How often do you think to yourself that "should I be doing yoga" or "should I be hitting the gym?" Well don't hit your brain so hard, let's address this question together, but first, we wish all our readers a Very Happy International Yoga Day. This day is marked every year on 21st June to recognize the significance of simple yet powerful Yog Asanas that are one of the most effective ways of being mindful, healthy, and fit. How? Well, they say Yoga is like a retreat to our body from our busy messy lives. It helps to calm our minds and binds our souls to a mindful journey towards healthy well-being. The word yoga itself is originated from the Sanskrit word Yuj which means ‘to join’ or ‘to unite". It is known to honor the physical, mental, spiritual, intellectual, and emotional aspects of an individual. It helps our minds avoid things that can cause an inescapable battle inside like violence and guide us towards a moral path. It teaches us the discipline, the 'Niyama' to follow the ethical and healthy practices, and 'pratyahara', the control that we need to observe while following a healthy diet. But most importantly it encompasses the " Asanas", the postures to keep our bodies fit, agile, and flexible to avoid improper expansion of fats in a human body.
Performing these Asanas is like manipulating your energy in a certain direction and transforming your mind and body, away from all the compulsive and unhealthy practices in life. There are a total of 84 yoga asanas which means 84 postures and 84 ways to elevate your energy and attain joy, wellness, and blissfulness. Yoga has known to cure diseases like
● Asthma through pranayam and anulom-vulomserve.
● Arthritis through suryanamaskar.
● Diabetes through triangular posses that can help in controlling blood sugar levels.
● Hypertension and Depression through uttanasana.
● Poly Cystic Ovaries where the corpse pose can have a powerful effect on the functions of ovarian cysts.
● Lower Back Pain can be relieved through tree pose or the tadasana.
As time has evolved we have associated yoga we fitness and flexibility. The question now, is Yoga enough, or do we need some exercise?
Physical fitness results from cardio, muscular strength, endurance, body composition, flexibility, balance, agility, and power. Cardio exercises include aerobic exercises that allow the system to upgrade and move oxygen while endurance exercises include weight training and resistance training that elevate your muscle strength. Stretching is a great form of flexibility exercise that helps one to remove all the tension and stress between various joints in the body, soothing its functions and the great news is, Yoga facilitates this all.