The Increasing Popularity of Yoga
With an increasing trend in western culture toward the use of alternative therapies, yoga is emerging as a primary means for achievement of both physiological and psychological wellness. Traditional yoga utilizes a combination of both physical and spiritual methods for faciliatation of self-improvement. The origin of yoga has not been clearly identified, however archeaological evidence suggests its existence as early as circa 1300BC (Starre 1989). Starre suggests that there are four main branches of traditional yoga practice, one being Raja yoga. Raja yoga addresses mental and physical control by using techniques to perfect the body, calm the mind, and increase spiritual awareness. Of particular interest to health care professionals is Hatha yoga, a subdivision of Raja yoga. While Raja yoga is considered a more "meditative" form, Hatha yoga involves the practice of specific body postures and deep breathing exercises. These characteristics provide for a yogic practice that is more physical in nature. Typically, in today's popular practice, it is the external form, or technique (Hatha yoga) that is empasized, while the internal form, or attitude, intention and mental aspect (Raja yoga) is overlooked (Desai 1985). However, a fairly new approach to yoga, called Kripalu, combines the techniques of both Raja and Hatha yoga, and is emerging as the popular yogic practice.
Yogi Amrit Desai created Kripalu yoga in 1970. Previously, Desai had spent nearly twenty years mastering the art of traditional yoga, and is widely regarded as a yogic authority. As stated, Kripalu yoga is a synthesis of both Raja and Hatha yoga techniques. Desai has termed Kripalu yoga, "meditation in motion," a prac...
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...d movement. The yardstick is then moved along the top of the box unitl it reaches the subject's fingertip, establishing their specific zero point, while accounting for differenecs in limb length.
After establishing the realtive zero point, the subject then completes the test by slowly reaching as far forward as they can. The end-reach position must be held for a minimum of two seconds to obtain accurate measurements. Three trials were taken and recoreded to the nearest eighth of an inch. The average of these trials was used for analysis.
Assessment of the fitness variables mentioned above, as well as completion of a Beck-Srivastava Stress Questionnaire was obtained again after five weeks of yoga participation (mid semester), and following ten weeks (close of the semester/finals). This data was prepared and analyzed for comparison and reporting of results.
In the experiment, the experimenter was a 20 year old, female, psychology student at Florida State University. The role of the experimenter was to place the dial caliper on the skin of the participant in various places on the palm, finger, forearm, and back in order to record the amount of area needed between the points of the dial caliper before the participant was able to realize that two points were touching the skin rather than one (Lab Manual). The experimenter also used the method of limits through the use of ascending trials in order to record the participant’s ability to discriminate between the two points on the dial caliper (Lab Manual). Three trails were to be conducted by the experimenter before the experiment was to be considered completed. It was essential to ensure that the two points of the dial caliper were touching the participant at the same time and with the same amount
Yoga is a discipline with a scientific background that was developed over 2000 years ago. In this system of self-development the restless mind is calmed and energy is placed into constructive channels. It is not a religion as some people may be led to believe. It is a philosophy of life. The lessons learned are just as relevant today as they were when they were first created, still keeping the main principle that before you can train your mind to reach a higher consciousness you must first discipline your body. Yoga's popularity is largely due to its wide range of benefits, including therapeutic effects, muscle toning, energy increasing and concentration of the mind.
It is the most appropriate yoga for those who are more intellectually or philosophically inclined. This yoga can be broken into three distinct steps. The first step is to learn, this means seeking out teachers and gurus who can pass their knowledge unto you. The second step is to think; this step requires you to separate your true Self from the self you are currently occupying. The final step is to change, that is, to change your self-identification to your true Self. This step can often include referring to yourself in the third person to further drive a wedge between Self and self.
Retrieved 14 May 2014, from http://www.teachpe.com/a_level_analysis/movement_analysis_webpage.html. Thibodeau, G., & Patton, K. (1993). "The Species of the World. " Chapter ten: Anatomy of the muscular system. In Anatomy and Physiology (1st ed., p. 252).
The chakras and Kundalini came to be an integral part of yoga philosophy in the non-dual Tantric tradition, which arose in the 7th century, in reaction to the dualist philosophy which preceded it. This tradition advised being in the world rather than separate from it. Tantra is commonly thought of in the West as primarily a sexual tradition, as Tantrism does put sexuality in a sacred context. Yet this is actually only a small part of a broad philosophy which includes many practices of yoga, worship of deities, especially the Hindu goddesses, and integration of the many polaric forces in the universe.
Yoga, as a way to achieve higher self-awareness, was around as early as 200 B.C. in India and has been gradually growing in popularity in the western world over the past four decades. Traditional styles of yoga, including Hatha yoga, which consists of thousands of poses, have long been studied as an effective form of complimentary or alternative medicine (CAM).
