Tuesday, December 11, 2007

The Health Benefits Provided by the Practice of Yoga
By Darren Williger


Yoga is about the unification of both the mind as well as the body. People who practice yoga believe that both the mind and the body are one. If this union exists and is perfect then along with the proper tools and environment, a body will be perfectly able to heal on its own.

These claims may seem unfounded but they are not. Medical studies have proved that yoga actually has its health benefits. After completing a yoga class a lot of people agree that they tend to feel full of energy, happy and peaceful at the same time. How can yoga promote these feelings and help the body heal on its own?

Yoga allows you to be more aware of what your body can do as well as its movements and alignment. Back pain is one of the most common reasons why people tend to seek out medical attention. Due to the fact that yoga started in India, you can't find a person who complains of back pain in the entire country. Yoga is capable of curing and preventing back pain by enhancing strength and flexibility at the same time. It also helps people who suffer from arthritis because it provides relief to aching joints and provides joint lubricants at the same time. It also tends to relive tensions in muscles as well.

Yoga has its physiological and psychological benefits. Yoga improves the lives of asthma sufferers because it stops them from developing attacks on their own without using medicines. Yoga can also help in controlling respiratory problems because it teaches people how to control their breathing. It also lowers blood pressure and heart rates. It improves lung efficiency and improves other situations like chronic fatigue, diabetes and digestive disorders.

The onslaught of aging can also be relatively slowed down through yoga. Aging is the result of autointoxication. By keeping the body clean, flexible and well lubricated helps reduce the deterioration of cells. Yoga also helps in weight reduction and it stimulates sluggish glands to. Practicing positions that focus on your thyroid gland can also have certain positive effects on the body metabolism too.

The medical community agrees with a number of these benefits and funding is currently ongoing to see the efficient of Yoga in the treatment of insomnia and multiple sclerosis. Studies of yoga effects on other conditions are also being conducted.

Many psychological benefits are also associated with yoga. Yoga has been known to help in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorders. Yoga also helps in the reduction of stress, anxiety, depression and tension too. People tend to experience a feeling of well-being through yoga and they also feel invigorated and better about life too. These people also have higher energy levels and a better knowledge of whom they are and what they are capable of.

Other benefits include improved memory, attention, concentration as well as social skills and acceptance of self. It also lowers sugar, cholesterol and sodium levels while increasing hemoglobin and Vitamin C levels.

Darren Williger is an over-caffeinated, low carbohydrate eating, winemaking enthusiast who writes for MicroKarma.com, CoffeeZen.com, and PrimeYoga.com

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