touch your foot with your hand. Increases flexibility in the hamstrings, back, and arms.
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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. Improves spinal flexibility opens up the torso area.
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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 improves circulation and thyroid function. It also improves the strength of the abdominal muscles and organs, and stretches the upper back.
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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.
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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.
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Pranayama is a yoga posture that involves breathing exercises.
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Dog and Cat posture helps in increasing the strength and flexibility of spinal cord.
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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. This is a relatively easy position to perform.
Benefits of practicing yoga
There are hundreds of benefits of yoga. Here are just some of them:
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It increases the body’s healing power and boosts the immune system.
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Steadies the mind and improves concentration.
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It improves the body’s overall flexibility.
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It helps with both learning and memory.
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It helps strengthen the heart.
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It helps to stabilize the nervous system.
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It decreases the pulse rate thus decreasing the blood pressure.
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It activates the somatic cells of the brain and helps people in increasing awareness.
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Normalizes the endocrine glands and gastrointestinal function.
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It increases energy level of the body so increasing the grip and equilibrium of the body.
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For some people it helps in controlling their weight.
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Yoga helps improve balance.
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Helps overcome depression and anxiety.
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Helps lower cholesterol.
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It can help deal with diabetes.
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It provides the tuning and toning of body muscles.
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It has been shown to be helpful with a variety of diseases including insomnia, aids, asthma, and arthritis.
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Practicing yoga can help to slow down the aging process.
