Yoga - what is it in terms of health? Yoga classes, tips for beginners. Yoga improves balance and coordination. Good bowel function
Despite the fact that yoga has existed for at least five millennia, today millions of people remain adherents of this healing practice.
Yoga classes are aimed at developing the physical abilities of the body, improving flexibility and coordination of movements, as well as spiritual improvement through immersion in meditation and, as a result, enlightenment, the merging of the soul, mind and body.
What abilities allow you to develop yoga classes? How useful is yoga?
Joint mobility and spine flexibility
As you know, the more flexible the spine, the longer the life. This truth has been known to the peoples of the East since time immemorial. Many people mistakenly believe that they are unlikely to be able to develop flexibility, since the mobility of the joints has decreased over the course of their lives and they simply will not be able to perform yoga asanas.
This is a very common misconception. Flexibility can be successfully developed at any age. Yoga classes can be of great benefit in this, as the asanas performed stretch the muscles, contribute to the production of joint fluid and the removal of lactic acid, which is the source of a feeling of fatigue, heaviness, tension.
As a result of the study, it was found that people who started practicing yoga already after one and a half to two months showed a significant increase in the flexibility of the spine and joint mobility.
Development of strength and endurance
In modern yoga, there are several schools aimed at developing various abilities. For example, Ashtanga yoga is very popular among athletes. This direction of yoga is very useful for the development of physical strength. Classes are transitions from pose to pose, which are quite difficult and require significant physical effort. At the same time, not only breathing (pranayama) is controlled, but also the direction of the gaze to strictly defined points - drishti. It is believed that Ashtanga yoga is extremely valuable for those who have a lively mind and a strong, physically developed body.
Iyengar yoga is more focused on developing coordination and flexibility, but this school of yoga can also develop physical endurance and strengthen your muscles.
As a result of muscle strengthening, you not only become stronger, but also acquire the correct beautiful posture.
Ability to control breathing
The ability to control breathing (pranayama) is one of the key moments of yoga. This is given great attention when performing asanas and during relaxation (shavassan). Proper breathing is the key to the proper circulation of internal energy and, as a result, the improvement of the body and the achievement of a state of enlightenment, a sense of joy in life, good mood and excellent well-being. Deep breathing at a slow pace is very beneficial for reducing pressure and developing the respiratory system.
Relieve stress
In today's world of crazy speeds, economic instability, high competition and hard work during the work week, people are under stress like never before. Stress turns into a chronic state, affecting the physiological processes of the body, causing nervous disorders and a whole bunch of diseases.
A modern person simply needs to be able to relieve stress. 
This is where yoga comes to the rescue.
Meditative practices and relaxation are an integral part of yoga. In combination with deep breathing and the ability to focus on the correct performance of asanas and your body, a person begins to perceive himself as a whole world, which is part of the surrounding universe.
Stops worrying about vain momentary problems, disconnecting from everything everyday and tuning in to peace and harmony with the outside world. Nothing will bring such benefits in achieving a balance between the mind, emotions and body of a person as meditation practices during yoga classes.
By mastering the relaxation technique (shavasana), you will learn to completely turn off your consciousness and achieve maximum relaxation of all muscles. In the age of information overload, this is a very useful skill that can, like nothing else, free the brain from information flows that overload its work and lead to the fact that even at night during sleep we constantly toss and turn, mutter something, experiencing the continuation of daytime stress in a dream. .
Biochemical studies have found that yoga practitioners reduce the body's production of "stress hormones" - catecholamines.
Also, performing asanas is useful for improving the functioning of the cardiovascular system. Yoga lowers cholesterol in the body and strengthens the immune system.
General health improvement
Everyone comes to yoga in their own way. Someone in it is trying to find salvation from chronic fatigue and depression, someone to get rid of pain in the back or joints, someone to rehabilitate after an illness, and so on.
But as a result, a person's life changes radically. If earlier he imagined yoga classes only from cartoons depicting a person in a loincloth sitting on nails, then having become acquainted with the practice of yoga, he begins to understand how interesting, boundless and enticing this world of self-improvement is through the unity of spirit and body and the acquisition of a new consciousness and a healthy body .
Recently, many doctors, instead of or together with medication, are increasingly recommending their patients to turn to yoga, realizing its beneficial effect on almost all body systems.
Numerous studies have shown that the unique exercises used in yoga can literally work wonders.
This is not only an improvement in the work of the cardiovascular and lymphatic systems, getting rid of stress and physical development, as described above.
It was found that exercises have a strong effect on the internal organs - taking certain asanas, a person literally squeezes toxins and toxins out of his intestines. Due to this, other organs can be freed from congestion - after all, after straightening, they absorb a rush of fresh blood like a sponge.
Sport
Looking for motivation to practice yoga? Here are 38 ways yoga can help you improve your health. Perhaps after that you will take a mat and go to a yoga class for classes.
If you've tried yoga before, you've probably already noticed that yoga has a positive effect on your well-being - you may sleep better, catch colds less often, and feel that you can relax properly. However, if you are telling a beginner how yoga works, using expressions like "It increases the flow of prana" or "It gives energy to your spine", you are more likely to stumble upon skeptical opinion and criticism.
It is best to offer interested individuals who are just beginning to practice more specific explanations of how yoga will improve health, cure diseases and relieve pain, and so on. Understanding the benefits of yoga will help keep you motivated to get started, and you will be able to tell others how yoga works in a language they can understand.
