Have you ever wanted to try an exercise that not only gets you physically in shape, but also mentally and emotionally as well? Yoga and meditation do just that and today I am going tell you how cultures use these practices as a form of not only exercise for the body, but therapy for the brain too. Since the 1970s, meditation and other stress-reduction techniques have been studied as possible treatments for depression and anxiety. “Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S.—43.8 million—experiences mental illness in a given year”(NAMI). Meaning that there is probably someone sitting beside you that suffers from a mental illness silently every day. As a person that suffers from anxiety and depression everyday, I have realized that the form of pharmaceuticals to treat my illnesses has not helped, but just suppressed it. Yoga and meditation has become a natural way for me …show more content…
I am going to talk to you about how yoga and meditation is used in cultures to help improve a person physically, mentally, and emotionally. Body Yoga and Meditation being used as a form of physical therapy has been going on for thousands of years. We, the western society, have picked this up and created a yoga boom doing researches with results showing that it can improve physical health. In the Western world, the most common aspects of yoga practiced are the physical postures and breathing practices of Hatha yoga and meditation. Hatha yoga enhances the capacity of the physical body through the use of a series of body postures, movements, and breathing techniques. Iyengar yoga based from Hatha Yoga places an emphasis on standing poses to develop strength, stability, stamina, concentration and body alignment. a. Props are used to facilitate learning and to adjust poses and instruction is given on how to use yoga to ease various ailments and
Bikram yoga incorporates 26 of the Hatha poses and two breathing exercises in a “specific order to get the maximum benefit for the body,” said Megan Cooney, a certified Bikram instructor, who teaches at three studios in the Boston area.
Yoga can be practiced anywhere, anytime. Certain equipment can be used to help make the exercise easier, whereas other tools are available to challenge and intensify the workout. A sticky mat, made of padding, and has friction to increase safety while practicing yoga. Foam block is dense foam that will support weight, and is typically used by beginners to extend their reach in practice. Yoga belt is made of cotton or nylon that helps align and support your back also helping to extend your grasp. This aids in muscle stretching specially in hamstrings. A yoga blanket or towel is used for either warmth or give padding for numerous yoga poses.
Whether you're a pro athlete or someone just starting to get into shape, the strengthening and stretching positions and motions yoga puts you through is an excellent start for staying, and becoming, an athlete. When first starting, certain positions, like a backbend, may not be accomplishable. But with time and work, slowly your body loosens up until you can feel the muscles throughout your body, and you become more aware of yourself. As you develop self-awareness, it also becomes easier to tell where you body is weak or strong. Which joints may need extra work, while others may not. Targeting your weaker points, instead of relying on your stronger ones, will indulge you with less injuries and illnesses. Call it becoming one with yourself. ...
The yogas are active spiritual paths, a way for people to achieve illumination by the Divine Spark within us all. The word yoga literally means “union” and is related to the English words "join" and "yoke". Through yoga, we “unwrap” the Divinity within, thereby allowing our true spiritual natures to shine forth ever brighter. There are numerous types of yoga; here is a short explanation of some of the main ones:
Meditation is an age-old practice that has renewed itself in many different cultures and times. Despite its age, however, there remains a mystery and some ambiguity as to what it is, or even how one performs it. The practice and tradition of meditation dates back thousands of years having appeared in many eastern traditions. Meditation’s ancient roots cloud its origins from being attributed to a sole inventor or religion, though Bon, Hindu, Shinto, Dao, and later, Buddhism are responsible for its development. Its practice has permeated almost all major world religions, but under different names. It has become a practice without borders, influencing millions with its tranquil and healing effects.
Yoga experiences in everyday life is therapy for the mind and soul, particularly individuals with depression, anxiety, and other disorders, because it prospers where conventional medicine fails by lifting the moods of individuals. However, though yoga is empowering and safe, it is not meant to be a substitute for medical care. Yoga practices are most effective and useful as additional self-care to counseling and medical advice for those with a history of intense anxiety. Therefore, professional treatment, including conventional medicine, plus yoga practices can have a calming and positive effect on the body and mind of individuals with disorders impacting their mindfulness. Depression, anxiety, and stress have been implicated as causes for decreased quality of life. An option of a non-pharmacological therapy to help relieve stress and anxiety is yoga.
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 ...
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.
Thus, the katha Upanishad describes yoga as, ‘when the senses are stilled, when the mind is at rest, when the intellect wavers not-then, say the wise, is reached the highest state. This steady control of the senses and mind has been defined as Yoga. He who attains it is free from delusion.’ Yoga and its Practices
Yoga is a popular health trend with a variety of studios opening around the United States. Yoga is the practice of strengthening physical poses, breath work, and meditation. Through these practices, an individual can mentally focus on his or her own self. One of the goals of yoga is to connect with one’s self mentally and spiritually; in other words, yoga helps a person get to know themselves better. Yoga has also grown into a community in which gurus, or teachers, can aid students in group classes or one on one.
However, the fast-paced lifestyle of the past few decades have took its toll on mankind. The amount of stress it brings led the westerners to discover the wonders of meditation of their mental, spiritual and physical well-being.
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
Yoga is defined in many ways, and its literal translation is highly debated. It most widely thought to mean “that which brings you to reality” or “union” (Vasudev, 2017). Yoga in its most basic practice is an exercise in both mindfulness and physical flexibility. It is a meditative practice, that combines rhythmic breathing patterns with stretching poses, in aim to loosen the mind and body. The main goal of yoga is to connect the mind and body, and to help those partaking, to be more in touch with the world around them (Snyder, Lopez & Pedrotti, 2010). Yoga is a relatively old practice, but the scientific research on its effectiveness is just gaining ground. The current research shows both advantages and disadvantages for those who perform
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
Yoga has surpassed its roots of transcendence and magical powers alone, and now has a basis in studies of biology, physiology, and medicine (Alter 2004). In this, yoga is now far beyond the stereotypical analysis that yoga in India has maintained its spirituality, while yoga in the West is based entirely on materialism.