Yoga and its Relation to Health Essay -- spiritual goals, health benef

Yoga has been practiced for more than 5,000 years. There is an estimated 11 million Americans enjoying the health benefits of yoga. Though few people even know why. Most people think it’s just â€Å"Stretching†, But very few ever really stops to think about the health benefits of yoga. So let’s look at a few of these shall we? Some of the most commonly talked about benefits of yoga are the all-around fitness, weight loss, Stress relief, inner peace, improved immunity, living with greater awareness, better relationships, increased energy, better flexibility and posture, better intuition, increased lubrication of the joints ligaments and tendons, massages all of the organs in the body, complete detoxification, excellent toning of the muscles, reduced heart rate and blood pressure, increased lung function, helps with conditions such as anxiety, depression and insomnia, it has also shown positive effects on levels of certain brain and blood chemicals. So Besides the spiritual goals, the asana of yoga are used to reduce or get rid of health problems reduce stress and make the spine supple. In current times yoga is also used as a complete exercise program and physical therapy routine. The focus of yoga is on calm mindfulness, controlled breathing along with physical movement bringing with it benefits with regular practice. As most people are aware of Yogis sleep better with increased energy levels, and muscle tone, release of muscle pain and stiffness, improves circulation and over all better health. But few people know the breathing aspect of yoga can benefit heart rate and blood pressure. Three main focuses of Hatha Yoga are exercise, breathing and meditation. Making it a great choice for people suffering from hea... .... Yes there is some out there that say yoga is just stretching but those people are only partially right. Yoga unites mind, body and soul so it is obvious it can be used to treat mental and physical conditions. So there for yoga is so much more than most people perceive. Personally yoga has helped me out allot I use to have depression, anxiety, sleep problems and lower back pain. Yes I know I use to be a mess lol. One day I decided to try yoga and my life has been changed ever since. I no longer have any of these problems and I thank yoga for it. Resources: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11832673 http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/the-health-benefits-of-yoga http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatha_Yoga#Health_benefits_ascribed_to_yogasana_practice http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga#Medicine