Have you been feeling fatigued, burned out, or stressed? Well, I might just have a practice to remedy that.
Yoga is a spiritual discipline/practice which focuses on bringing harmony between the mind and body. It is an art and science of healthy living. The word itself, for example “yoga” derives from the Sanskrit word “Yuj” meaning “to join” or “to unite”. When practicing yoga, it leads to the union of the individual consciousness with the universal consciousness, which indicates a perfect harmony between the mind and body… self and nature.
To add, Yoga Asana is commonly presented as a practice handed down for thousands of years originating from The Vedas, the oldest religious textes of the Hindus. When diving into this subject, one might often think about the origins or history of Yoga, like… who first introduced it? Well, the more general answer would be that Yoga can be divided into ancient history and modern history. Ancient history dates back to over 10,000 years, while modern history dates back to 100 – 150 years ago. It was soon after the industrialized revolution that things started to change with this discipline. During this time, Yoga then began to be practiced more for health purposes around 100 years ago.
To emphasize, Practicing Yoga can bring a person closer to nature, and to their own higher natural state. For example, just imagine when you’re outside in your backyard digging in the soil gardening, or when you’re hiking up a fresh forest listening to the branches crack as the trees dance around you. It harmonizes oneself to become one with all. just like a lot of Yoga poses are named after animals, insects, or plants, like for instance, tree pose, butterfly, or eagle pose. These help us connect through breath, movement, and meditation. For the people who have experienced the positive effects of Yoga, also like to mention how important the mind is to this physical practice as it teaches one how to become more mindful in our every day lives.
Lastly, I want to leave you with 16 science based benefits that can also paint a deeper understanding for you… just in case you’re thinking about adding this practice to your morning or evening routine 🙂 And here they are!
- Yoga improves flexibility
- Helps with stress relief
- Improves mental health
- May reduce inflammation
- Likely increase your strength
- Reduce anxiety
- May also improve your quality of life
- Improve balance
- May boost immunity
- May improve cardiovascular functioning through “Pranayama” yogic breathing, which is very important in Yoga
- Improve Sleep
- Improve self-esteem
- May improve bone health
- Promote better posture and body awareness
- Burn-out
- And improve brain functioning as well
During these times, especially after the invention of smartphones and social media, depression, anxiety, and stress are higher than ever before. So it’s important to keep ourselves balanced and more aware of our bodies and minds. According to an article on Healthline, they explain how impactful Yoga has been in people’s lives during the pandemic back in 2020. “A recent study looking at burnout among hospice workers during the COVID-19 pandemic concluded that yoga-based meditation interventions helped significantly reduce the effects of burnout by improving interoceptive awareness. This is the ability to notice internal signals and respond appropriately — meaning yoga may help people become more in tune with, and even more likely to listen to, their body’s signals.” To read more about the health benefits and studies, click or tap on this link.
I also want to share some Yoga pose cards that I love to play with on my free time, I purchased them from Amazon so they’re pretty affordable. Enjoy and stay well my friends!
Love and Light,
Sandra
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