Yoga
Exercise for Healthy Life - Yoga
Yoga is famous for its ability to heal and bring peace of mind. But how does the practice of yoga accomplish this?
There are two nervous systems in the human body: sympathetic and parasympathetic. The sympathetic, commonly known as the "fight or flight" system, causes the blood pressure to rise, the breath rate to quicken, and stress hormones to flood into the body. Historically, this occurred to prepare the body for fighting dangerous animals. But in today's world, we experience this response while we are sitting in traffic or feeling stressed at the office. When this system is overly stimulated, we can experience health consequences such as ulcers, migraines, and heart disease.
Yoga
When one starts practicing yoga, one can hold for three full breaths through most yoga poses. If you feel comfortable in the pose, hold for longer, if uncomfortable, you should come out of the pose immediately.
Seated poses
Types of Yoga Poses
Seated poses – Seated poses are useful for practicing breathing exercises and relaxation or meditation techniques. Seated poses are also often used as a warm up or as a starting point for other poses. Performing seated poses can help improve your posture and open your hips.
Standing poses
Standing poses – Standing poses are often used as warm up or as a starting point for other poses. Standing poses are beneficial for strengthening your legs, opening your hips and improving your sense of balance.
Inversions and Counter poses
Inversions – Inversions are excellent poses to perform to improve your blood circulation, quiet your mind and improve your overall health. Inversions are also believed to reverse the ageing process and reduce the effect of the gravity on your body.
Counter poses – A counter pose is a yoga pose that stretches your spine in the opposite direction from a previous pose or returns your spine to a neutral position.
Twist(again) and Balance
Twists – You can perform twists to stretch and strengthen your back and abdominal muscles, increase the flexibility of your spine and improve your circulation. Twists improve the functioning of your internal organs by providing them with a fresh supply of blood as you twist and release your body.
Balancing poses – Balancing poses are great for improving your balance and coordination as well as developing your ability to remain grounded in a pose. Keeping your body balanced encourages you to focus, quiet and balance your mind.
Relaxation
Relaxation and restorative poses – It is important to take time to perform relaxation or restorative poses at the end of each yoga practice. You can use this time to relax your body and mind and allow energy released by the poses in your practice to move freely throughout your body.