International Yoga Day: Discovering Wellness through Yoga's Transformative Benefits

Yoga is a traditional, physical and mental exercise that can increase flexibility and strength. It might also aid in stress relief and pain management. Different forms of yoga use meditation, breathing exercises, and physical postures.

Yoga is a conventional Indian physical, mental, and spiritual practice. The Sanskrit word "yoga" means "to join" or "to unite," signifying the mind and body coming together. Even though yoga was practiced before the Vedic period, the great Sage Maharshi Patanjali organized and codified the forms, meanings, and related knowledge of yoga during the time it was practiced through his Yoga Sutras.

It is being performed in many different ways all over the world and is becoming more and more popular. The United Nations established June 21 as the International Day of Yoga on December 11, 2014, after realizing the practice's widespread appeal.

This year marks the 10th International Day of Yoga with the theme “Yoga for Self and Society.” A transforming practice, yoga stands for the oneness of restraint and fulfillment, the harmony of mind and body, and the balance between thought and action. This method of health and well-being offers a holistic approach that delivers tranquility to our busy lives by integrating the body, mind, spirit, and soul. On this unique day, we recognise its transformational potential.

Yoga has numerous health benefits, including lowering stress, anxiety, and depression; promoting relaxation; improving sleep quality; improving body coordination; improving focus; helping in improved digestion; and boosting self-esteem. 

The following article helps you to understand in-depth about Yoga and the benefits of practicing Yoga. 

What Is Yoga?

Yoga is a traditional practice that involves physical postures, focus, and deep breathing. Regular yoga practice can enhance your strength, flexibility, tranquility, endurance, and overall well-being.

What Are The Health Benefits Of Practicing Yoga?

Practicing yoga has so many benefits including physical health benefits, mental and emotional health benefits.

Physical benefits of yoga:

The physical benefits of practicing yoga include:

• Yoga helps to improve body strength, balance, and flexibility
• Yoga helps to reduce the discomfort associated with back pain
• Yoga helps to improve sleep quality by relaxing your body and mind
• Yoga helps to manage anxiety and stress thus it helps to improve cardiac health
• Yoga helps to alleviate the symptoms of arthritis 
• Yoga helps to relieve pain and discomfort in individuals suffering from chronic medical conditions
• Yoga helps to boost energy levels and enhance your mood
• Yoga helps to manage headaches including migraines and tension headaches
• Yoga helps to relieve neck and shoulder pain
• Yoga helps to overcome the discomforts associated with menopause
• Yoga helps to increase immunity power
• Yoga helps to control overweight and obesity by maintaining a healthy body weight
• Yoga can offer better body posture and body awareness
• Yoga helps to improve the overall health of the nervous system, and musculoskeletal system

Mental and emotional benefits of yoga:

The mental health benefits of practicing yoga include:

• Yoga enhances your mood by releasing helpful chemicals in the brain
• Yoga helps to overcome depression
• Yoga helps to reduce anxiety and to manage stress
• Yoga helps to provide a sound sleep
• Yoga helps to build up good habits
• Yoga helps to improve the overall quality of life 

What Are The Different Types Of Yoga?

There are many different types or styles of yoga that vary from mild to intense activities. The most popular types of yoga include the following:

• Ashtanga or power yoga: This type of yoga offers a more strenuous activity. In between the workouts, you switch from one position to another.
• Sivananda: Sivananda practitioners perform 12 basic asanas, starting with Sun Salutations and ending with Savasana.
• Viniyoga: Viniyoga emphasizes the art and science of sequencing, form over function, breath and adaptation, repetition and holding.
• Bikram or hot yoga: In a room that is heated to a temperature of 95°F to 100°F (35°C to 37.8°C), you perform a series of 26 positions. Stretching and warming the tendons, ligaments, and muscles while encouraging sweating is the goal of this style of yoga.
• Hatha yoga: It typically involves breathing exercises and postures and is the most common type of yoga.
• Kundalini: This type of yoga emphasizes how breathing affects posture. The idea is to release energy in the lower body to facilitate its upward movement.
• Viniyoga: This kind of yoga connects breath with poses, customizing poses to fit the individual requirements and capabilities of each practitioner.
• Integral: This type of yoga is the gentle type of yoga and it includes breathing exercises, meditation, and chanting.
• Kripalu yoga: Practitioners of Kripalu yoga learn to understand, accept, and draw lessons from their bodies. Classes often start with breathing techniques and mild stretches, then move into a sequence of standing poses before ending with a final relaxation.
• Iyengar: A style that prioritizes the body's perfect alignment. It's also possible to hold positions for a long time.
• Restorative yoga: This is a calming yoga technique. During a restorative yoga class, an individual does four or five basic poses, utilizing props like blankets and bolsters to help them fall into deep relaxation without having to work to hold the position.
• Prenatal yoga: This type of yoga incorporates poses that have been specifically designed with expectant mothers in mind. This type of yoga may encourage health throughout pregnancy and assist individuals in getting back into shape after giving birth.

Discovering The Major Principles Of  Yoga

The five major principles of yoga include:

• Proper exercise (Asanas)
• Proper breathing (Pranayama)
• Proper relaxation (Savasana)
• Proper diet and nutrition
• Positive thinking and meditation

Conclusion

People of all ages benefit from yoga's positive effects on both mental and physical health. If you are unwell, recuperating from surgery, or have a chronic illness, yoga can also be a crucial component of your treatment plan and perhaps expedite your recovery process. 

Although there may be options for beginning, intermediate, and advanced students, yoga is often taught in classes. It's not a competition, therefore anyone can execute it, regardless of size, age, or fitness level. If necessary, the instructor should point out any incorrect posture in you and make the appropriate corrections.

Before practicing yoga, let your trainer know if you have any physical injuries so that they can determine your physical boundaries and help you to provide a customized yoga plan that speeds up your healing journey.

FAQs

Q: Does yoga help to improve well-being?

A: Yoga is a traditional form of exercise that combines meditation, breath control, and light activity. Regular yoga practice can help lower blood pressure, improve circulation and posture, and boost overall well-being.

Q: Why is yoga beneficial for children?

A: Children who perform yoga can lessen their risk of injury by strengthening their developing bodies and increasing their flexibility. Yoga decreases impulsivity and instills discipline. By giving kids a physical platform for self-expression, yoga helps lessen problematic behaviors in the classroom.

Q: Is practicing yoga safe during pregnancy?

A: Remain cool and steer clear of hot yoga methods like Bikram. Take care not to exert too much pressure or overstretch yourself. Pregnancy increases your risk of injury because relaxin, a hormone produced by your body, softens the tissue between your joints.

Q: Is it possible for yoga to lower cholesterol?

A: Those who took oral hypoglycemic medications and practiced yoga for three months had lower levels of LDL (low-density lipoproteins), triglycerides, and total cholesterol. Additionally, there was an improvement in HDL (high-density lipoproteins).