Natural health care enthusiasts here in Syracuse can often be found spending time practicing yoga. It has been discovered that it is not a myth that yoga is good for your health. And so the Syracuse community has been interested in a report by Dennis Thompson for HealthDay, "Yoga's Spiritual Balance May Boost Health", http://bit.ly/epfjMy.
Yoga has been practiced for millennia in order to improve strength, serenity and wellness. The roots of yoga in ancient Indian philosophy have kept the exercise discipline firmly within the realm of alternative medicine. Now a widening body of scientific evidence is showing that yoga has proven health benefits.
Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, has said research has discovered that yoga can help people who are dealing with health problems as wide-ranging as back pain, chronic headaches, sleeplessness, obesity, neck aches, upset stomach, anxiety, depression and high blood pressure. Khalsa has said the health benefits mainly stem from yoga's focus on the connection between mind and body.
Khalsa has also said that the relaxation, meditation and breathing of yoga has been shown to improve a person's sense of well-being and can be a good treatment for anxiety and depression. Yoga may also help strengthen the immune system. Khalsa has said "When you reduce stress, you make the body healthier. When the body is healthy, it is able to use its own defenses better." Khalsa's research has also shown that by relieving the stress associated with cancer yoga can improve someone's quality of life and help the person deal with the rigors of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
And due to yoga's focus on an awareness of the body yoga has also has been shown to help people fight obesity. Researchers investigating yoga at the Seattle-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have discovered that people who practice yoga are better able to manage their body weight and have a lower average body mass index than people who do not practice yoga.
When practicing yoga Karen Sherman, an affiliate associate professor of epidemiology with the Center for Health Studies in the School of Public Health at the University of Washington, has said that the elements of physical postures that participants flow into and then hold, before proceeding to the next posture, a focus on breathing techniques that make participants more aware of their bodies and deep meditation and relaxation, allowing participants to focus on their spirituality, are all important for people to get the best results for their health and well-being.
With the overwhelming evidence in that yoga has many health benefits it would appear wise for people interested in good natural health care alternatives here in Syracuse to consider practicing yoga.
Photographer: Graham Crouch
