About Yoga

Todays Scenario

Variations : Did you know that over fifteen million people practiced yoga in 2003, according to a landmark study by Yoga Journal Magazine. And the numbers are expected to increase dramatically in subsequent years. Your own experiences probably confirm this study - maybe you practice yoga, know someone who does, or just take a walk along any busy main street - your bound to see someone carrying a yoga mat. In fact you can't even open a magazine or newspaper without finding an article about yoga. So, how does a 5000-year-old spiritual practice become today's hottest mind/body trend?

Perhaps the best way to understand yoga's popularity is to go right to the people who practice it. If you ask them why, some of the more common replies you might hear are "flexibility, increased energy, improved focus, reduction of the symptoms associated with stress, and an overall good feeling." The fact is that yoga can have a rejuvenating effect on all systems of the body including the circulatory, glandular system, digestive, nervous, skeletal/muscular, reproductive system and respiratory system.

On a physical level - according to the U.S. Dept. on Aging there four components to good physical health: Strength, flexibility, balance, aerobic capacity. It is interesting to note that yoga can accomplish all these things and no fancy piece of equipment is needed - other than your own body and a yoga mat.

Over the last 100 years our lives have become very fast paced: cell phones, computers, internet, television. This along with a strong work ethic often results in people out of balance - people experiencing a lot of stress. Consequently, there is a strong need to de-stress - to quiet our minds and rejuvenate our bodies. And yoga helps achieve this - helping us return to a state of balance and health.

Then there is the therapeutic component. Yoga can be used successfully with conditions such as insomnia, back problems, digestion problems, asthma, improving circulation, anxiety, weight loss, just to name a few.

Basically yoga is non -competitive; it is not about winning or losing - you can go at your own rate. Of course people still compete with themselves though and compare their posture to others in class.

In addition many of us are yearning for something more. Many of us have shied away from organized religion yet seek a spiritual practice that connects us to ourselves as well as something larger - a spiritual practice that is non-dogmatic, without many rules. At its simplest level yoga quiets the mind and opens the body - setting the stage for withdrawing deeper inside oneself - to a place of peace, a place of balance, a place of health. It is here where the divine within us can be more easily discovered.

Use : Yoga improves fitness, lowers blood pressure, promotes relaxation and self-confidence, and reduces stress and anxiety. People who practice yoga tend to have good coordination, posture, flexibility, range of motion, concentration, sleep habits, and digestion. Yoga is a complementary therapy that has been used with conventional therapies to help treat a wide range of health problems but it is not, in and of itself, an effective cure for any particular disease.

Studies show that yoga may promote heart health in both the young and old. An analysis of scientific studies found that yoga may help manage heart disease by:
• decreasing high blood pressure
• lowering cholesterol levels
• increasing resistance to stress
• reducing the frequency and severity of chest pain (if yoga is combined with a healthy diet).
Still more research suggests that yoga may help people with asthma. For example, people who practice yoga postures and breathing exercises tend to breathe easier and more efficiently. One study also found that people with asthma used their inhalers less often when they were practicing yoga.
Yoga postures aimed at stretching and strengthening the joints in the upper body can improve grip strength and diminish pain among people with carpal tunnel syndrome. Yoga may also be effective for managing pain and enhancing range of motion in people with osteoarthritis.

Other conditions that seem to be responsive to yoga include:
• back pain
• anxiety
• irritability
• feelings of sadness or depression
• helping to prevent type 2 diabetes
• before, during, and after pregnancy