The benefits of Yoga

Many of us envision the practice of yoga as one where a person sits in a meditative position, with legs folded and eyes closed, with a soft “ummmmm” escaping their lips. Yoga practitioners may seem ‘at one with nature’, worry-free and easy to deal with. These assumptions may be partly true. However, yoga, and its practices go much deeper and can be dated to centuries ago. Yoga is actually a discipline that originated from India, and according to some sources, dated to over 5,000 years ago. It is defined as a spiritual, mental and physical discipline, whose goal is to attain a perfect spiritual insight and tranquility. There are many schools of thought on yoga and the achievements within. However, it is agreed that the practice reaps many benefits to the human body, mind and spirit. Here are some benefits:
 
Flexibility
The series of yoga poses called asanas work by safely stretching your muscles. This releases the lactic acid that builds up with muscle use and causes stiffness, tension, pain, and fatigue. In addition, yoga increases the range of motion in joints. It may also increase lubrication in the joints. The outcome is a sense of ease and fluidity throughout your body. Yoga stretches not only your muscles but all of the soft tissues of your body. That includes ligaments, tendons, and the fascia sheath that surrounds your muscles.

Strength
Some styles of yoga, such as ashtanga and power yoga, are more vigorous than others. Practicing one of these styles will help you improve muscle tone. But even less vigorous styles of yoga, such as Iyengar or hatha, which focuses on less movement and more precise alignment in poses, can provide strength and endurance benefits. Many of the poses, such as downward facing dog, upward facing dog, and the plank pose, build upper-body strength. This becomes crucial as people age. The standing poses, especially if you hold them for several long breaths, build strength in your hamstrings, quadriceps, and abdominal muscles.
Poses that strengthen the lower back include upward facing dog and the chair pose. When practiced correctly, nearly all poses build core strength in the deep abdominal muscles.

Stress relief
Yoga can help reduce the effects of stress on your body because it encourages relaxation and lowers the amount of cortisol in the body.
 
Better breathing
Yoga helps you to learn to take deep slower breaths with its daily exercises. It helps to increase lung functions and sets off the body’s relaxation response. This can be one of the most powerful benefits of yoga.
 
Pain prevention
Increased flexibility and strength can help prevent the causes of some types of back pain. Many people who suffer from back pain spend a lot of time sitting at a computer or driving a car. That can cause tightness and spinal compression, which you can begin to address with yoga. Yoga also improves your alignment, both in and out of class, which helps prevent many other types of pain.

Body awareness
Doing yoga will give you an increased awareness of your own body. You are often called upon to
make small, subtle movements to improve your alignment. Over time, this will increase your level of comfort in your own body. This can lead to improved posture and greater self-confidence.The standard yoga class ranges from about 60 minutes to 90 minutes, and according to most sources, takes about four to six weeks to achieve some desired result from the discipline.

Compiled by Tennille Alleyne

For more on yoga and its benefits visit http://yoga.about.com/od/beginningyoga/a/benefits.htm
http://www.webmd.com/balance/the-health-benefits-of-yoga
www.wikipedia.com