Why practise yoga – benefits of yoga:
Yoga contributes to our overall health and well-being, affecting us at three levels – physical, mental and spiritual.
Yoga exercises activate the parasympathetic nervous system and enhance our recovery and renewal as well as promote the healthy functioning of our body.
The impacts of yoga have been studied in over a thousand scientific research projects since the 1970s. (See e.g. www.IAYT.org)
The studies show that yoga:
• promotes relaxation
• relieves stress
• lowers blood pressure
• lowers cholesterol
• develops physical fitness and flexibility
• improves posture
• assists in weight control
• alleviates chronic pain
• reduces muscular tension
• improves vital capacity
• reduces asthmatic attacks
• relieves neck and back pain
• enhances concentration and memory
• improves sleep
• reduces anxiety and depression
• increases vitality and zest for life
At the physical level, yoga:
• firms and strengthens muscles
• affects the endocrinal glands
• improves the immune system
• balances hormone production
• balances the nervous system
• improves digestion
At the mental level, yoga:
• increases emotional stability
• improves concentration
• boosts self-esteem
• enhances memory
• creates a feeling of clarity and control over life
• helps manage stress in a positive way
When the body and mind are in harmony, room is made for the spiritual dimension that manifests itself as
• enhanced intuition
• deeper knowledge within us
• openness of the heart
• compassion and love towards ourselves and others
The connection between stress and illness
• According to the American Medical Association, an association of physicians in the United States, stress is the underlying cause of 80% of illnesses.
• Yoga acts as a preventive and curative method for the treatment of many stress-related illnesses because it affects directly the cause of the illness, stress, that has created imbalance in the body.
The following are examples of physical and emotional disorders that are often triggered by stress:
• high blood pressure
• heart diseases
• heart attack
• migraine
• allergies
• asthma
• skin problems
• ulcer
• digestive disorders
• diabetes
• rheumatoid arthritis
• depression
• anxiety