1) Flexibility
Improving the flexibility of the whole body is one of the main and obvious benefits of yoga. During the first lesson, you most likely could hardly reach the tips of your toes. However, over time, you have noticed that it is becoming easier for you to perform poses that at first were difficult or not given to you at all. You may also have noticed that the pain began to subside. This is not an accident. Weak hips can put stress on the knees due to improper placement of the femur and tibia. Weak hip muscles can put strain on the spine, leading to back pain. Lack of flexibility in muscles and connective tissues such as connective sheaths (fascia) and ligaments can lead to poor posture.
2) Strength
Strong muscles give much more than an attractive body. They also protect us from diseases such as arthritis and back pain, and help prevent the risk of falls in the elderly. If you can strengthen your muscles with yoga, you can balance them with flexibility. If you, for example, go to the gym and pump your muscles, they will become strong, but this will not add to your flexibility.
3) Correct posture
Your head is somewhat like a bowling ball - it is round, large and heavy. Keeping your head above a straight spine does a lot of good for your neck and back muscles as it supports them and balances them. Tilt your head a few inches forward and you will feel the tension in your muscles. Keeping your head tilted for 8-12 hours, you will realize that there is nothing surprising in the fact that at the end of the day you will feel very tired. Fatigue is not your only problem. Incorrect posture leads to problems with the back, neck and other muscles and joints. When you slouch, your back and neck become curved, and prolonged slouching leads to back pain, degenerative arthritis of the spine.
4) Joint and cartilage health
Every time you do yoga, your joints work at full capacity and turn to the maximum distance. This helps prevent degenerative arthritis and also activates areas of cartilage that normally remain immobile due to lack of movement. The connective tissues of cartilage are like sponges, they receive fresh nutrients only when their fluids are squeezed out and new ones are absorbed back. If these areas do not work enough, they wear out, exposing the bones, which eventually turns into pain in the legs.
5) Health of the vertebral discs
The vertebral discs - the shock absorbers between the spine and the compressive nerves - must be mobile. This is how they get the nutrition they need. If you practice yoga, including balanced poses, flexing and arching your back, doing twists in your workouts, this will give your disks flexibility.
6) Strong bones
Weight training is well known to help strengthen bones and prevent osteoporosis. Many yoga poses are designed to allow you to lift your body weight. For example, postures such as down-facing dog and up-facing dog help strengthen the bones in the hands, which are especially vulnerable to damage from osteoporosis. Yoga practice improves spinal bone density, according to UCLA research. Yoga's ability to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol helps keep calcium in the bones.
7) Improved circulation
Yoga helps improve blood circulation. Relaxation exercises promote good blood circulation, especially in the arms and legs. Yoga also helps to deliver more oxygen to the cells, which, as a result, start working better. Twisting poses squeeze venous blood out of the internal organs and help deliver oxygenated blood when you come out of the twisting position. Inverted postures such as headstands, handstands, and shoulders help venous blood from the legs and pelvis return to the heart, where it enters the lungs and is better oxygenated. This is especially useful for those who have foot problems due to poor heart and kidney function. Yoga also helps increase hemoglobin levels and increases the number of white blood cells that deliver oxygen to tissues. This thins the blood, preventing blood clots from forming, and reduces the levels of blood proteins that contribute to clogging of blood vessels. This reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes, since blood clots often lead to these problems.
8) Strengthen the lymphatic system
When you contract and strengthen muscles, move your whole body while doing yoga asanas, you improve the drainage of lymph (a viscous fluid rich in immune cells). This allows the lymphatic system to better deal with infections, destroy cancer cells, and remove toxic waste from cells.
9) Healthy heart
When you regularly train your heart with aerobic activity, you significantly reduce the risk of heart disease and also get rid of depression. Although not all yoga asanas involve aerobic exercise, if you are doing complex exercises, you may notice that your heart rate increases. Even if some postures do not make your heart beat faster, they still contribute to a good adaptation of the cardiovascular system. Studies have shown that practicing yoga lowers your resting heart rate, improves endurance, and helps you get more oxygen during exercise, all of which have many cardiovascular benefits.
10) Pressure reduction
If you have high blood pressure, you can improve the situation with yoga. Two studies in people with hypertension published in the British Medical Journal The Lancet, compared with the action of Shavasana ("corpse pose") with the usual lying on the couch. After 3 months, the results of the studies showed that Savasana reduced systolic blood pressure (maximum level) by 26 points and diastolic blood pressure (minimum pressure) by 15 points. The higher the initial level of pressure, the more it dropped to a normal level.
11) Getting rid of anxiety
Yoga helps lower cortisol levels. Under normal conditions, the adrenal gland produces cortisol in response to an acute crisis, which temporarily stimulates the function of the immune system. But if cortisol levels are still elevated after the crisis has passed, it can harm the immune system. A temporary rise in cortisol helps maintain long-term memory, but chronically high levels can damage memory and lead to permanent brain changes. What's more, excess cortisol has been linked to depression, osteoporosis (it leaches calcium and other minerals from bones and interferes with bone formation), high blood pressure, and insulin resistance. In rats, high levels of cortisol, scientists say, leads to a behavior in which rodents tend to eat more when irritated or stressed. The body receives additional calories that are stored as belly fat, which means that you start to get fat and you are at an increased risk of developing diabetes and heart disease.
