Health Benefits of Yoga
1. Help in burning calories:
The Practice of Yoga requires immense physical exertion, which helps people who are obese to lose weight. Take the case of Bikram Choudhury, founder of Bikram Yoga (a style that focuses on performing 26 postures in a heated room). Choudhury weighed around 150 kilograms before finding Yoga, but he now weighs about 80 kilograms. This is because Yoga not only helps people to lose weight, they also gain body flexibility and toning of the muscles.
2. Prevent cancer:
Yoga can prevent cancer by removing toxins from the body. During Yoga, breathing techniques open up the pathways for oxygen to flow smoothly, essential to keep cells healthy. Several Yoga poses help massage the internal organs, providing them with fresh blood and lymph fluid. The acupressure of Yoga can stimulate immunity in the body, thus protecting you from cancer-causing agents.
3. Prevent diabetes :
When you do Yoga, your stomach muscles and digestive organs get toned. This helps in maintaining blood sugar levels and prevents insulin resistance that causes diabetes. According to Dr. Raghuram TC, professor in the diabetology department at Moolchand Medcity in New Delhi: “The simple breathing techniques and exercises help keep insulin resistance under control.”
4. Relives arthritis:
Yoga relieves arthritis by strengthening and loosening the joints and muscles and taking care of nerve issues like neuropathy. According to a 2014 study published in the Journal Of Bodywork & Movement Therapies, Yoga can reduce pain and improve the quality of life in people with arthritis.
5. Help in preventing Migraines:
Yoga can help prevent migraines by releasing endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers; it relaxes muscles and boosts blood flow to relieve tension headaches. According to a study published in the Journal Of Headache And Pain, Yoga works better than drugs in preventing migraines.
6. Boosts brainpower:
Yoga is not just great for toning your body; it can also make you smarter by exercising the brain and muscles. According to a study by neuropsychologist Megan O’Bryan of Colorado Center For Biofeedback and colleagues, Yoga can improve attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms.
7. Reduce stress:
Yoga not only enhances your flexibility and tones up muscles; it also helps you reduce stress levels by calming the mind and soothing the senses. Yoga is invaluable for relieving stress and anxiety as it enables you to break free from physical, chemical, and emotional forms of tension.
8. Increase self-awareness:
Yoga helps people understand their body better as they learn about its response to different poses. In addition, Yoga promotes mindfulness through breathing exercises that bring your attention to the present moment. This awareness helps you to manage stress, depression, and anxiety better.
9. Help fight depression:
Yoga can help fight depression by inducing a calm mind that restores the body’s hormonal balance. It also allows people to become more aware of their bodies; this creates less room for obsessive thoughts about past regrets. Yoga helps people relax and concentrate better, which is why it’s often recommended as part of the treatment for clinical depression.
10. Relives back pain:
According to Dr. Meenakshi Bharat, director of orthopedics at Amrita Institute Of Medical Sciences And Research Centre in Kochi, Yoga has the following beneficial effects: “Strengthens back muscles that support and protect the spine, reverses bad posture habits that lead to pain in the lower back by straightening the spine, improves flexibility of muscles around joints and strengthens joints.”
Improves sexual performance:
There’s a reason why people tie up their partners in sexy, intricate yoga poses; besides increasing flexibility, Yoga can enhance sexual performance because it increases blood flow to the genital area. “If the groin muscles are strong and flexible, they will be able to hold the ‘boat’ position for longer periods without much discomfort or fatigue,” Dr. Bharat adds.
Help prevent headaches:
Did you know that Yoga can help prevent headaches? According to Dr. Bharat, Yoga helps relax the head and neck muscles which often experience pain when contracted due to stress or poor sleeping habits. Yoga also reduces stress by calming the mind and senses with its breathing techniques. As a result, Yoga is one of the best ways to beat tension headaches and migraines.
Help prevent recurring joint injuries:
Yoga improves coordination and balance while boosting muscle strength and endurance; it can help prevent injuries in athletes who play high-impact sports like a football by strengthening the muscles around the joints to absorb shocks and sudden movements.
Reduce back pain:
Back pain is one of the biggest reasons behind missed workdays, and Yoga is a great way to prevent and treat back pain by stretching and strengthening muscles in the lower back. According to psychiatrist Dr. Nilesh Shah, “Yoga enables relaxation which is crucial for success in all spheres of life. Moreover, it is a more holistic approach to health and wellness.”
It feels like a full-body massage:
When done with the proper breathing techniques, Yoga can feel like a full-body massage that relieves pain from stiff muscles and joints while improving flexibility, posture, and blood circulation. Yoga postures focus on opening up the chest and hips, which release tension near the spine to give you a relaxed feeling.
