While yoga may seem a bit extreme, there are many proven benefits of this ancient practice. A single 60-minute class can dramatically improve your life. This ancient practice helps you develop endurance and tolerance and improves your social interactions. The true yogi can even lift the highest mountains and build a great society. Raja yoga, for example, takes practitioners to an entirely new realm of experience, bringing them in contact with higher powers and reaching the highest point of bliss and purity. Hence, it is no wonder that yoga has such a profound impact on human health and happiness.
In addition to improving overall health, yoga helps improve your focus. During asana (poses), yoga instructors ask their students to focus on their spine and let their minds drift away. As their body relaxes, this triggers a relaxation response that has a dramatic effect on the body. Blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration will reduce, and the body’s healing mechanisms will begin to kick into gear. Yoga is not a religion, but rather a science that unites the mind, body, and soul. By focusing on the breath and sensations in the body, yoga practice can help you improve your concentration.
Another study suggests that regular yoga practice can improve scholastic performance. It can also increase physical energy, which improves academic performance. The study also revealed that those who practiced yoga regularly had higher IQs and improved mental health. Moreover, the practice of yoga can improve mood and self-regulation skills. An evaluation of a yoga program in children found significant improvements in anger control and reduced fatigue in those who participated.
Another benefit of yoga is its mental benefits. While it has traditionally been practiced to combat depression, it is now used to enhance one’s well-being. The positive psychology field recognizes this as a core topic. Yoga teaches a person how to enter a state of flow that is unbound by worldly objects or the senses. It cultivates a more relaxed state of mind that can help you better cope with life’s challenges.
It’s not surprising that yoga can be so beneficial for our physical health. It can help reduce blood pressure, alleviate back pain, and even help us deal with anxiety, depression, and anger. In fact, yoga’s name, which loosely translates to “yoke,” can be a powerful metaphor for the union of body and spirit. It also aims to create perfect harmony between the breath and the body.
Another virtue associated with yoga is upeksha, or the ability to discern clearly and view justly. Upeksha is the state of mind where a person experiences neither excitement nor pain. It is a state that transcends all distinctions, and is considered to be one of the seven factors that lead to enlightenment. It is the attitude of a scientist. Yogis do not shy away from unpleasantness, but instead examine it in order to gain insight.