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International Yoga Day - YOGA and its BENEFITS


If you are getting started or contemplating to start yoga, do get to know more about yoga benefits—getting better sleep or getting fewer colds or just feeling more relaxed and at ease, may be few quick observations you could do when you start with yoga regimen. 

Researchers are catching on to Yoga’s benefits. As health & wellness Initiative for proactive lifestyle, I have laid out few benefits of yoga that are proven.

If you thought that yoga was all about bending and twisting your body in odd shapes, it's time to rethink. Yoga is much more. In very simple words, giving care to your body, mind and breath is yoga. This means that the century-old practice includes yoga postures (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayamas) and meditation. Through these, the body, mind and breath come in harmony with each other.

The word yoga itself means "union"of the individual with the External intelligence. Though many people think of yoga only as physical exercises — the asanas or postures that have gained widespread popularity in recent decades — these are actually only the most superficial aspect of this profound science of unfolding the infinite potentials of the human mind and spirit.

 Yoga improves health, heal aches and pains, and keep sickness at bay. Once you understand them, you’ll have even more motivation to step onto your mat, without asking someone for any proofs. It doesn’t matter if you are not able to bend or touch your toes, or backbend. But if you stick with it, you’ll notice a gradual loosening, and eventually, seemingly impossible poses will become possible. This improves muscle toning and naturally relaxing your muscles, one of the most obvious benefits of yoga. You’ll also probably notice that aches and pains start to disappear. That’s no coincidence. Tight hips or hamstrings can lead to a flattening of the lumbar spine, which can cause back pain. And inflexibility in muscles and connective tissue, such as fascia and ligaments, can cause poor posture. All these gets corrected.

For healthy people, to continue to stay healthy in spite of sedentary lifestyle, yoga is a great solution to stay active. Strong muscles do more than look good. They also protect us from conditions like arthritis and back pain, and help prevent falls. And when you build strength through yoga, you balance it with flexibility.

Imagine your head which is like a bowling ball – big, round and heavy is balanced over an erect spine. Minimal movement of our head in our daily movement obviously would start to strain those muscles and feel tired. This after extended strain can cause pain and degenerative arthritis of the spine. Yoga protects your spine, and also prevents cartilage and joint break down. Each time you practice yoga, you take your joints through their full range of motion, squeezing and soaking the cartilage. Joint cartilage being like a sponge, receives fresh nutrients only when its fluid is squeezed out and a new supply can be soaked up. Without proper sustenance, neglected areas of cartilage can eventually wear out, exposing the underlying bone like worn-out brake pads.

Although would like to elaborate on each of Yoga’s benefits in my next series, will just mention the benefits broadly: Yoga drains your lymphs (your drainage system) and boosts immunity, betters your bone health, ups your heart health, relieve from depression, relaxes your entire system, improves mental balance, helps in decision making, regulates your adrenal glands and lowers your cortisol levels, makes you calm and happier, helps you focus, drops your blood pressure, maintains your nervous system, releases tension in your limbs, helps you sleep deeper, boosts your immune system functionality, gives your lungs room to breathe, prevents IBS and other digestive problems, gives you peace of mind, increases your self-esteem, eases your pain, gives you inner strength, and helps you keep away from un necessary medications. 

While normal people need yoga for their healthy lifestyle, those with health challenges need special attention from the yoga therapist or Doctors (Naturopathy doctors study yoga for 5 years) who understands the body’s anatomy and physiology well have to guide you through therapeutic yoga. Yoga is also contraindicated if not done under guidance in medically challenged cases.

It’s not just movement and postures (asanas), there are usage of specific mudras, sounds, various breathing techniques, medication techniques, different forms of these are used for different purposes and different benefits based on the individual’s health need. Few asanas are contra-indicated for those with arthritis, or spine issues. Those with retinopathy for instance, have to do bending carefully or avoided. Specific sounds to soothe your sinuses, certain types of breathing to keep allergies and viruses at bay, etc. are few examples of variations required

-Dr Monica Muthamma

BNYS, MHA ( Msc . Nutrition & Dietetics ) 

Consultant at WELLBEEING, Integrated Health Care Centre, Bangalore

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