By June West

We always read that Yoga does everybody good – children, young, middle aged and even elderly men and women. Can we benefit from yoga? How can we go about promoting its benefits? Yoga has been around for thousands of years, and finally it has become popular in the West. The opening of yoga centres, especially in America where the mentality is more open to trying something different, yoga has become the “in ”thing and now people are realizing how this mysterious activity, which may seem a slow form of gymnastics really does help to become healthy, relaxed and more open to others. So what is yoga all about?

Yoga literally means “unity” or “union”. From the Sanskrit word root “yui”, yoga means yoke, uniting together a combination of postures (asanas), breathing and meditation techniques together with psychological, moral and ethical principles, which helps one develop a harmonious, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual essence. The health benefits of yoga initiate because you’re focusing on inner peace. Self-realization, relaxation, focus, and harmony are the cornerstones of yoga. Research shows that the health benefits of yoga include improvements of all sorts of ailments, ranging from back pain to general fatigue. Yoga enhances the mind-body connection, which can improve both the mood and physical health – and even lighten various psychological disorders. Health benefits of yoga practice and meditation include the treatment of depression, body image struggles, eating disorders, and physical problems and even asthma.

Much of yoga’s healing power lies in its ability to nourish self-confidence to see your potential and overcome a sense of inadequacy. Feelings of anxiety and depression will ease as you get in touch with your body in a curious, inquiring way. Your health starts to improve and you see your efforts making a difference. You will become more accepting of yourself, less focused on your limitations, and more grateful for what your body can do. At the same time, as a spiritual opening becomes more evident, we not only see within ourselves but open up towards others.

Yoga postures are the physical element in which we train our bodies in a gentle but effective way into promoting longevity. Yoga asanas are performed standing, sitting or lying down. Yogic exercises are mainly designed to keep the proper curvature of the spine and to increase its flexibility by stretching the anterior and posterior longitudinal ligaments. Flexibility of the spine is reduced as the body grows. Due to biologic shortening of ligaments, movements are restricted. With regular yoga practice there is an increase in flexibility. If posture and balance are good, the ligaments have a long and elastic life, therefore we can expect a healthier life thanks to that flexibility. Circulation is increased with inverted yoga postures when the head is lower than the position of the heart. An increased amount of blood flowing through the skin vessels will keep the skin in a healthy condition, therefore giving us a younger appearance. Regular yoga exercises mean that joints are lubricated, muscles are toned, bones are strengthened by weight bearing postures, stamina is increased. The immune system is improved and can be stimulated in yoga postures where we open the chest and breathe deeply into it. Beneficial postures such as cobra, fish, bow and bridge stimulate the thymus gland, therefore the immune system..

Each day as you practice you become aware of what the body can accomplish. Gradually you can bend a little further, aches and pains begin to diminish. You tend to correct posture when simply walking, standing in a queue, performing simple chores, or sitting at the computer. Your mind begins to correct your daily posture automatically once you have embraced the path of yoga. Yoga classes, where students are seen bending, twisting and moving into what may seem impossible postures for the majority of people, may be off putting to any newcomer. However, once it is explained that yoga is non competitive, and each one moves to their own ability, with perseverance one too will find themselves opening up their bodies, accomplishing feats they never imagined.

Breathing is something we all do naturally, however, many are not aware that there are different ways of breathing. Practising yoga and learning about breathing, pranayama, breath control, we are able to improve the effect it has on our bodies and on our health in general. Breathing correctly distributes oxygen to the organs and brain, expels waste carbon dioxide and controls the flow of energy in the body. Breathing correctly means breathing through the nose, keeping the mouth closed, and involves a full inhalations and exhalation which brings the whole of your lungs into play. When you exhale, the abdomen contracts and diaphragm moves up, massaging the heart, when you inhale the abdomen expands and the diaphragm moves down, massaging the abdominal organs.

Breathing correctly is a form of preventive medicine, as it may act as a deterrent to panic attacks, high blood pressure, chest pains and may more stress related ailments. A great number of people only use shallow high-chest breathing, using half of their lung capacity, resulting in drawing in less air and less oxygen, therefore, the bloodstream is not being fully purified and oxygenated. Breathing deeply for many has to be learnt and upper-chest inhalation replaced by diaphragmatic and abdominal breathing.

There are many breathing techniques to be learnt in yoga, which relieve symptoms like asthma and bronchitis. During an asthma attack the muscles controlling the bronchioles go into a spasm and air gets into the lungs, but has difficulty in getting out. Panic may set in, causing the sufferer to aggravate the situation even more. Training in yogic breathing gives the asthmatic confidence and the ability to relax and control the respiratory muscles. Colds, nervous tension, insomnia, headaches, indigestion are only but a few symptoms which can be alleviated by breathing techniques. The rhythm of our breathing alters in different situations. When we are agitated or angry, breathing is short and the pace is faster. When we are relaxed, breathing slows down. Controlling our breathing with our minds enables us to relax, let go and find peace.

