How To Use Yoga To Boost Your Health
If you are also getting inspired by yoga trends and want to incorporate yoga into your life, here is a blog that will make you understand what yoga is and how to do it.
Whether you are new to yoga or want to know how it will benefit you, the blog will take you to the heart of yoga’s philosophy and demonstrate its various benefits.
Yoga delivers benefits that go beyond the mat.
Once you understand how yoga benefits you, you will feel even more motivated to step onto your mat, and you probably won’t feel so numb the next time someone asks you why you spend time on your mat. This is the power of yoga.
Understanding Yoga
Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word YUJ, which means to bind. When understanding yoga in terms of binding, yoga is a connection that helps in the union of mind and body. It is an organic technique that helps keep the mind and body simultaneously in the same place.
While performing yoga, you are not just training your muscles to handle life’s challenges by doing asana and poses but also using your power of breath to keep you grounded.
Studies say that while performing yoga, we become sensitized to feelings that arise during yoga–emotionally or physically. Yoga helps to create an awareness of our thoughts in our minds. Thus, performing yoga helps to calm our minds and relax our bodies.
Here is a 10-minute read to explore yoga for boosting immunity and strengthening yourself from within.
The physical benefits of yoga
Enhances Body Awareness
Yoga involves poses that help you understand how your muscles, joints, and tissues work together. Yoga is an alignment-based practice that allows you to stack and align joints to use the muscles most effectively.
Try a tree pose, which involves balancing on one leg. You will feel the burn in your inner thighs, quads, and core to help you stand upright and avoid falling over. The pose will also make you more aware of the placement of your ankle, hip, and shoulder joints and how tendons and tissues support them to help you maintain alignment and balance.
Pain Relief from Chronic Back Pain
Yoga involves postures and poses. According to research studies, people suffering from chronic back pain must practice yoga. Thus, practicing yoga will improve your posture, preventing your back from pain.
There are poses in yoga that help physical practice build core strength and stability. It also involves some vital posture that helps in the treatment of addressing low-back pain. Some of the best yoga poses for lower back pain include Child’s Pose, Cat/Cow, Downward Facing Dog, and Standing Forward Bend.
Bring about Balance
You tend to lose mobility when you get older due to inactivity, arthritis, and other age-related issues. So it is always essential to bring balance and mobility to people over 60. A better balance means less risk of injuries.
Yoga also helps bring mental balance to life. When you are confused and looking for solace, yoga provides calmness. Focusing on breathing enables you to be present and relax your mind. Thus, yoga improves your decision-making power and brings balance physically and mentally.
Fighting From Fatigue
Even after a good sleep, do you feel exhausted and lazy? Try yoga. It’s my personal experience. Once you jump into the ocean of yoga, you won’t come back. Your mind and body will get used to practicing and crave it.
Start practicing yoga twice a week, and you will notice a change in energy levels. You will remain charged and excited for the whole day and look forward to a yoga class.
Easy Workout Routine
If you are new to exercise or are easing back into the workout routine after a long break, rigorous workouts won’t work for you. You may make your body sore, leading to no exercise for a few more days.
So, it is always better to start with light yoga. Start with yoga warm-ups and end with stretching, followed by dead-pose for five minutes.
Yoga will make you feel better and help you prepare for a workout tomorrow. Start practicing yoga thrice a week; eventually, your body will get a grip and you will enjoy yoga.
Heart Rejuvenation
Various studies on yoga show the benefit of improving heart health. Yoga reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, lowers blood pressure, and lowers cholesterol levels. Yoga involves physical aspects and focusing on breath equally, helping our hearts pump effectively.
A study shows that yoga trains the vagus nerve, the main nerve that directs the parasympathetic nervous system—the part of the nervous system responsible for lowering heart rate and promoting relaxation that is more responsive to your breath. Thus, yoga rejuvenates your heart.
Better Breathing
There is a breathing technique in yoga known as diaphragmatic breathing. It is a technique that focuses on expanding the diaphragm when breathing. By practising the method, the diaphragm gets stronger and the lungs are able to take in more oxygen.
You can apply breathing techniques when you are in a stressful situation or performing any form of intensive workout. Do try and experience it yourself. You will be shocked to feel that a five-minute breathing exercise will calm and relax your mind.
Increases adaptability
Yoga involves flexibility training that enables you to access your joints in full motion. When you do not work out regularly, your body’s movements get limited. Thus, your body aches when you move a little bit. Yoga will improve your flexibility by helping your muscles relax through gentle stretching.
Your body will be prone to minor injuries when you provide it with better flexibility. Performing yoga regularly will make your muscles lengthen or contract.
Encourages Happiness
Yoga is a workout that brings you well-being. You need yoga whether you are physically, emotionally, or mentally tired. Performing correct yoga with proper postures and breathing techniques will help you get holistically better.
Yoga has the power to energise you from within. It is like fuel to the soul and a break from all the happenings in your life. Yoga relaxes your mind and body by connecting them with the present. You will feel light and charged after a few minutes of yoga practice.
Enhances Sleep
Various research studies show that people who practice yoga can sleep better. If you feel like practicing yoga before bedtime, you do not need to go for rigorous yoga; you can always practice bedtime stretches that will prepare your body for sleep and aid you in sound sleep.
So, try bedtime yoga stretches if you are also dealing with sleeping disorders or are not facing disturbed sleep. You will feel the difference.