12) Happiness and getting rid of depression
Are you upset about something? Sit in the Lotus position. Or better yet, do the Semi-Elevated Pose - standing on one leg, straighten one arm forward, and with the other grab the other leg from behind, making a bend in the back. Although these poses can be quite difficult for beginners, with practice they will help get rid of depression, as well as help to significantly increase serotonin levels, reduce levels of monoamine oxidase (an enzyme that breaks down neurotransmitters) and cortisol. Ph.D Richard Davidson from University of Wisconsin found that the left side of the prefrontal cortex shows activity during meditation, which indicates that a person receives a sufficiently high portion of happiness and his immunity increases. More severe activation of this zone is observed in those who regularly practice yoga and meditation.
13) Dealing with excess weight issues
Move more and eat less - these recommendations are for everyone who wants to lose weight. Yoga classes also give you physical activity, and also contribute to the transition to proper nutrition. Regular yoga classes make you move more, so you burn more calories, and the spiritual and emotional components of your practice will help you make the right food choices and can help solve the problem of excess weight. Yoga also inspires you to eat more mindfully.
14) Reduced blood sugar
Yoga helps to reduce sugar and bad cholesterol levels, increases the level of good cholesterol. In people with diabetes, yoga has been shown to lower blood sugar in several ways: by lowering cortisol and adrenaline levels, helping to reduce weight, and improving insulin sensitivity. By lowering your blood sugar, you can reverse many of the effects of diabetes, including heart attacks, kidney failure, and blindness.
15) Improve memory
An important component of yoga is focusing on the present. Studies have shown that regular yoga practice improves coordination, reaction time, and even IQ scores. People who practice transcendental meditation demonstrate the ability to solve problems and receive and remember information better. Perhaps this is due to the fact that they are less distracted by extraneous thoughts.
16) Calming the nerves
Yoga helps you relax, slow down your breathing, and focus on the present by shifting balance from the sympathetic to the parasympathetic nervous system. The latter helps to calm down, restore strength, it reduces the frequency of breathing and heart rate, lowers blood pressure, increases blood circulation in the digestive and reproductive systems and has a relaxing effect.
17) Improved balance and coordination of movements
Regular yoga practice enhances proprioception- the ability to sense one's posture in space, and also improve balance. People with poor posture and movement problems usually have poor proprioception due to knee problems or back pain. A good balance will not let you fall. For older people, this is especially important, as they get more independence, they can take care of themselves, and they turn to doctors less. For everyone else, postures like Tree Pose help you feel more stable in your legs.
18) Body Control
Some advanced yogis can control their body in unusual ways. Scientists studied yogis who could induce unusual heart rhythms, generate special EEG readings, and, using meditative techniques, raise hand temperature. That is, it demonstrates that with the help of yoga, you can learn to increase blood circulation in the pelvic area if you want to become pregnant, or force yourself to relax if you have insomnia.
19) Relieve Muscle Tension
Have you ever noticed that you can grab a phone in a death grip or make a face while staring at a computer screen? These unconscious habits can lead to chronic tension, muscle fatigue, joint pain, arm, shoulder, neck and face pain, which only exacerbate stress and worsen mood. When you start doing yoga, you begin to feel where tension is being held, perhaps in the tongue, in the eyes, in the muscles of the face or neck. If you tune in correctly, you can eliminate tension. However, for large muscles, it may take years of practice to learn how to relax them.
20) Serenity
Stimulation is sometimes good, but not always for the nervous system. Yoga helps to get rid of the turmoil of modern life. Restorative asanas, yoga nidra (a form of guided relaxation), savasana, pranayama and meditation support pratyahara, the technique of withdrawing the senses from objects, which helps to calm the nervous system. Another benefit of regular yoga practice has been shown in studies to improve sleep. This means that you will be less tired and less stressed.
21) Improving the functioning of the immune system
Asanas and pranayama (a system of breathing exercises) can improve immune system function, although scientists believe meditation is the most beneficial for the immune system. Meditation helps stimulate the immune system when needed, such as raising antibody levels when vaccinated, and also reduces immune system function when needed, such as helping to reduce the effects of inappropriately aggressive system function in autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis and others.
22) Healthy breathing
Yogis try to take fewer breaths, but deeper ones, which helps to calm the nervous system and is more efficient breathing. In 1998 the magazine The Lancet published studies in which people with lung problems due to coronary heart disease learned a yogic technique known as "full breathing". A month later, their average respiratory rate decreased by 13.4 -7.6 breaths per minute. At the same time, their exercise capacity improved significantly, as did their oxygen saturation. What's more, yoga helps improve lung function, including maximizing the amount of air you can inhale and exhaling it efficiently. Yoga encourages breathing through the nose, which helps to purify the air, warms and humidifies it (cold, dry air contributes to asthma attacks in people who are especially sensitive to the disease), delays the entry of dust and pollution into the lungs.
23) Good bowel function
Ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation - all these troubles can worsen. If you experience less stress, you will suffer less. Yoga, like other physical activity, relieves constipation and theoretically reduces the risk of bowel cancer, because it helps food move faster in the intestines. And although there has not yet been scientific evidence, yogis believe that twisting poses will especially help get rid of constipation.
24) Peace of Mind
Yoga helps calm an anxious mind. In other words, it helps to slow down thoughts and rid you of the frustration, regrets, anger, fears and desires that cause stress. Since stress brings a host of health problems, from migraines and insomnia to lupus, multiple sclerosis, high blood pressure, and heart attacks, if you learn to calm your mind, you're more likely to live happily ever after.