The aim of yoga is to produce tranquillity. Once we are able to see deep within ourselves, creating a flow of tranquillity, we may appear to others in a different light. We will find we are more communicative, transferring that tranquil state to others around us.

Where else do we find the health restorer in yoga? Through mediation. Meditation is the state achieved by intense concentration on a single object, often the breath, until all other thoughts which flow through our mind vanish and all that is left is an intense awareness of the object. Through meditation we are able to calm and tone the nervous system, clarify our thoughts, recharge psychic batteries and bring an overall feeling of serenity. Meditation is one of the of the Eight Limbs of yoga outlined in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Called dhyana, mediation is considered the highest practice and is the final step before bliss. James Hewitt, in The Complete Book of Yoga defines the goal of yoga meditation as “meditation means sense withdrawl (pratyahara) and concentration (dharana), sustained into contemplation (dhyana), with the aim of triggering a super-conscious state (Samadhi), which is one of intuitive realization of the identity of the individual soul or spirit and the cosmic soul or spirit.” Meditation is a technique, or one may say an art. We can only but practice and practice, each in our individual way, in the hope of finding that moment of internal bliss.

How do we go about promoting the health benefits of yoga in today’s stressed society? Wouldn’t it be a good idea to introduce it into the school curriculum, integrated with sport or as an alternative for those who have handicaps. There are obvious benefits to be gained for a child through the physical exercise involved in yoga but the effects can be even greater. Easy yoga for children has shown to build stamina in those who practise it, aid stability and also improve general balance. It strengthens the child’s muscles, elongates the spine and promotes good posture, which is the gateway to aiding health in general. Yoga has shown to improve children’s digestion, aid the elimination of toxins and aid circulation, improve weak muscles and bring them under control. Many handicapped children have brilliant minds, learning pranayama and meditation to help develop inner peace would help them mentally overcome their physical disability, and above all working together in union with fellow classmates to feel integrated. We still have a long way to go before this may come about, especially in Italy where I live, but it would be nice to think that future students will have the possibility to release the tensions of the body and mind, increasing concentration and therefore improving progress in their studies. 

Yoga has restored my confidence and serenity, therefore my health. I was advised by my beauty therapist to take up yoga, due to the fact that I was unable to relax, even under her expert hands, although I did not realise this myself. Tension had obviously became part of my life style. Trying to adapt to living in an environment with a different culture started to take its toll. I was fighting to change my identity, battling all the time to do my best, never relaxing in fear of not being adequate in my role as wife and mother in a Sicilian environment. Upon being pushed to the limit, trying to hold on to something which was destroying my health and happiness, after thirty years I made a choice. Whilst in England visiting my sister, I attended a yoga class with her. I enjoyed the physical part of the lesson as I have always been a very active person, practising sport for many years. Stage by stage relaxation at the end of the yoga lesson, was the point at which I really can say that I let go and relaxed, I felt glued to the floor. I was so amazed that listening to the teachers voice could have this effect. From then on, yoga has become for me a day to day necessity. I never knew that this was the key to reorganizing my life. Learning the art of relaxation takes us beyond our expectations. Yoga pulled me through a difficult period in my life. Yoga has enabled me to expand physically and mentally, teaching me on how to focus on finding inner peace and by learning about myself it has inspired me to aim towards a goal in life. I now have the desire to pass on to others the beneficial factors I have received from this course of events by continuing to upgrade my knowledge of yoga, studying to obtain certification to teach. It would make me very happy to be able to try and make someone else’s life a little more healthier and perhaps happier.

Yoga, brings out the poetry we have inside and these are the moments we can share.

 

FIRST YOGA MOMENTS

Breathe in, breathe out, lengthen the spine, begin to twist

look over your shoulder, relax and resist

A few breaths more, return to centre,

what was the position we managed to enter?

Inhale, stretch your arms out wide, engage your shoulder blades,

Exhale, now turn to the other side

Triangle, warrior, forward bend,

gently stretch the muscles, extend.

Fold at the hips, look towards your toes,

keep on breathing through your nose

As we move into another position,

ligaments, muscles we condition

Spinal twists increase circulation,

Pranayama controls palpitations

Cobra, downward dog, sun salutation,

Breathing, centring, relaxation,

carries us through to meditation

Letting our breath flow during the class,

tension, worries fall into the past

Opening up like a flower to the sun

Emotions of love and joy will come

As we become aware of these sensations

quietly prepare for meditation

Meditation quiets the mind,

therefore, peace, silence, is what we find

Just what I needed to continue my day

Anjali mudra, namaste

Relaxed and regenerated from this yoga session,

looking forward to another lesson

June West

 

June West is a certified Yoga teacher. She teaches Yoga classes in Palermo, Sicily.

Tags: benefit from yoga, yoga asanas are, yoga literally means, yoga postures are, yoga's healing power, yogic exercises

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 12th, 2009 at 8:07 am and is filed under Yoga for Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.