Asanas, or yoga postures, require awareness, holding and relaxation of the body, along with full and unrestricted deep breathing, all of which activates the relaxation response and engages prana that recharges our energy and evokes feelings of calm and peacefulness.
Yoga works in the following ways:
Deep breathing, relaxation and concentration, inherent in meditation, mindfulness and yoga enable us to detach from the easily agitated and distracted mind, allowing us to feel calmer.
The contemplative nature of yoga enhances the immune system.
Breathing fully brings oxygen to the brain which increases alertness and encourages better mental functioning. Increasing oxygen flow to the body's systems encourages them to function more efficiently and effectively.
Inactivity contributes to shallow breathing which decreases the flow of oxygen to the body and brain, causing sleepiness and sluggishness. Yoga leads to better health,greater longevity and increased mental alertness.
Yoga also relaxes muscles. As muscles stretch, they lengthen, are more efficient and less prone to injury.
Yoga strengthens the entire body: flexibility and strength of the spine, increased circulation, and ensures the supply of nutrients and oxygen to the nerves. Asanas massage internal organs, stimulating pressure points that govern the flow of life energy or prana (also known as or chi).
Many of us respond to stresses of life with self-destructive behaviour. For example when we wake up in the morning and feel sluggish or sleepy, we grab a cup of coffee and drink it in the car on the way to work. Practicing yoga when we are tired is psychologically beneficial and promotes good health.
Our bodies also respond to the way we think. When we are negative and angry we experience physical and chemical changes in our bodies such as rising blood pressure and a faster heart rate. When we are afraid or threatened, the sympathetic nervous system releases adrenaline, we feel increased muscle tension, and our blood pressure rises - all symptoms of the fight-or-flight response that wrecks havoc with our immune systems ability to fight off illness.
Practicing yoga teaches us to breath, relax and strengthen our bodies so that we move gracefully and safely and we experience a sense of ease and well-being.
The quiet, tranquil environment of a yoga practice encourages mindful movements of the body and breath. Once the body becomes accustomed to the union of body, mind and spirit, we can induce and experience this state off the mat and return more easily to homeostasis after thinking of or experiencing a stressful event.
So, yoga enhances immune function; facilitate and enhances of the body's return to homeostasis following stressful situations; promotes the flow of blood and prana, recharges the body's energy reserves; prevents loss of muscle tone and mass; increases oxygen flow; increases circulation, ensuring the supply of nutrients and oxygen to the nerves; and massages and stimulates internal organs.
Yoga reduces the effects of stress and induces feelings of calm and peacefulness, combats depression and anxiety, increases self-esteem, stimulates key pressure points that govern the flow of life energy or prana, increases mental alertness and enhances longevity.
So this is how yoga actually works and provide excellent reasons to practice yoga.
Nancy Nicolazzo (Saddhamala) offers free information on meditation and mindfulness on her website http://mindfulworkshops.com
She is a twenty-year veteran of teaching, consulting and coaching. Assisting individuals and corporate professionals to find new skills to improve their professional and personal lives with skillfulness, compassion and mindfulness is the focus of Nancy's coaching.
Nancy leverages what she has learned as a mother, teacher and Buddhist practitioner to offer a unique, relevant and valuable perspective to the people she coaches.
For a free list of ways to practice mindfulness, and to learn more about meditation and mindfulness coaching, click here: http://mindfulworkshops.com
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