25) Signs from Above
Many of us suffer from chronically low self-esteem. If you drown out this problem with drugs, overeating, hard work or debauchery, you will pay for it with your physical and mental health. If you turn to positive self-esteem techniques such as yoga, you will experience first short glimpses and then more serious changes in your sense of self. If you regularly practice yoga for self-examination or self-awareness, and not just for a change after going to the gym, you can find a completely different side of yourself. You will experience feelings of gratitude, compassion and forgiveness, and you will realize that you are part of something Big. Although better health is not the most important goal of spiritual development, it is often a by-product.
26) Pain Relief
Yoga helps relieve your pain. According to several studies, asanas, meditation, or a combination of both, reduce pain in people with arthritis, low back pain, fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other chronic conditions. If you can relieve the pain, your mood will improve, you will be more active and you won't need to take medication.
27) Fire Treatment
Yoga helps you change your life. In fact, this is the greatest power that yoga has. "Tapa" The Sanskrit word for "heat" is fire, the discipline that nourishes yogic practice and upon which regular practice is built. The tapa you develop can intensify throughout life to overcome inertia and get rid of bad habits. Once you start practicing yoga, you will notice that your life changes: you start eating better, exercising more, quitting smoking after several years of unsuccessful attempts.
28) Guru Gifts
Good yoga instructors can provide many health tips. The very best of them don't just teach you how to do different poses correctly. They keep track of what postures you should do, when you need to go further or slow down a bit, help you relax and make your practice most effective for you personally. A respectful relationship with a teacher will help you learn many useful things.
29) Less drugs
If your medicine cabinet looks like a pharmacy kiosk, it might be time for a yoga class. Studies of people with asthma, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, or obsessive compulsive disorder have shown that yoga has been able to help them reduce their medication intake, and for some, it has allowed them to stop taking medication altogether. If we talk about the benefits of taking fewer drugs, then they can count a great many: savings, getting rid of side effects, the risk of dangerous interactions, and so on.
30) Getting rid of anger
Yoga and meditation promote awareness. The more knowledge you have, the easier it will be for you to deal with destructive emotions such as anger. Research suggests that chronic anger and hostility are strongly associated with heart attacks, as are smoking, diabetes, and high cholesterol. Yoga seems to help release anger by increasing feelings of compassion and connectedness, as well as calming the nervous system and mind. It also improves the ability to cope with life's difficulties, to endure bad news, to find the strength to cope with events that unsettle you. You will be able to react quickly in the right situation. There is evidence that yoga speeds up our reactions. In a difficult situation, you can find the right solution and you will suffer less.
31) Good relationship
Love cannot overcome everything, but it can help heal. By cultivating emotional support for friends, family, and community, you help yourself, improve your health, and heal from disease. Regular yoga practice helps develop friendliness, compassion and strong self-control. In addition to its emphasis on not harming others, yoga philosophy also encourages you to tell the truth and take only what you really need. This is what will help you improve relationships with many people.
32) Power of Sounds
The basics of yoga - asanas, pranayama and meditation - help to improve health, but yoga will give you much more. Take, for example, chants - chanting mantras. Mantras promote a longer exhalation, which helps shift the balance to the parasympathetic nervous system. If you chant mantras in a group, they can bring more benefits, you will experience a more powerful physical and emotional experience. Recent Research Swedish Karolinska Institute have shown that buzzing sounds, such as chanting the sound "Om," for example, open up the sinuses and facilitate drainage.
33) Alleviate the suffering of patients with serious illnesses
If you imagine an image during yoga nitra or other practices, you may notice that your body is changing. Several studies have shown that guided imaging can help reduce postoperative pain, relieve frequent headaches, and improve quality of life in people with cancer or AIDS.
34) Cleansing the body
Kriya Cleansing practices are another element of yoga. They include many practices ranging from quick breathing exercises to cleansing internal organs such as the intestines. jala neti– gentle cleansing of the sinuses with saline solution – helps to remove impurities and viruses from the nose, prevents the formation of mucus, helps to clear the sinuses.
35) Benefiting Yourself Through Service to Others
Karma yoga(service to others) is also a constituent philosophy of yoga. Even if you do not seek to serve others, your health will improve if you do so. Researchers from University of Michigan found that older adults who volunteered less than 1 hour a week were three times more likely to be alive after 7 years. Service to others gives meaning to your life and your problems don't seem so bad when you see what others have to deal with.
36) Healing Hope
Most patients who are treated with traditional methods are passive recipients of care. In yoga, what you do for yourself matters. Yoga gives you the tool to change and you can feel better from the start of your practice. You notice that the more you practice, the more benefit you bring to yourself. As a result, you achieve the following: you begin to take care of yourself, you discover that your participation gives you the strength to change, and you also see that these changes give you hope. Hope, in turn, helps heal itself.
37) Everything is connected
When you read about the benefits yoga gives you, you notice a lot of overlap. This is because all these things are closely related to each other. Change your posture and you will change your breathing. Change your breathing and you change your nervous system. This is one of the most important yoga lessons. Everything is interconnected: your pelvis is connected to your talus, you are connected to society, the society around you is connected to the world. These relationships are vital to understanding yoga. This comprehensive system simultaneously uses many mechanisms that complement each other and give many effects.