Mental Benefits
Mood Improvement
Research shows that combining yoga poses and breathing techniques stimulate the vagus nerve, triggering the parasympathetic nervous system and tamping down anxiety.
It also says that no such exercise can cure mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. But focused breathing and gentle exercises will benefit your mental health and make your experience of dealing with them good.
Practicing yoga regularly will make you feel less anxious, depressed, tired, and confused.
It relaxes your mind.
Performing the Cat-Cow pose or lying down in Savasana makes you feel relaxed and contented. Focusing on your breathing will help to release tension in your joints and muscles.
Yoga poses like Easy Pose, Neck Roll, Shoulder Roll, Mountain Pose, Cat Pose, Child Pose, and Downward Facing Dog can help you relax. When your body focuses on breathing and postures, engaging your mind eventually helps your brain to distract and focus on the present. You are making your mind relax and your body calm.
Cooling Down
After a rigorous workout, you need to cool down your body. You can do this by performing yoga postures.
You need to inhale in for a count of four, hold for a count of four, exhale for a count of four, and then hold again for a count of four. Repeat this technique for three to four rounds while on a stretch.
You will notice you are balancing your energy and possibly releasing some anxiety simply by tuning into your breath.
Improving Focus
Yoga involves certain yoga poses that need your concentration to maintain your posture. For example, during a tree pose, you need to stick your eyes on a particular object to remain in the position of the tree pose. If you get distracted, you may fall.
So when you do these yoga poses regularly, your concentration power will improve. Yoga has Ayurvedic powers; thus, it promotes glowing skin, better body shape, a relaxed soul, and a focused mind.
Cultivates Resilience
Learning and practicing yoga poses helps us to understand the situations in our lives. The same happens with yoga poses as if life is full of good and evil. You may love to do some poses, and some poses you may hate.
But the thing is, every pose will pass. The same is true in life; we encounter both good and bad situations, and we must remember that nothing lasts forever.
Thus, soon, by practising yoga, we began cultivating resilience and learning to deal with our life situations. Yoga helps us understand the essence of life: nothing lasts forever; everything will pass, whether good or bad. So learn to create a balance of emotions.
Poses to Boost Your Health – Yoga For Health And Fitness
Here is a list of great asanas that will increase your immunity and strengthen your respiratory system. Learn how to do these poses effectively and regain your lost strength with me.
Let’s get started
Child Pose (Balasana)
How to do Child Pose?
Step 1 Kneel on the ground with your toes and knees slightly apart. Place both your hands on your thighs.
Step 2 Exhale and lower your torso forward. Your belly should rest on your thighs, and your head should touch the mat between your knees.
Step 3 Stretch your hands in front of you to touch the mat.
Step 4 Pause, inhale, and then return to the starting position.
Bow Pose ( Dhanurasana)
How to do it?
Step 1 Lie down on your stomach with your feet hip-width apart and arms by your side.
Step 2 Now bend your knees upwards and take your heel towards your butt. Hold the ankles of both legs with your hands.
Step 3 Inhale and lift your chest and legs off the ground. Keep your face straight; pull your legs as much as you can. Your body should be tight like a bow.
Step 4 Pause for 4-5 breaths and then come to the starting position.
Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)
How to do it?
Step 1 Lie on your stomach with your feet close to each other and your hands stretched.
Step 2 Join the legs and rest your forehead on the ground
Step 3 Bring your hands underneath your shoulders, keeping your elbows close to the body.
Step 4 Inhale and gently lift the upper half of your body.
Step 5 Exhale and hold the pose for 4-5 seconds before returning to the usual posture.
Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana)
How to do it?
Step 1 Sit down on the ground with your legs stretched and your hands resting by your side.
Step 2 Take a deep breath and draw your spine up long. Stretch your hands towards the ceiling.
Step 3 Exhale, bend forward to touch your toes with your hands.
Step 4 Your belly should be resting on your thighs, and your nose should touch your knees.
Step 5 Stay in this position for 4-5 seconds, and then return to where you started.
Corpse Pose (Savasana)
How to do it?
Step 1 Lie down on your back with legs and hands stretched
Step 2 palms should face upwards.
Step 3 Close your eyes and inhale
Step 4 Exhale and think your body is relaxed
Step 5 Stay in the pose for at least 5-10mintues.
Warrior (Virabhadrasana)
How to do it?
Step 1 Stand on the ground with your feet wide apart and your arms by your sides.
Step 2 Exhale and take a giant step to your left.
Step 3 Turn your left toes outwards and bend your knees at a 90-degree angle.
Step 4 Turn your right foot inwards by about 15 degrees. The heel of your right foot should be aligned with the centre of your left foot.
Lift both your arms sideways. Bring it to the level of your shoulders. Your palms should face upwards. Take a few deep breaths in this position.
Step 5: Turn your head to the left and gently lower your pelvis. Repeat the same for the other leg.
The Bottom Line
If you are new to yoga and want to learn about it, start by joining a yoga class near you. Do not focus on how good you are or how well you can perform the postures. The important thing is to turn up.
Learn and practise yoga to get the full benefits of yoga. Be consistent with your practice. If you have any medical conditions, consult your doctor before joining a yoga class.
Remember, yoga is not just about physical beings but also spiritual beings. A consistent and determined yoga practise will help you reap all the benefits of yoga.
Have a happy yoga practise, folks!