Yoga is the art of exercising the body, mind, and soul. It implies the connection of ‘atma’ with ‘paramatma,’ which means the joining of Man (an individual’s consciousness) and Nature (Universal consciousness) to prove the attested meaning of Yoga deriving from ‘yuj’ that instills ‘to unite.’
Yoga traces its origin back to northern India during Indus Valley Civilization crudely said to be around 5000 years ago in 3000 BCE but has often been connected to its mention in the ancient texts, Rig Veda and Upanishads. During the Pre-Vedic era, Yoga had been practiced by sages or brahmin ‘rishis.’
Yoga has spread its roots from India to various parts of the world now. There are even top 5 yoga Melbourne studios that rank in the world list. Presently, there are around 300 million practitioners of Yoga worldwide.
The Yoga that made India undeniably the ‘Vishwa Guru,’ here is a list of all the surprising benefits that indeed are acknowledged across the world:-
Stress and Anxiety Combatant
In experiments conducted, it was witnessed that those who regularly included Yoga in their routine had a healthier stress meter than those who did not. Amongst the yoga practitioners, around 52% of people have observed decreased levels of PTSD symptoms.
Yoga lies in the meaning of attaining inner peace and strength. This is what frees the mind and body from its clutches of stress, anxiety, and depression. Laughter Yoga, where participants unravel a state of peace and relaxed mind via laughing gradually, has been regarded as an effective method of ebbing depression in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
Cardiovascular Disease Resistant
In a 2014 study by Harvard, it was revealed that comparing those who exercised Yoga and those who did not, a difference in health data was significantly noted. The ones who did practice showed low BMI, regular heart rate, and low cholesterol levels compared to those who did not.
Asanas like Trikonasana, Paschimottanasana, Ardha matsyendrasana and Gomukhasana help reduce the risk of heart diseases because these asanas facilitate controlling blood pressure levels, therefore saving the peril of hypertension.
Medical experts have recommended exercising Yoga daily for those with cardiovascular diseases.
Improves Body Flexibility
Yoga is said to burn more calories than any other kind of exercise because of how the body muscles get incorporated for toning and stretching.
Yoga has several forms and types to choose from. One can opt for the flexibility of a particular part or aim to attain a goal using these different forms of Yoga. Power Yoga involves rigorous athletic workouts, while Hatha Yoga incorporates essential breathing.
Regularly practicing yoga increases flexibility depending upon what form chosen and what asana performed.
Personality Development
When one performs Yoga and the physical benefits of health like heart disease risk reduction, controlled blood pressure, and depression combatant, it also provides inner strength. This strength necessarily does not mean spiritual; the self-esteem boost is what Yoga gives.
The person gets confident, has a charm within because of the imbued compassion, and strives towards a better lifestyle healthwise.
Memory Booster
In a research study, the prefrontal cortex responsible for memory showed thickening in those who were practicing Yoga daily compared to those who did not. The thinning of the cortex happens as aging processes rendering the aged with a fumbled memory and attention.
The thickening of the cortex on brain scan indeed suggests the powerful benefit of memory power yoga offers.
Other Benefits
Yoga brings back a luster in a busy youth and energy in an old-aged person. The skin sees a significant glow, and hair has a shiny effect on itself. Also, Yoga improves fertility in both men and women by stimulating the reproductive organs, increasing the chances of parenthood.
Yoga improves the sharpness of human intellect and has also been said to decrease side effects consequential to any ongoing treatment or prescribed medicine.
In 2018, Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi had said in his speech, “Yoga is India’s gift to the world for health, wellness and peace,” stating the health benefit of Yoga plus the global brotherhood it offers as more and more people across the globe get linked to India’s heritage via the practice of Yoga.