Benefits of Yoga for men: 10 reasons why it’s suitable for men
Benefits of Yoga for Men:
Fitness is not an easy task. It gets more difficult if you work in an office full time and squeeze time to do a workout or Yoga. In addition, most guys lack motivation during their activities because they don’t get any inspiration from others around them.
People mostly prefer to do Yoga as a workout because it is gentle on the body and gives great benefits. Men and women can do Yoga, but some specific yoga poses may not be suitable for male practitioners. This article will discuss those poses that are beneficial for male fitness or even good at making them ripped like a bodybuilding champion.
If you are new to Yoga, try these poses initially and slowly; you can try other advanced poses when your body is ready.
Let’s check out 10 Yoga Poses that are beneficial for men:
1. Downward Dog or Adho Mukha Svanasana
Benefits: This pose is good for increasing the blood flow in the head and shoulders. It also provides relief from fatigue and stress.
2. Bow Pose or Dhanurasana Benefits: It tones up the abdomen muscles and gives your spine and shoulder joints flexibility.
3. Shoulder Stand or Sarvangasana Benefits: This pose is beneficial for increasing blood circulation in the brain and making your shoulder strong.
4. Triangle Pose or Trikonasana Benefits: It makes your arms, spine, and legs stronger. In addition to that, it also increases the flexibility of your abdomen and legs.
5. Tree Pose or Vrikshasana Benefits: It helps in calming down your nerves and improving concentration. The flow of the blood is increased to the lower body parts due to this yoga pose. Also, it increases the balance in the body by strengthening the leg muscles.
6. Warrior Pose I or Virabhadrasana I Benefits: It tones the muscles of your chest, arms, and legs. At the same time, it improves strength and concentration.
7. Warrior Pose II or Virabhadrasana II Benefits: The Warrior 2 Pose is also beneficial for making a solid upper body. It also increases the blood flow to the pelvic region, which is essential for male fitness.
8. Tree Pose or Vrikshasana Benefits: This pose makes your body light and agile. It strengthens your muscles of arms, legs, ankles, and wrists.
9. Cobra Pose or Bhujangasana Benefits: It provides flexibility to your spine and hips. Also, it reduces stress from the back and neck.
10. Child Pose or Balasana Benefits: In this pose, you will feel a lot of relief from any body pain. It is suitable for relaxing the abdomen muscles after a workout session.
Spiritual Benefits of Yoga: 5 Reasons Why Yoga Can Heal Your Soul and Spirit
1. The word “yoga” comes from the Sanskrit root “yuj,” which means to join, and that’s precisely what you do in Yoga — join your body and mind together as one. In fact, the word “namaste” (which roughly translates to “I honor that place in you where the entire universe resides, and I honor that place in me which is exactly like yours”) actually means to join your hands together as if praying (and then bow) during Yoga. The spiritual benefits of Yoga are countless.
2. Yoga can help you learn to control your thoughts, which means that it can help you avoid negative thinking. If you’re one of those people who tend to say things like “I’m so depressed,” or “I’m so anxious” — Yoga may be able to teach you how to stop the negative self-talk and breathe more positive energy into your mind and body.
3. Yoga can help you get in touch with your deepest emotions instead of allowing them to control you. This is why some people who do yoga report feeling more focused, less stressed out, and even happier after an hour of doing yoga postures (or at least better equipped to cope with life’s stressors).
4. If you’re a man who’s been dealing with depression, Yoga may be able to help you alter the chemical makeup of your brain. In other words, it can boost your serotonin levels by regulating the parts of your brain that control mood and emotions.
5. Yoga may even reduce pain throughout your entire body — not just in the areas where you do Yoga. In fact, a study published in the Journal of Operational Psychiatry reported that practicing Yoga reduced pain for 90 percent of people who suffer from chronic pain by an average of 72 percent!
How to Do Yoga For Beginners:
1. Achieve a Relaxed and Peaceful Mind
2. Maintain a Healthy Body Posture
3. Always Keep your Spine Straight and Head Aligned with the Spine
4. Look Straight Ahead, keeping your Eyes Closed, or you can also look at one Point or Object
5. Breathe Normally and do not hold the Breath as it results in shortness of Breath
6. Engage Your Body and Soul During Yoga Poses
7. Do not try to Achieve the Posture quickly. It takes time, so be patient and Dedicated
8. Don’t Forget to Have a Clear Intention of doing Yoga for Blissful Benefits!
9. Yoga is All About Mind Control, so If you are Focused in your Practice it will Align your Body, Mind, and Soul
10. Move from the Lower Body First and move up towards your Chest as it is difficult to Maintain a Pose if you started from the Upper Region of Your Body