Yoga is a science of health and right living aiming to unite the body, mind and spirit.  When one starts to practice yoga he is helping in maintaining a healthy functioning of his body and mind because yoga techniques are especially designed to maximize one’s own potential for good health and well being. 

In our every day life the feeling of being full of vitality and health is quite rare for most of us. This is mainly because we start to take our body for granted without any thought. We start eating unhealthy foods; spending long hours sitting down shut off from air and sunlight and very often not allowing our bodies to stretch and breath in some fresh air. This results in what people experience as being drained of energy. When our bodies start to complain we just take pills silencing the very signals that our body is in trouble and further damaging our body’s natural repair systems. Much of the health problems we suffer arise from this long term running down of our body system.

 Exercise is today advocated by all health disciplines, but yoga exercises are unique. Yogis believe that proper exercise is designed not to develop muscle and exhaust our strength but to gently tone and stretch the body and above all to stimulate circulation right down to cellular level. In doing so our tissues are nourished, wastes and toxins removed, vital organs massaged and toned and our body returns to full efficiency.

 When we practice yoga poses we connect the movement of the body and the fluctuations of the mind to the rhythm of our breath. By connecting the mind, body, and breath we are directing our attention inward. We learn to recognize our habitual thought patterns without labeling them, judging them, or trying to change them. We become more conscious and aware of our experiences from moment to moment. The consciousness that we nurture is what makes yoga a practice, rather than a task or a goal to be completed. Your body but most of all your mind will most likely become much more flexible. Yoga practice will help us to tune into the flow of our own life energy.

Few tips for a healthier you:

 

Relax –Relaxation releases tensions accumulated in the body and helps to rest the whole system leaving you refreshed as after a good night rest. Relaxation teaches you how to conserve energy and let go of all worries and anxiety. Remember if your muscles are relaxed then your mind is relaxed. A few minutes of deep relaxation will minimize worry and fatigue more than many hours of restless sleep.

 

Breathe properly – Correct Breathing leads to good health. Breath is the most essential process of the body influencing each and every cell together with the performance of the brain. Irregular breathing usually due to an irregular life upsets the rhythms of the brain which in turn will lead to physical, emotional and mental blockages and disease. Yoga breathing exercises teaches you how to increase the oxygen intake, how to recharge your body and how to control your mental state.

 

Eat properly – A proper diet should be nourishing and well balanced. Remember you are what you eat. Aim to eat as much natural foods as possible such as fruit, grains and vegetables in order to keep the body light and agile and the mind calm giving good resistance to disease.

 

Practice Yoga Poses (asanas) - Proper exercise is given by yoga postures which work systematically on all parts of the body by stretching and toning the muscles and ligaments keeping the spine and joints flexible. Moreover yoga asanas help to improve circulation and to remove toxins accumulated in the body.

 

Be positive – Positive thinking and meditation will help you to remove all negative thoughts and to take a brighter look at life. Reduce unnecessary wants and worries. Have plain living and enjoy life’s simple moments.

 

Yoga can help to restore harmony and balance to our body even after years of unhealthy living have resulted in ailments well known to us all – stress, anxiety, depression, hypertension, insomnia, rheumatism, back pain and so on.

 

The natural state of the body is health with mind and body relaxed – it is only the fast pace of modern life that has made us forget.