38) Placebo Power
If you believe that you will get the best, you can get it. Unfortunately, many mainstream scientists believe that if something works because of the placebo effect, it doesn't count. However, many patients, when they really want to be cured, recite mantras at the beginning or end of yoga classes or during meditation practices or just during the day, this speeds up their recovery. Even if it's a placebo effect, how many people think it's bad if the person is really cured?
Yoga has been practiced for over five millennia. Speaking in general, yoga improves not only the physical capabilities of the human body, but also contributes to the spiritual development of a person, his enlightenment. Plunging into meditation, mastering asanas and practicing pranayama, yoga students achieve unity of the soul, mind and body, learn to direct their internal energy exclusively to creation.
So yoga has a beneficial effect on:
- Human health, the state of his physical body;
- inner spiritual world.
Let's look at each and these aspects in more detail.
Vegetarianism as an integral part of yoga practice: what is the benefit?
First of all, we note that it is impossible to simply visit the hall for yoga classes, and then, leaving it to live, without taking into account the basic truths of the ancient teachings. What does it mean? This means that yoga is a philosophy of life, a way of eating and a style of behavior.
If you really decide to change your life and do yoga, pay attention to your diet. Since yoga requires a serious, disciplined attitude, you will need to study the sources and comprehend some of the truths of Yama. The main such truth is ahimsa, i.e. non-violence. So, in order to cleanse your karma and body, you must refuse to eat meat. Meat food can easily be found as a full-fledged replacement among plant products. That is, in order for yoga classes to bring successful results as quickly as possible, it is recommended to switch to vegetarianism.
The benefits of being a vegetarian are:
- Acceleration of metabolic processes of the body;
- Slowing down the aging process of the body;
- Prevention of diabetes;
- Prevention of cardiovascular diseases;
- Oncology prevention.
And most importantly, a person is cleansed of the negative that pollutes his karma.
How useful is yoga? Of course, practice
Everyone knows that the main ways to work on yourself, your body, are mastering and, as well as meditation.
The sages say: "Until the flexibility of the spine disappears, a person is young." And it's completely justified! After all, not a single property of our body, in the sense of physiology, disappears as quickly as flexibility. Regular, correct and conscious performance of asanas can not only maintain the flexibility of your body, but also return it, no matter what age you are.
So our first conclusion: yoga maintains the elasticity of muscles and ligaments, and also provides joint mobility.
Numerous studies in the field of medicine have proven that our immunity directly depends on the state of connective tissues, which include: bones, ligaments, tendons and cartilage. That's second conclusion: asanas and pranayama help to increase the regenerative processes of the body, as well as its immunity.
Thanks to proper and balanced nutrition, excess sugar, salt and cholesterol leave our body. The fatty layer melts before our eyes.
Conclusion three: doing yoga, a person loses his excess weight.
Practicing yoga will help regulate the level of carbon dioxide in the blood, resulting in improved metabolism and changes in the rate of biochemical processes in tissues.
Conclusion four: yoga slows down the aging process of the body and gives you a second youth.
Since the teaching of yoga a priori denies that a person has addictions such as alcoholism, drug addiction and smoking, we will be able to avoid their negative influence.
Beneficial effects of yoga on our spiritual world
Among the many styles of yoga, Hatha yoga is the most popular. "Ha" is "Sun", "Tha" is "Moon". The meaning of the term "hatha yoga" follows by itself - "the merging of two opposites together." The ability to pacify the storm of passions within oneself, which yoga teaches us, helps us eventually come to an understanding with the outside world.
Harmony with others, and most importantly, with ourselves, helps us bring our own life to a new level. Things immediately go uphill, peace and tranquility reign at work and in the family.
It is very important to find a teacher, a wise mentor who will teach you to concentrate and relax. Simultaneous concentration and relaxation of muscles contributes to the production of serotonin - the hormone of joy, which, in turn, can help a person cope with stressful situations.
By learning to deal with your negative emotions, you will gain control over yourself, over your own life. It is no accident that the first two steps of hatha yoga (out of eight) are the comprehension of moral foundations and self-development. Only after mastering these stages, students move on to physical activities.
Yoga as the most important tool for self-education
Yoga teaches us to cultivate in ourselves such important personal qualities as discipline, responsibility, rationality. By accustoming ourselves to regular weekly scheduled classes and daily work on ourselves, we improve ourselves, develop ourselves. Over time, we transfer all these skills from the gym to our lives, our daily duties.
Think about how often you want to lie down or sit in a chair in front of a TV or computer because you are tired and think you have the right to relax? Even worse, if the tool for "relaxation", you choose entertainment activities with alcohol. At such moments, your mind is clouded, you begin to mistakenly believe that this is the rest, which eventually develops into bad habits. The reason for this may be promiscuity, which must be fought, and on the other hand, the reason may be the inability of a person to be firm, because it is always easier to go with the flow. Meanwhile, after such a “rest”, a person needs about another day to recover. Sign up for yoga classes and you will understand that during the sessions you relax, gain strength and energy. You will learn how to save your time, use it rationally. Among other things, with the help of yoga, you will come to the conclusion that you need to value yourself, your time, and not be wasted.
Everyone is used to thinking that yoga is necessarily something connected with physical exercises and the religion of the Indians. In some part, it is. Yoga is a rather broad concept that combines many spiritual and physical practices that strengthen the human body and spirit and help achieve a special elevated state of consciousness. Be that as it may, but today yoga has become very popular among the entire population of the globe.
