Yoga Essay: Yoga As A Way Of Life

588 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: S.A on benefits of yoga

What is Yoga
An ancient physical and spiritual discipline, yoga has become widely popular as a way of life – the perfect medium to attain ultimate freedom. The word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word “yuj” – which is the harmonious union of the body, mind, and soul to achieve personal freedom and balance in life. Found over 5,000 years ago in India, yoga is increasingly being adopted as an activity to bring about a state of equanimity, better physical health, improved mental control, and self-realization.
Breathing, meditation, and exercise are fundamental to the practice of yoga, all of which focus on boosting overall health of the body. These yoga techniques help
• increase the efficiency of the glandular system
• strengthen muscles
• increase flexibility
• centralize thoughts
• release physical and mental stress to relax the body and calm the mind
History of Yoga
Though the origin of yoga is shrouded in mystery, it is believed to have originated during the Indus Valley civilization, with the first written record about yoga appearing in Yoga Sutra written by Patanjali around...

Show More
Related

  • College Admissions Essay: Aunt Joan and Yoga

    624 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Benefits Of Bikram Yoga

    1122 Words  | 3 Pages

    Yoga is a physical and mental practice as well as a philosophy that began in India about 5,000 years ago (Lee, 2014). There are many types of yoga practice and over 15 million people in American practice yoga at least once a month (Statistic Brain, 2016). Yoga has grown to over a $6 billion industry (Girard, 2013). Bikram yoga is a specific routine of postures originally created by Bishnu Charan Ghosh and then modified by Bikram Choudury in Calcutta, India in the 1950’s. Today Bikram yoga is practiced in a room heated between 35-42 degrees Celsius or 95-108 degrees Fahrenheit with humidity of 40%. Bikram yoga is a series of 26 postures and two breathing exercises done over 90 minutes in exactly the same order each time.

    Read More

  • The Negative Speech: Yoga And Meditation

    872 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Concentrative Meditation Essay

    1490 Words  | 3 Pages

    Aerobic exercise is anything exercise that elevates the respiration, heart and metalobic rate for 20-30 minutes. Aerobic exercises include running, brisk walking, swimming and cycling. Stretching and toning exercises are slow and sustained, they decrease muscle tension, improve circulation, can help relax the body, they also help focus and center the mind in the present moment. Yoga is a good example of a balanced stretching and toning program, and there is increasing evidence that yoga has psychological and well as physiological benefits. Yoga can be compared to progressive muscle relaxation where a muscle is tensed and relaxed systematically through out the body to produce relaxation response which decreases stress and tension, increases strength and balance, increases flexibility, lowers blood pressure and reduces cortisol levels (Thirthalli et al., 2013; Weiten et al., 2012), it improves psychological well-being, yoga involves concentrating on the breath and body which calms the mind by switching focus away from worries of the mind and brings the person into the present moment, rather than on the past or future. It also increases bodily awareness so the feelings of tension and stress are recognised earlier and can be reduced sooner, yoga it self is exercise and so the usual benefits of exercise are gained too (‘The psychological

    Read More

  • The Hottest Workout: Bikram Yoga

    2076 Words  | 5 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • The Five Yamas of Hatha Yoga

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Teresa Anne Power's Article Could Yoga Be The Answer?

    1044 Words  | 3 Pages

    In today 's modern time, not many people exercise. Most of the youth of today are overweight or obese. Teresa Anne Power wrote an article in the USA Today called "Could Yoga be the answer?”. The author of this article is wanting to get the attention of today 's youth and parents as well. Her goal is to get people to "get up and move", to be active and make healthier lifestyle choices. She uses a combination of logos and pathos to help express her opinion. This is a great way for us as America 's youth to get in better shape and stay healthier! Yoga is an excellent way to accomplish this goal we all should have!

    Read More

  • yoga

    906 Words  | 2 Pages

    Everyday society assumes yoga is just a physical health practice that will make people substantially fit. Social media is making people believe that Yoga is mostly good for exercising in a social, trendy fashion environment. What society does not know is Yoga plays a huge role in emotional hygiene, more so than physical health, Yoga develops a healthy emotional stability for its participants that lead to a healthy lifestyle. Emotionally, Yoga can develop a healthy emotional lifestyle for its participants while leaving a person with more positivity, determination and strength in the human mind.

    Read More

  • Essay On Origin Of Yoga

    1903 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Benefits of Yoga

    579 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Yoga and its Positive Effects on the Mind and Body

    1543 Words  | 4 Pages

    Yoga could be described as the practice of holding different poses, and using diferrent breathing techniques that strengthens the mind and body, by bringing the practitioner into a new state of awareness. The practice of yoga increases blood flow to internal organs, brings more oxygen to the cells in your body, while strengthening and calming the nervous system. There are many different types of yoga. In the United States the most widely practiced form is known as Hatha, which is a combination of poses taken from all types of yoga b...

    Read More

  • The Health Benefits of Yoga

    1182 Words  | 3 Pages

    Breathing acts as a motor, and it helps prana flow through the body (The Magic of. Meditation). There are thousands of different varieties of yoga, which is how it helps a large number of people in a diverse number of ways. One style is called Ananda. This yoga gains control over delicate energies in the body.

    Read More

  • Reflection On The Practice Of Yoga

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through the practice of yoga, I have begun to learn many things about myself that I did not know before. These new findings are due to the implementation of the practice of yama and niyama into my everyday life. Yama means restraint or behavior to avoid. While, niyama means observance or conduct to cultivate. Yama principles focuses on a person’s interactions with the world while niyama is more of a self observation and how to deal with ourselves. I find that these ten commandments of yoga have caused me to examine myself and the world around me in a way that isn’t negative but of understanding. I think that as humans we tend to fear the unknown but the unknown is only unknown until we actively engage in finding the truth. Thus, we can go on in life being afraid of the things that we don’t know about ourselves and the world around us or we can enthusiastically search for the truth.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Health And Wellness

    1105 Words  | 3 Pages

    The goal of this study was to identify the ways in which engaging in yoga practices would alter psychological well being, and allow people to engage more fully in their lives and flourish in health and happiness. The pre and post test set up of this study allowed the researchers to see the ways in which students had been affected by their participation in the yoga teacher training. Yoga training students were engaged in a four week program. They were administered tests and the beginning of the study, prior to engaging in the program, at the end of the program, after completion, and then again at a 3 month follow up. Multiple factors were assessed, however the significant and important ones which relate directly to our understanding of healthy, happiness and wellness and the course content are extremely

    Read More

  • Yoga Reflection Paper

    722 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

More about Yoga Essay: Yoga As A Way Of Life

Open Document