Preview

Benefits of Yoga Essay Example

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1598 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Benefits of Yoga Essay Example
Yoga Research Paper In our modern society, yoga seems like a new trend, but it actually began more than three thousand years ago in India. The word “yoga” is Sanskrit means to "yoke," or unite, the mind, body, and spirit. Although yoga includes physical exercise, it is also is a way of life for which exercise is just one element. The main components of yoga are based on training your mind, body, and breathing, as well as connecting with your spirituality.
Within the last few centuries, innovations and urbanizations of our society have strongly influenced the way we live. We strongly strive for that comfortable way of life, consisting of a balanced diet and a steady income. The way we eat to the way we find relaxation is much different from those of ancient times. Our food expectations have become increasingly high, resulting in bad health including high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity. To make our society a better one and lessen these problems, yoga is the perfect solution. Yoga is for everyone, including you. You can begin your practice at any age, in any physical condition or in any place where you can take a deep breath (Khalsa & Seibel 1). You should do yoga twice a week because it improves your weight control, expands your physical endurance, and enhances your sex life.
Yoga improves your weight control. There have been many studies to determine whether yoga increases mindful eating and leads to less weight which stimulates weight loss. In one yoga study conducted by Alan Kristal and colleagues, they tested over fifteen thousand men and women in their mid-fifties. Out of those who had been normal weight at age forty-five, only one hundred of them had practiced yoga for four or more years at least thirty minutes weekly. These subjects average weight gain was about three pounds less than the subjects who don’t do yoga. Another group of thirty subjects that had been overweight at age forty-five actually lost an average of five pounds

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hum130 Hinduism Terms Map

    • 303 Words
    • 2 Pages

    | My understanding of Yoga is it is a relaxing exercise to clear your mind and relax muscles.…

    • 303 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The motive behind choosing to use yoga to exercise is different than choosing aerobic exercises. Both are used for basic exercise, but it gets more detailed from there. Students in a yoga class are there to release stress and increase flexibility in addition to exercising. Another motive from yoga is that it can improve sleep. It is a minor reason, but it is due to the fact that light physical activity help fall asleep more quickly ("7 Reasons You Should Start Doing Yoga Immediately")…

    • 899 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The elderly often suffer from more chronic diseases, such as hypertension, arthritis and insomnia. Yoga has long been shown to alleviate the symptoms of many of these conditions, as it combines physical poses with relaxation techniques and breathing, to improve overall health and well-being. The important thing is to check with your doctor before beginning.…

    • 379 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Bikram yoga was developed thirty years ago by Bikram Choudhury, a renowned Hatha Yoga Master. It is a specific yoga practice that is carried out in 105˚ F at 40% humidity for 90 minutes. Some studies and practitioners have suggested that Bikram yoga practice has positive impacts on physical health as well as decreasing stress and anxiety. There were certain inclusion criteria for participation in this study. Age was not an exclusion and participants ranged in age from 18 to over 60 years of age. This study sought to interview active students of Bikram yoga who have been practicing consistently for at least the last eight weeks, at a minimum of three times per week. Students meeting the requirements at the Bikram yoga studios in San Antonio were invited to complete the survey instrument from November 16 through November 26, 2011. Seventy-five students responded to the survey. The results indicated that there are significant positive results from regularly practicing Bikram yoga. Since Bikram yoga encourages students to hold poses in a “hot” room it increases heart rate and acts as a cardiovascular exercise without the high impact normally associated with cardio exercises. The results of the survey instrument yielded over 50% of respondents reporting an answer of “somewhat better” for all of the questions, indicating that most respondents see a benefit in their practice. Additionally, stress and anxiety decreased with over 80% of respondents reporting somewhat to much less anxious and stressed. Improvements to physical fitness were observed with over 90% reporting improved…

    • 5925 Words
    • 24 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Nt1330 Unit 3 Assignment

    • 2805 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Yoga is a system of techniques that can be used for a number of goals, from simply managing stress better, learning to relax, and increasing limberness all the way to becoming more self-aware and acquiring the deepest knowledge of one’s own self. The core of Yoga’s philosophy is that everything is supplied from within the individual. Thus, there is no dependence on an external figure, either in the sense of a person or god figure, or a religious organization.…

    • 2805 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Truman Show Essay

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Yoga is a health practice that has been practiced in India for thousands of years and has now become popular around the world (1). It is known as a gentle form of exercise consisting of body postures and breathing…