What do you need for yoga
It doesn't take much to do this. Yoga is a practice in which the most important thing is endurance and the desire for self-improvement.
How to choose the right rug
On a more "earthly" level, yoga mats are a must for class and practice. For beginners in this business, choosing your first rug is not such an easy step. Since this Indian teaching is so widespread, merchants began to profit greatly from it. A quality yoga mat costs around $100 - $150. For starters, you can not fork out for such an amount, but buy a rug of a lower price category.
A mat is an important part for a practice like yoga. Reviews on choosing a mat for beginners say that the most important parameter is its length. It should not be less than 185 centimeters (it is better to take 20 centimeters more than the length of your body). Width is not such an important parameter when choosing a mat for classes. The main thing is that it should not be narrower than the width of the body. The thickness of the mat depends on personal preference and needs. A thicker mat is warmer to practice, but it is difficult to perform exercises that require a state of balance and balance on it.
Yoga - what is it in terms of health
It has recently become popular for large masses of people, and many practitioners already have results. More and more information began to appear on how to treat yoga. Regular exercise restores and strengthens the entire body. This is not only a healing practice: yoga lessons for weight loss are gaining momentum, where they teach to put their body in order. Yoga brings many benefits to the people who practice it.
physical benefit
Many stresses and the diseases that follow them are caused by a malfunction or malfunction of the endocrine system. Yoga (practice) normalizes the activity of all glands of the human body, which helps to improve its physical and mental state.
Yoga asanas are physical exercises. They help a person cope with stress, pain and some diseases. There are many asanas that do not require specific physical fitness. Yoga gymnastics tones all muscles, significantly improves the physical condition of the body, and increases self-confidence. The person must be totally well developed. This is the essence of yoga. By strengthening our body, we build a temple for the mind. Everything in a person should develop harmoniously. The physical benefits of yoga are harmonious development.
Psychic benefit
Harmony and balance are important factors for a normal human life. Thanks to some asanas, you can achieve spiritual balance and temper your mind, make the body completely obey it. These exercises teach you to concentrate your attention (in this case on your body). To endure and overcome pain, both physical and spiritual, is one of the main tasks for a yogi. Feedback from practitioners proves that thanks to asanas, the mind is enlightened, and life begins to play with brighter colors. This is a consequence of the complete relaxation of the body and spirit of a person and getting rid of constant stress. The person becomes more cheerful and energetic.
Yoga has a positive effect on mental health, which makes it simply indispensable in the conditions of modern life.
What yoga gives
During yoga, the human mind must constantly control his body, you need to learn how to breathe correctly. The developed habit of breathing correctly and deeply will give a person new strength and energy. Immediately after the lessons it becomes easier and freer - this is the result of muscle relaxation and oxygenation of the blood. Yoga classes enlighten the mind and free it from anxiety and bad thoughts.
First ups and downs
For beginners in yoga, the first steps and results are very important. First takeoffs are always good. Some people get nervous because they don't get it right. Your failures in yoga should be taken calmly. It teaches that a person should be comprehensively developed. Who said change would be easy? Only by going a long way of overcoming your mistakes and difficulties, you can achieve success in yoga.
Yoga is a unique thing that helps to reunite the spirit and the body and make them one. If discomfort occurs during classes, then in most cases this indicates that a person is making some kind of mistake. Learning to listen to your body, your inner voice is an important step in yoga. If intuition tells you that it is best not to do a headstand, then the person is not mentally ready for this yet. Yoga classes help you learn to listen to your body, which is simply indispensable in everyday life.
Search for like-minded people
It is very important at least at the first stage to find a group of the same interested people who will practice yoga. Joint classes give greater confidence, support from others is felt. There will also be an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others. If it is not possible to study with other people, you can ask one of the family members or your best friend to study.
Morning yoga - success for the whole day
For most people, every morning is a living hell. Sleepy people need to have breakfast, put themselves in order, get ready for work. Since childhood, they said that you need to accustom yourself to do exercises every day. Yoga is something better than exercise, it awakens the whole body and gives energy for the whole day.
Morning yoga should help return the body after sleep to its flexibility and restore blood circulation. Since after sleep the muscles are still "wooden", and the joints do not bend or crackle well, for greater safety, the exercises should be performed slowly and calmly with even breathing. Ten minutes spent in the morning guarantees wakefulness, a couple of asanas will ensure it.
yoga philosophy
The desire for development, learning something new - all this gives yoga. Learning this skill will not be easy, but it is still possible. Thanks to yoga, you can engage in self-development: improve and strengthen your body - a temple for the spirit, cultivate good qualities in yourself and get rid of stress. Asanas help to focus one's attention on a problem, they clear the mind of other thoughts, and this helps to find the right solution.
Yoga in everyday life
Interaction with people is one of the important factors of social life. Yoga strengthens the mind and makes a person balanced.
This helps to establish connections in social life, move to a new level of organization of relationships, find contact with any person and resolve all disputes with a clear mind.
The simplicity of yoga
A huge plus of yoga is its simplicity. To achieve results, you do not need to exhaust your body. Yoga is a dose of relaxation, which is important for the soul and body of a person. The essence of yoga is to simply get away from the surrounding turmoil for a while and see the world around you, feel its harmony.
self-knowledge
Help in finding yourself is one of the main tasks of yoga. Yogi self-knowledge, or svadhyaya, is somewhat similar to self-development, because as we develop, we open up new facets, learn a lot of new things, and look for what was hidden inside.
