Why Not Trying Yoga?
My mother would try to
convince me into practicing yoga when I was a kid, but I would almost never
listen. I thought it was boring, as would any other kid probably think.
Instead, I got myself busy with other sports and trivial things. It wasn’t
until I was eighteen years old that I realized that yoga was really beneficial
for me, and I started practicing again. Unfortunately, my body was not on the
same page as me; I had a hard time with flexibility and I was not completely
fit anymore. It was a disappointment for myself, because when I actually wanted
to do it, it was more difficult. By then, I was already having more
responsibilities and even though I found it difficult, yoga was a good way to
release daily stress. That is when I realized that it did not matter whether I
was actually achieving total flexibility or managing to do all the poses, what
mattered was that I was breathing constantly and being self-aware of what I was
doing.
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| Taken from, "From the Community: Yoga Equals Instant Stress Relief" http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Why-Yoga-Good-Stress-Relief-19296077 |
Yoga has increased in
popularity during the past few years; according to a Huffington Post posting
that came out in 2013, more than 20 million Americans practiced yoga in the
United States. It is most likely that not every one of those 20 million people
are professional yogis, so it is another prove that yoga is definitely beneficial
even for beginners. People do not have to become yogis in order to start seeing
the benefits, one can just go to one or two classes and notice the difference. In
a University of Illinois study, participants performed significantly
better on tests of brain functioning after 20 minutes of yoga, as compared to
their performance after 20 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise. It is worth
noticing that after just 20 minutes of yoga, participants’ abilities were
improved. What would happen with someone who practices yoga three times a week?
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| Taken from YOGA BREEZE, http://yogabreeze.com |
As a complimentary
practice or as the core practice, yoga has been found to be beneficial for
people with chronic health conditions like hypertension or diabetes. Another
post in the Huffington Post exposed a study made in 2013 where people had been
practicing yoga for 12 to 24 weeks; they explained that ,“A study presented at
the annual meeting of the American Society of Hypertension shows that practicing yoga could help decrease blood pressure in
people with mild to moderate hypertension.”
These are just two
examples of how practicing yoga on a regular basis or simply taking one class
can both be advantageous. It just depends whether one is looking for long term
benefits or just boosting their minds before an exam. Nevertheless, it is now
more understandable why people is practicing more and more this Eastern
practice. The important thing to remember is that, there is not a perfect way
to practice yoga; since it involves many different poses, doing the one that
suits the individual is going to be the perfect way for them. Besides, it is
important to know the basics of respiration and yoga in order to get the full
benefits.
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| Taken from BALANCE FOR LIFE, http://balanceforlife.us/2015/03/yoga-benefits/ |
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