Yoga is a discipline both involving physical and mental control that originated in India. The word Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word, "yug", meaning union and it means the joining of the individual spirit with the universal spirit. The type of yoga known as Hatha Yoga, ("Ha"- sun, "tha"-moon) is what is most commonly practiced and this yoga involves the path of the mind and body and is the most physical. There are eight limbs or steps of Hatha Yoga, the first step being the five Yamas. There are five yamas and these concern your behavior to the world.
When performing manual muscle testing for shoulder flexion and abduction, PTA’s typically place their hand at the wrist verses the mid-extremity because placing their hands at the wrist increases the length of the lever thus testing the muscles ability to resist externally applied force overtime and across the bone-joint lever arm system. Shorter lever arms will provide higher testing scores when compared to using longer lever arms, thus changing the point of force application affects the length of the lever arm and therefore the muscle torque.
This qualitative case study is an approach to research how yoga can affect the human mind in a positive way and lead to a healthy lifestyle using 2 sources one being a book called The Science Of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards by William J. Broad 2012. And the other being a private interview with a 22 year old male Yogi. This ensures that the issue is not getting explored through one side, but rather a variety of sides which allows for different inputs to be reveled and understood. There are two key approaches that help determine if yoga helps affect the human mind in a positive way. One flourished by William J. Broad (2012) which explores different factors on how yoga contributes to a healthy lifestyle and interviews fellow yogis who give there insight on the matter. And the second being a personal webcam interview conducted by the researcher ...
In lab, isometric handgrip strength was tested. Isometric strength refers to the type of force that occurs when muscles generate force, but its length remains unchanged. This can also be called a static muscle contraction. A static contraction occurs when one tries to lift an object that happens to be heavier than the force applied to the muscle or a static contraction occurs when one supports the weight of an object by holding the object steady with the elbow flexed. In both of these examples, the person feels their muscles tense but the joint does not move (Kenney, Wilmore, & Costill, 2012). Handgrip strength reflects the importance for successful performance in activities of daily living and occupational activities (Beam &
They noticed that the conditions related to their muscular system, respiratory system, nervous system, and the digestive system improved notably. It has been studied and suggested that regular practice of Yoga increases the brain gamma-Aminobutyric acid levels which helps in regulating the excitability of the nervous system and muscle tone as well. This helps in reducing anxiety and improving mood functions, letting people lead much more emotionally balanced lives. Apart from the abovementioned advantages, yoga also helps in keeping cardiovascular diseases in check. The three principles of yoga: asana (exercise), pranayama (breathing), and drishti (meditation) help in monitoring heart activities and keeping it functioning healthily. It does so by reducing blood pressure, speeding up recovery related to heart failures or cardiac arrests, and lower other cardiovascular risk factors that some people might have genetically imbibed in them. Similarly, it helps people with chronic back aches. Regular practice of yoga can bring relief over a period of time, than medications alone. Pain medications for back ache or spine-related spasms generally have dangerous side effects such as gastric problems, nausea, and the relief they provide last for a very short period of time. Yoga on the other hand gives back pain sufferers a much necessary relief through stretching exercises and also by meditating which plays a major role in alleviating any kind of
Becoming a healthier person interests us all, from young to old, being fit is something we strive for. Nowadays, one means of achieving that goal is through yoga. Though the use of breathing exercises, meditation and strength postures, people have actually lowered their blood pressure, aches and pains fade away as their body becomes more athletic.
Therefore a person must develop stress management skills to maintain their own stability and yoga can be a part of the solution. In the book, Yoga Body, Buddha Mind, by Cyndi Lee, the author talks about fight-or-flight, a condition where the body relates to emergencies then responds by activating the adrenal glands allow the heart to pump quicker, raise blood pressure, increase muscle tension, and produce sweat. However, if you are constantly in a fight-or-flight mode then it leads to stress. Health problems can arise from not learning how to balance good stress which can have survival value and bad stress that can lead to insomnia, headaches, and even more serious conditions such as heart attacks (Lee
Web. 13 April 2014. McCall, Timothy. A. Yoga as a medicine. New York: Bantam Dell, 2007. Print.
This week’s analysis is associated with the yoga class provided online to help with stress reduction. The first term that I came across was psychophysiology and how this principle is based on the mind and body being one and how our thinking affects all physiology. This principle was the perfect definition of yoga because yoga focuses on how the mind and body connects with each other. It gives you a sense of relaxation throughout your mind and body together. Furthermore, the yoga that was in the video was a yoga style called hatha. Which practices asana (yoga postures) and pranayama (breathing exercises). According to the book, this practices helps bring peace to the mind and body and prepare our body to do deeper exercises. The art of breathing was mentioned during the exercise and in the book. Breathing is very important when trying to unite the mind, body, and spirit. So, having slow, deep breathes was a main focused during the exercise. Another term that was used in the video was the art of stretching, which allows us to become aware of our flexibility of our muscle while moving. Lastly, the art of balance is significant because it allows us to move into the next form of position on both sides of our body. Some of the workouts pose that was mention in the textbook that I did was two knees to the chest, cobra, and head of cow. Overall, hatha