For a general development and a better understanding of the well-known practice, it is worth reading the Yoga Sutras, the author of which is considered to be Patanjali. This is an old text, a detailed instruction and description of Raja Yoga. "Bhagavad Gita" (translated from Sanskrit means "divine song") - one of the oldest philosophical books in the world. A lot of the most famous writers delved into its text in order to find themselves and answers to many eternal questions in it.
What is hatha yoga and its role in medicine
Hatha yoga is the most popular direction that helps the spirit to dominate the body, to establish a strong bridge between the physical body and the mind.
The right approach to the practice and assimilation of hatha yoga gives a person unprecedented health and the ability to live a very long time. Asanas open a new source of energy, hidden earlier. Gurus claim that the correct technique for performing asanas allows a person to discover supernatural possibilities in himself.
The main goal of hatha yoga is to improve your body, turn it into a worthy temple. Improving your body helps you grow spiritually.
Yogis believe that every person has a kundalini. Through the correct performance of asanas, one can achieve the awakening of the kundalini, the side effect of which is siddhis - those same supernatural abilities.
The word itself consists of two parts - "ha" (which means the sun) and "tha" (moon). Two opposites mean two vital principles - life and death, good and evil. Many people know this opposition under the names "yin" and "yang".
For ordinary people, hatha yoga is important as an effective way to maintain vitality, develop your body, and maintain tone in all muscles. Hatha works wonders and gives a person excellent health and a strong spirit.
Asanas in yoga
Asanas are the main elements in hatha yoga. This type is mainly aimed at the development of the physical body and its reunion with the soul. Physical exercises help to cope with many diseases, improve blood circulation and open internal energy.
Adho Mukha Svanasana
This long asana in Sanskrit means "downward facing dog". This difficult exercise should be mastered by all beginner yogis.
To perform the asana, first you need to lie on your stomach, relax and spread your legs 30 centimeters. Hands should be at chest level with fingers wide apart. The next step, the most difficult one, is to pull the body up so that the back and knees remain straight, and the feet, turned to the side of the head, remain on the ground. The head should also touch the ground. The weight of the body must be evenly transferred to all three reference points.
Regular performance of such an exercise serves as a good prevention against flat feet, discomfort in the back and lower back. It kneads and stretches the whole body, which is a good prevention of joint diseases such as arthritis. Blood rushes to the brain, delivering oxygen to every cell. Stay in the asana should not be more than one minute. During the exercise, a person must control his breathing. At the exit, you need to take a deep breath and lower yourself to the floor. Then you need to give your muscles a rest.
Everything has a downside, and this asana has its contraindications. People with high blood pressure and any diseases of the joints of the wrist are not recommended to perform this exercise. Also, you should not perform Adho Mukha Svanasana for headaches, stomach and intestinal disorders, as well as during pregnancy.
Ardha Navasana
It is also not an easy asana, requiring great concentration. Translated from Sanskrit, it means "half of the pose of the boat." Indeed, this pose resembles a boat.
To perform the asana, you need to sit on a hard surface and stretch your legs forward so that they are raised off the ground. The legs must be straight and not bent at the knees. Hands are best intertwined and put on the back of the head. Elbows should be placed to the side. Proper execution of the exercise requires that the fingertips and the top of the head remain in one line. You need to breathe evenly and calmly during execution. Duration for beginners - no more than 20-30 seconds, for more experienced - about one minute.
Ardha Navasana will help restore the activity of the abdominal organs, and it also has a beneficial effect on the spine and muscles of the press and back. Stimulates the proper functioning of the liver and spleen.
It is contraindicated for pregnant women, as well as for those who have pain in the lower back or back. Not recommended for people with high blood pressure and heart disease.
Bakasana
This asana requires a certain amount of concentration. Since this exercise requires balance, perform it on a firm and level surface. In Sanskrit, bakasana means "crane posture". It is necessary to perform it for the treatment of various gynecological diseases and problems with the urinary system.
The execution technique requires certain skills. From the very beginning, you need to squat down, bend over and spread your arms shoulder-width apart. Fingers are spaced for greater stability. The next step is to shift your weight onto your hands and try to get off the ground. Proper asana technique requires maximum compactness of the legs. The lower limbs should be raised as high as possible to the body. The feet should be in contact with each other. The body should be parallel to the floor.
You need to stay in the asana for about 30 seconds, but more is possible. It is contraindicated only for those who have problems with the joints, and pregnant women. This exercise strengthens the entire belt of the upper limbs, helps to quickly find balance and bring oneself into balance. Due to the exercise, blood circulation in the genital area improves, which has a beneficial effect on the system of the genital and urinary organs.
An increasing number of people are beginning to lead a healthy lifestyle, which includes proper nutrition, rational organization of work and rest, and physical activity. When looking for the best option for the latter, many stop at yoga. This choice is not accidental: it not only helps to keep fit, but also good for health, including psychological. You will learn about what yoga is and how to use it for good, and not for harm, in this article.
Why you should start doing yoga
Initially, yoga arose as a teaching, its goal was relaxation and the achievement of inner harmony. People who practice regularly are willing to explain the benefits of yoga for the body. First of all, it ensures the proper functioning of the spine, a lot of exercises - asanas, are aimed at strengthening it and the muscles of the back. Yoga improves the functioning of almost all body systems, thanks to the massage of internal organs that occurs when performing asanas.
