The Benefits Of Yoga

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Recommended: Short reflection about yoga

“Take in a deep breath through your nose; now breathe out from your mouth. Now feel all the tension being released from your body as you exhale.” Hmm, feels much better, right? What you just experienced was a little something called yoga. You may be wondering, “What is Yoga?” When you think of yoga what comes to your mind? Yoga is an exercise which allows you to relax and helps you find inner peace, or a bunch of movements that puts you in awkward and funny sounding positions and makes you take deep breaths. Yoga has a variety of meanings ranging from “spiritual discipline” to a simple form of meditation. According to the article posted by the Medical Centers at University of Maryland, “Yoga is a mind-body therapy that connects the body, breath, and mind to energize and balance the whole person. Yoga uses physical postures, breathing exercises, and meditation to improve overall well-being” (1).
The Bhagavad Gita, which means Song of the Absolute, is sometimes referred to as the first book of yoga. The Gita is a sacred book in the Hindu religion written in the fifth century BCE (Before Common Era). The book tells the story of conversations between a prince, Arjuna, and his spiritual advisor, Lord Krishna. The book calls for selfless action and has influenced millions of people through the ages, including Ghandi. Krishna yoga is in the text over 100 times. The term "yoga" is used to describe exercises a person must complete in order to obtain spiritual awakening. The Gita talks about three primary types of yoga: Karma, Jnana and Bhakti. The first six chapters of the Gita group together deal with Karma Yoga, which is the way of action, the next six groups together deal with Bhakti Yoga, the way of knowledge, and the last six groupe...

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... a form of exercise, it made you flexible and yoga pants. After thorough research, I have come to find out that it is way more than that. It is a form of meditation, in which all of your focus is on your breathing, relaxing your mind and body through various postures and meditations. Researchers, health gurus, and fitness buffs have found it to be very helpful in obtaining an optimum level of fitness and a healthy lifestyle. Looking back at what I have written, I came to a decision to sign up for a yoga class just to see if what all the information out there was true because if I want to live to be a hundred years of age, living the healthy life has to start now. Catherine Ghosh writes, “Yoga is selfless, cleansing, freeing, balancing, inspiring, and joyfully performed: a vision in which one experiences peaceful interconnectedness with all life around them” (Ghosh).

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