20/06/2021
You might be one of the millions who has taken yoga class and perhaps even mastered some of the poses. You might have turns to yoga for physical benefits or peaceful mind, but yoga has lot more to offer for your deeper consciousness and higher awareness. So what is yoga? Yoga simply means union - union of individual consciousness with the universal consciousness.
According to ancient text, the word Yoga means to join or to connect. The term is derived from Sanskrit word ‘Yuja’ which means ‘to join’. Yoga creates perfect harmony between mind, body and soul. At some point between the 1st and 5th century CE , the Hindu Sage Patanjali began to codify the ancient meditative traditions practiced throughout India. He recorded techniques nearly as old as Indian civilisation itself. In 196 manuals called The Yoga Sutras, these texts defined Yoga as “the yoking or restraining of the mind from focusing on external objects“ (YogastuChittavritti Nirodha), in efforts to reach a state of ‘pure consciousness’.
Over time yoga came to incorporate physical elements from gymnastics and wrestling. Today there are multitude approaches to modern yoga, most of them maintain the three core elements of Patanjali’s practice - physical postures, breathing exercises and spiritual contemplation. This blend of physical and mental exercise is widely believed to have unique set of health advantages such as improving strength and flexibility, boosting heart and lung function and enhancing psychological well-being.
But what have contemporary studies shown regarding the benefits of this ancient tradition?
Flexibility and Strength -
Twisting the body into yoga’s physical postures stretches multiple muscle groups; in the short term stretching can change the water content of these muscles ligaments and tendons to make them more elastic. Over time regular stretching stimulates stem cells which then differ into new muscle tissue and other cells that generate elastic collagen.
Frequent stretching also reduces the bodies natural reflex to constrict muscles and improves pain tolerance. Practice has also shown it to be a potentially powerful therapeutic tool in studies involving patients with a variety of musculoskeletal disorders. Yoga is more effective in reducing pain and improves mobility .
Chronic lower back pain and Rheumatoid arthritis -
Adding yoga to existing exercise routine can improve strength and flexibility for hard to treat conditions like lower back pain, Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis.
Breathing Improvements -
Yoga’s mix of physical exercise and regimented breathing has proven similarly therapeutic for lung health, for example, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, asthma.
These disorders shrink the air passage way which carries oxygen but breathing exercises like those found in yoga relax the muscles constricting those passageways and improves oxygen diffusion.
Increasing the blood’s oxygen content is especially helpful for those with weak heart muscles who had difficulty in pumping enough oxygen throughout the body and those with healthy heart this practice can lowers the blood pressure and reduce risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Psychological effects-
Yoga’s most widely celebrated benefit may be the most difficult to prove, it’s psychological effects. Despite the long standing association between yoga and psychological well-being, there is little conclusive evidence on how the practice affects mental health. One of the biggest claims is yoga improves clinical depression and anxiety disorders .
Research on the effects of yoga is still evolving but for now yoga can continue its ancient tradition, as a way to exercise, reflect and relax.
- Dr. Apoorva Patil.
