The Health Benefits of Yoga

Of all the various alternative medicines and remedies that are in use today, there can be little doubt that one is more mainstream than any other, both for the meditative and physical aspects: Yoga. Yoga is a very traditional physical and mental discipline that originated thousands of years ago in India and other parts of Asia. It borrows parts of the meditative aspect of both Buddhism and Hinduism and has come to represent the very peaceful part of those religions in the Western world.

Today, Yoga is practiced in the Western hemisphere for a variety of reasons. Some practice for the physical aspect, the strength of body that can be derived from it. However, many also practice for the psychological aspect: the inner peace and the balance and strength of mind that Yoga can offer. While there can be no doubt that Yoga offers many benefits suggested by practitioners of alternative medicine, there also are others that have been subject to scientific scrutiny. This has led many doctors today to recommend Yoga to recovering patients. For example, a survey of the hundreds of tests on the subject conducted by Johns Hopkins University found that "These studies have shown that yoga is a safe and effective way to increase physical activity that also has important psychological benefits due to its meditative nature." And then, of course, the practice has stood the test of time. If it were not a healing art, would people still practice it today?

The largest psychological health benefit of Yoga is that it puts your body back into its natural state of balance, as it allows you to get back the inner calm that is destroyed by the rigors of daily life. A practitioner's blood pressure, pulse rate, and respiratory rate almost always all drop. In some studies, it has even been found that unnecessary brain activity will decrease, meaning that a person loses built up tension. As with most meditative activities, a person may also find that their concentration will increase, and that in situations where they might otherwise have lost their temper or panicked they will be able to stay completely calm and collected. And the lessening of tension can lead to an increase in mood overall, as a person won't be as edgy. Some of the other alleged psychological benefits that have not been proven as well include improvements in ability to learn, social skills, sense of well being, and even a person's depth perception. Many also say that Yoga leads to growth in self-awareness and self-appreciation.

Those are only the psychological benefits. There are far more physical benefits to daily or weekly Yoga that have never been denied, by almost any study. No one can doubt the fact that Yoga increases a person's flexibility and dexterity, strength, posture, hand-eye coordination, and almost anything that any exercise can improve. This is because Yoga is such a diverse practice. While much of the practice is a calm, ordered, exercise, there also are many exercises that can lead to a high pulse rate, hard breathing. Therefore, a person who practices Yoga will find that they are working almost every muscle in their body, and that their strength will dramatically improve.

Finally, there are the biochemical benefits. As with any other type of exercise, a well-oiled body will be more efficient. It has been found that in daily practitioners of Yoga, most every type of vitamin and important electrolyte is at above-average levels, while many of the "bad" chemicals are at lower levels. This includes everything from an increase in hemoglobin (improving blood oxygen content) to an increase in white blood cell count (improving the functioning of the immune system). It has been found that the "good" cholesterol increases (HDL), while all of the other kinds of cholesterol decrease. The number and variety of chemical improvements are too long to list, but have been both scientifically and naturally proven on many occasions.

Overall, there can be no doubt that Yoga offers a natural way to get a person into the best health of their life. It has stood so many tests to prove that it works, not the least of them being the hundreds of people who practice it every day, due to their own improved standard of living. And every day, as more and more practitioners find that their lives are improved, the new science continues to support what many people have long known: Yoga is an excellent and healthy addition to your daily routine.

Citations:

" 77 Surprising Health Benefits of Yoga | NursingDegree.net." Nursing Schools : LPN RN BSN MSN : Online Nursing Degree. 13 Apr. 2009 .

"Benefits of Yoga - Why Yoga Exercise is Good for You." Yoga Info, News, Pictures, Forum, Shop, Travel and Community. 13 Apr. 2009 .

"Yoga's Health Benefits." WebMD - Better information. Better health.. 13 Apr. 2009 .