Those who practice yoga have forgotten what sleep problems are, they fall asleep easily and soundly after training.
For those who think about old age, a strong argument is the benefits of yoga, which is to improve memory and maintain concentration, as well as to prevent the terrible Alzheimer's disease.
Yoga helps in the fight against bad habits, the rejection of them happens by itself without any extra effort.
Women appreciate the benefits of yoga for the figure. Of course, it does not give such quick results as fitness, but it does not harm the body by excessive overwork, but, on the contrary, energizes and increases endurance. Excess weight goes away gradually, but almost irrevocably, and instead of it, flexibility and grace appear, mood improves and stress resistance increases.
Who practices yoga and how
Yoga can be practiced by anyone, regardless of age and physical fitness. From the many exercises it is easy to create an individual program that is right for you.
Even children, pregnant and lactating women can practice yoga, while many other disciplines are contraindicated for them.
For training, you do not need special complex equipment, just the desire to exercise and comfortable clothing, and in the warm season, exercises can be performed outdoors.
You can do it daily, then twenty minutes is enough, or every other day, devoting about an hour to exercises. It is best to choose morning time for training, after waking up, but the option of evening classes for relaxation and rest at the end of the day is also possible.
How yoga improves health
Yoga is included in many wellness programs for different target groups. For example, it helps pregnant women prepare for childbirth and quickly restore their figure after them, and working people relax and avoid work overload. Such a seemingly simple effect, like a feeling of lightness, allows you to get yoga. The health benefits are that it does this by removing lactic acid and improving the functioning of ligaments, tendons, and muscles.
One of the acute problems of modern man is the constant exposure to stress. Thanks to yoga, the level of cortisol in the body is significantly reduced, and along with it, nervous tension disappears, its negative consequences are minimized, and the energy of the body is preserved.
One of the important components of yoga is breathing exercises, which allows you to increase the amount of oxygen in the lungs, which helps to improve the functioning of all organs.
The benefits of yoga in normalizing blood pressure are invaluable: it allows you to increase the elasticity of the walls of blood vessels, strengthen the heart, and help a person become more resilient.
One of the main benefits of yoga is the strengthening of almost all muscles, even the deepest ones, by combining bodily relaxation with muscle tension.
How Yoga Improves the Mind
In the East, it is believed that the physical state of the body depends on the state of the soul. Yoga helps fight the cause of premature aging - stress and anxiety. After daily practice, everyday problems no longer seem so complicated and unsolvable, during meditation you can find answers to many tormenting questions.
An important benefit of yoga is that it teaches you to control your body and control emotions, and allows you to return such qualities necessary in modern life as calmness, balance and self-confidence.
Why is there a debate about the benefits of yoga?
The benefits of yoga for the body include getting rid of ailments and improving the functioning of all systems and organs, but, like any medicine taken incorrectly, it can be harmful. Those who are going to start doing yoga, first of all, you need to consider the following:
Improper exercise can lead to injuries and sprains; you need to start with the simplest, and better under the guidance of an experienced instructor;
Yoga classes do not tolerate haste or sudden movements and require regularity;
Although yoga helps fight many diseases, it is only an effective addition to treatment, and not a replacement for it;
If you have serious illnesses, you should obtain permission from your doctor before starting classes, since in some cases yoga is contraindicated.
What is the effect of yoga? Benefit or harm depends mainly on your approach to classes. Naturally, if you immediately start with complex exercises without preparation, you can get serious injuries, but if you practice calmly and listen to the state of your body, then the positive effect of the exercises will appear quickly enough.
Beginning Yoga
In a broad sense, yoga is understood as any activity that leads to physical and psychological harmony, it has many varieties and teachings. The practice of hatha yoga is considered the initial stage. Literally, the syllables "ha - tha" are translated as "inhale-exhale" and mean achieving a balance between active and passive energies, between work and rest. Hatha yoga teaches activity without tension and relaxation without apathy. The benefits of classes are noticeable almost immediately and are achieved due to the development of the energy structures of the body when performing asanas - certain static body postures.
Hatha yoga is a relaxation of the body and soul, in addition to exercises, it includes meditation, spiritual cleansing and proper nutrition. But this is just the initial stage, which you should not stop at, and after mastering it, it is better to move on to more complex practices.
Why more and more women are replacing fitness with yoga
It is difficult to find a woman who does not worry about her external attractiveness and does not want her body to be slim and fit for as long as possible. Fitness workouts are good, but they wear out the body a lot, especially if the goal is to lose weight quickly. Yoga, on the contrary, adds strength and energy, helps to get rid of not only extra pounds, but also psychological rubbish, and with them diseases.
Women are by nature more flexible and enduring than men, so they are given classes without much effort, and a positive result comes very quickly: grace improves, immunity increases, the mood becomes beautiful, and the look is rejuvenated.
Doing yoga is easy, and unlike fitness, the next day there are no problems with aching muscles, on the contrary, ease of movement appears.
The benefits of yoga for women in the fight against common diseases that torment them, such as varicose veins, problems with menstruation, menopausal disorders, are invaluable - fitness is powerless in these cases.
You can argue endlessly about the benefits and dangers of yoga, but if there are no serious contraindications for health reasons, then it is better to try and see for yourself how it positively affects the body and psychological state.
