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Fitness

The Benefits of Yoga

Yoga is the ultimate exercise in that it massages not only the body, but it also disciplines the mind and the spirit. While there are many derivatives of yoga like pilates, not one of them comes even close to giving us that all in one routine to keep us healthy and fit in all our levels of existence.

Physically, yoga is a great routine to help us get rid of back pain. Most of us sit through the whole day in front of desks. Sitting down for this long period of time tends to make us slouch and stoop. This causes the spine to re-form unnaturally. Because the spine is bent out of shape, back pain rears its ugly head.

With the use of yoga, this problem is automatically eliminated. Yoga stimulates the lubrication of the tendons, joints and ligaments and this, in turn, increases flexibility of the body. More surprising is that yoga also exercises our internal organs. Yoga practitioners claim that they get a sense of their body and are therefore aware of an impending health crisis. This allows them to take preventive action.

Because of yoga being a complete, body massage routine, it manages to remove all toxins present in the body every time the routines are performed. Comprehensive yoga exercises also tone all of the body’s muscles without having to literally sweat it out during work out times. Compared to other exercises, yoga is geared towards form of movement rather than movement for movement’s sake. Each movement of a yoga routine is calculated to deliver maximum stimulation to the muscles utilized during the movement. Yoga movements are usually made by moving slowly to a desired position then hold, and then moving back again to the start position. All movements are done with breathing coordination. It really is hard to pick up yoga by yourself if you want to be able to copy the movements precisely. It will take an instructor to teach the proper movement and breathing pattern for yoga exercises. This is even truer for advanced exercises.

Ultimately, the purpose of yoga is to unite body, mind and spirit. Through yoga and meditation, the practitioner can aspire to perfect or enlighten him or herself by placing themselves into a deeper state of consciousness that allows them to detach themselves from their surroundings and all the stimulants that come with it. In ancient times, yoga practitioners went for weeks or months at a time with little or no food and water in order to reach this desired state. While it is amazing to be able to reach such a state, the fact that there is almost no food or water intake is even more amazing.

How? How can a mere physical exercise coupled with deep meditation lower the body’s metabolism so much so that you don’t need to eat or drink for weeks at a time? That is one question I will want to have an answer to. I can look for it in the internet or I can do yoga myself. If I want quick answers, I’ll use the internet. If I want both answers and yoga benefits, I’d have to do yoga and skip cheating.

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