Research suggests that Yoga is all you need to maintain a healthy body. Yoga is on par with aerobic exercise minus the negative impact on the joints. The breath work involved along with strengthening and creating agility make it the ideal exercise practice.
Yoga is unique in that it addresses all three aspects of the individual: Body Mind and Soul. It deserves attention as more and more people find their contentment by connecting with their breath in movement, and calming their mind through focus on the practice.
This deep concentration allows an individual to gain insight into his or her own body awareness (Proprioception).
Yoga practitioners seem to gain physical balance like no other form of exercise. Individuals also report feeling more balanced “mentally” as one tunes ‘inward” getting a glimpse of their soul aspect.
Every yoga practice in one form or another, whether guided meditation and breathe work is presented by a facilitator, or whether it is the individual self doing meditation, at the end of any physical practice, one will begin focusing on the breathe by counting it, or contemplating an affirmation. This completes the practice thereby addressing the mental strain, aside from the physical stress we are exposed to on a daily basis.
Yoga is in the forefront of integrative therapy, being utilized in mental health counseling for anxiety and depression. Yoga even assists counselors with conditions such as ADHD.
In the Physical Therapy field, Yoga is used in concert with physical therapy modalities, thus influencing both the mental health field and the physical therapy world. Yoga is utilized as a maintenance modality after rehabilitation from an injury.
We now have the IAYT (International Association of Yoga Therapists) an official international organization dedicated to the research and advancement of a new emerging field of Integrative Medicine in the 21st century.
Yoga is now considered a form of Preventive Medicine as it addresses all aspects of an individual including lifestyle. Individuals experience life-altering changes with doing Yoga within just a few months.
Individuals who practice daily will reduce their food portion size. Yoga practitioners will eat healthier since the Yoga practice is very challenging when one eats fatty and carbohydrate rich foods.
Transformation is subtle, but effortless, as one slowly begins to notice weight loss, toning of muscles especially hips and waist, improved posture, improved flexibility, greater strength and stamina. Self-confidence and poise will now just come out effortlessly.
The mental and spiritual aspect is what makes Yoga special. The mind becomes sharp and focused less distracted, it means no racing mind. This automatically implies improvement in work productivity and family interaction.
As one’s mind is less cluttered, a higher awareness keeps people tuned in, and tapped into the daily tasks of family and work. Decreasing the effects of chronic stress levels experienced in the world through a balancing effect with daily Yoga practice has also proven to reduce the “cortisol effect’. The “cortisol effect” is essentially a chronic stress hormone implicated in causing stress related weight gain.
So we conclude with stating that after analysis of Yoga as a lifestyle of wellness and healthy living, it is clearly no longer a “fringy” cultish following reserved for hippies, and Hari Krishna followers!
Although the practice is an ancient 5,000-year-old system of health originating from India, it was originally designed to address the physical, mental, spiritual, and psychological aspects of an individual. At that time the birth of Yoga was ingrained within the context of the Hindu religion one of the most ancient religions still in practice today predating Judeo-Christian and Muslim culture.
This is not the case with Yoga in the western world where there are faithful Muslims, Jews, and Christians practicing Yoga. We have had 35 years of evolution whereby the westernized version brought over by the Yogis of India are not offensive or contradictory in any fashion to any monotheistic form of religion or faith belief system.
There is no chanting to Hindu Gods, studios do not have idols they “pray to”…Yoga as it is practiced in the United States and Europe is designed to help one improve fitness goals, reduce stress, reduce Hypertension through Meditation, and if per chance along the path of practicing Yoga one finds a spiritual aspect once lacking, well more power to the Yoga! Try Yoga some time. You will not regret it! Yoga is booming in Orlando with several studios opening in the last few months. There is a style and level of intensity out there for EVERY body!
"Activating the Inner Healer in You"
The Human Body and Mind has an innate activating healing system always
striving for homeostasis (balance).
SNY gives you the tools to awaken that innate state of health, well-
being, and complete balance of body, mind and soul!
Dacia Milescu DPM FACFAS RYT-200
Physician, Yoga Teacher, Adjunct Faculty Member Florida College of Natural Health
Founder/Owner
Serenity Now Yoga Holistic Wellness & Spa
SerenityNowYogaCorp.com
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