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hatha yoga, unknown when and how it originated, is one of the most practised types of yoga around the world. This type of yoga uses poses and conscious breathing in combination with mental focus to develop awareness, relaxations, flexibility, and strength. Hatha yoga helps with the strengthening of the heart and the slowing down of respiration. Studies have shown that Hatha yoga is beneficial in the treating of certain conditions such as heart disease, arthritis, hypertension, depression, carpal tunnel syndrome, and chronic pain (Ken R. Wells, 2012).…

    • 1081 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Yoga arrived to the United States somewhere around the late 1800s, but hadn’t become commonly known until the 1960s. It is well known that the techniques of Yoga can contribute to general health and well-being. Many physicians recommend Yoga to patients who suffer from heart disease, back pains, depression, arthritis, insomnia, asthma, and other chronic conditions.…

    • 1348 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Synthesis Essay

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Yoga was found to reduce BP and was also associated with other health benefits such as reducing blood glucose level, cholesterol level, body weight and high-risk cardiovascular disease. However, the generalizability of these outcomes were mitigated by the variability of yoga styles, duration of interventions, blood pressure screening methods, short-term interventions and inadequate description of demographical information. The lack of generalizability and high degree of variability are the limiting factors in making yoga therapy an evidenced-based practice that can be prescribed as a standardized treatment of…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Yoga Exercise Research

    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages

    There is much research supporting the theory that proper exercise is the best solution to eliminating back pain. Though exercise weak muscles can be strengthen and retrained. Strong, balanced muscles support the spinal column and helping to correct any dysfunction. Many turn to yoga for help in relieving back pain. But what yoga exercises or movements are the best for back pain.…

    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    History of Yoga

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Yoga is more than just a physical exercise. It is designed to be a meditation tied in with relaxation of the body and mind. The history of yoga is split up into four periods: the Vedic Period, Pre-Classical Period, Classical and Post-Classical Periods. In the Vedic Period, yogic teachings came from the Vedas, a collection of hymns which praise a divine power. From these praises, certain rituals and ceremonies were incorporated into stretches and the relaxation of the mind. The Pre-Classical Period’s yoga depended on the Upanishads, a book of scriptures that the people of India followed. This type of yoga focused on three subjects: the ultimate reality, the transcendental self and the relationship between the two. Today, this is where the main focus of modern day yoga derives from.…

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Branding Yoga

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages

    * As per tradition, the Yoga has been considered as an activity for quieting the mind, transcending the physical self and attaining communion with the divine. It was considered as an art to be passed from one generation to another generation from teacher to its disciple. Hence Yoga has never been seen as a brand or from commercial aspect of it.…

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Interrupting the stream of thought: Practicing yoga on a daily basis, ensures that even for just a few moments, an individual can escape the day’s endless stream of thoughts and worries, and find space to reflect on their actions. Thinking positive thoughts, helps a person stay focus with reality, more positive and receptive to reality; focusing on problems or injuries can bring depression; and thinking angry thoughts can leave a person less receptive to therapy or increasing the healing time from…

    • 1365 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hindus use yoga to connect with their souls and their spiritual beliefs. It is a philosophy and a way of life for Hindus. However, it seems to be more and more open to interpretation as it gains widespread popularity around the world(A. Lohia). Some Hindus believe that yoga should stay true to its original meaning, that it should not be changed, and that all aspects should be used during every yoga session.…

    • 2097 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Yoga therapy is an ancient holistic system of recovery of the body. For proper functioning of the body, one needs to balance the operation of such systems as digestion and blood circulation, to establish the normal operation of the endocrine glands and the vestibular apparatus. In this case, the energy state of the tissues of the body depends on the good functioning of the nervous system. The practice of yoga is based on the use of asanas and pranayama. Asanas are the physical exercises, but they are not only physical exercises. Asanas are used to affect all three aspects of a man (body, mind and consciousness), forming and combining them into one harmonious unity. Pranayama is a set of breathing practices aimed at the relaxation not only of the body, but also of the soul. It is the way of relaxation and meditation, which ensures the successful use of asanas. Because being effective in solving different problems, “more and more people afflicted with stress-related illnesses are flocking to yoga to help with managing the symptoms of these illnesses” (The Everything Yoga Blog, 2009).…

    • 958 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays