Benefits of Yoga Asanas in daily life

This article is focused more towards finding the yoga asanas benefits for ones body. Yoga practice fills up our reservoirs of hope and optimism and helps to overcome obstacle on the path of perfect health. Yoga asanas provide both preventive and curative benefits.

Yoga asanas not only help keeping the body healthy but also more importantly help benefit in keeping body-breath and mind synergised.

How can yoga asana benefit?

Yoga Asana increase the fresh blood circulation in body, thereby eliminating diseases and toxins that are the consequence of an irregular lifestyle, unhealthy eating habits and poor postures. The regular practice of yoga asana relating to stretches, twists, bends and inversions restore strength and stamina of the body. Some asana together with pranayama or breath control rectify physical, physiological and psychological disorders.

Yoga asanas have following benefits…

Benefits of yoga asanas is to restore mind to simplicity and peace to free it from confusion and stress. Unlike other forms of practices, which strain our muscles and bones, yoga asana generally rejuvenates the body and frees mind from negativity.

1/22. Recuperation of limberness

Main benefit of yoga asana is that it recuperates the limberness of our body. Initially we may not be able to do some simple postures of yoga but on sequencing and practicing the same time and again, the impossible becomes possible.

2/22. Improves muscle strength

Human body is made up of bones and muscles. A muscle contracts and relaxes to ensure the movement of our bones connected to it. Better muscle function assures better and stronger body. Practicing yoga strengthens our muscles, joint proprioception and coordination thereby protecting us from conditions like arthritis, back pain and other health issues.

3/22. Regulating blood flow

Health benefits of Yoga involves vertical, horizontal and cyclic movement of body, which provides energy to our system by directing blood supply to the specific area. It also increases hemoglobin level and RBC count, hence improves oxygen carrying capacity of the blood. Studies have shown that it also thins the blood, which leads to decrease in incidence of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

4/22. Generating calm feeling

These days most of the diseases are caused due to vacillation in the brain and due to altered behavior patterns of our body. In yoga practice, the brain is quietened, the senses are stilled and the perceptions are altered, which generates a calm feeling. Through yoga the brain and the body are set to work together and energy is evenly balanced between the two, which gives the sense of internal peace.

5/22. Posture correction

Our head is like a ball, balancing directly over our spine. The supporting muscles of neck and back get strained throughout the day in controlling and producing movements around the spine. As a result our muscles get tired and alter our posture.

Poor posture can cause many problems ranging from postural pain to disc herniation. Regular practice of yoga benefits regularly our muscle get strengthened which ultimately corrects our posture.

6/22. Prevention of cartilage and joint diseases

While practicing yoga asana we perform full range of motion of joints. With this squeezing and releasing of all areas of joint cartilage takes place, which helps to improve local circulation and eliminates any waste collected out there. This improves joint and cartilage health thus preventing degenerative diseases.

7/22. Maintaining bone health

Yoga practice benefits in increasing bone density in all weight bearing bones. It lowers the level of stress hormone cortisol, ultimately helps in keeping calcium in bones. Weight bearing asanas give strength to bones and help prevent osteopenia and osteoporosis thereby improving Body Health.

8/22. Facilitate lymph drainage

With the continuous contraction and relaxation of muscles and movements of organs, lymph drainage is facilitated thus helping in maintaining healthy lymphatic system. Lymphatic system is responsible for fighting infections and improves immunity.

9/22. Yoga benefits in regulating heart rate

If you practice vigorous yoga asana movements, heart rate can go into peak aerobic range, thus lowering risk of heart diseases and can relieve depression. Studies proved that aerobic conditioning improves with regular practice of yoga, which causes decrease in resting heart rate, improve cardiovascular conditioning and improve maximum oxygen uptake during exercise.

10/22. Lowers blood pressure

Studies have shown that yoga asana practice can drop both systolic as well as diastolic blood pressure. Practicing of even shavasan for three months was associated with a 26 point drop in systolic and 15-point drop in diastolic blood pressure as per the study published in British medical journal the lancet.

11/22. Yoga benefits in improving flexibility

With regular practice there is gradual loosening of muscle, cartilages and fascia, thus diminishing pain caused by tight fascia or muscles and help protect us from degenerative conditions and optmising health.

12/22. Regulation of adrenal glands

Yoga lowers level of stress hormone Cortisol. Cortisol is secreted by adrenal glands during acute crisis. Higher level of cortisol causes depression; osteoporosis, high blood pressure and type II diabetes mellitus also high level of cortisol is associated with increase body fat in abdomen, contributing to obesity.

13/22. Yoga benefits in lowering of blood sugar

Yoga can lower blood sugar and bad cholesterol (LDL) and boosts good cholesterol (HDL). In diabetics it lowers cortisol and adrenalin levels, which causes weight loss and improves insulin sensitivity. Also yoga decreases risk of diabetic complications such as heart attack, diabetic neuropathy and kidney failure thereby improving overall Health.

14/22. Keeping away from allergies and viruses

Kriyas or cleansing practices which include everything from rapid breath work to elaborate internal cleansing of intestines helps prevent us from allergies. Yoga jal neti practice removes pollen and viruses from nose by lavage of nasal passages with salt water, helps to drain sinuses.

15/22. Building awareness for transformation

Yoga practice reduces anger by increasing the feeling of empathy and by calming the nervous system, thus avoids risk of heart attack.

16/22. Keeps you drug free

Studies has shown that with the practice of yoga, people with asthma, hypertension, diabetes start using lower doses of medications resulting in curtailing of expenditure and avoid drug related side effects.

17/22. Gives inner strength

The Sanskrit word tapas means heat generated by an endeavour or discipline. Practice of yoga asanas is living a life of Tapas. This tapas is the fire, which extends to the rest of our life to help overcome bad habits. With yoga practice it is observed we start to eat better, exercise more or quit smoking and drinking.

18/22. Easing of pain

Regular practice of Yoga benefits in reducing pain in persons with arthritis, back pain, fibromyalgia and other chronic conditions. Further when one is relieved from pain, the mood improves and one pays more heed to work, besides feeling less dependent on medication.

19/22. Increasing self-esteem

Due to low self-esteem we can attain negativity, which can affect our health physically, mentally and spiritually. If we practice yoga, with an attention of self-examination and betterment we can revert negativity.

20/22. Preventing digestive problems

Yoga asana can ease constipation by adopting twisting poses as movement of body facilitates transportation of food and waste products.

21/22. Giving room to lungs for breathing

Yoga asana and yoga breathing benefits in promoting breathing through nose, warms and humidifies it, removes unwanted things like dust and pollen thereby preventing them to enter into lungs. Further studies have shown that yoga increases maximum lung capacity, tidal volume, exercise capacity and oxygen saturation.

22/22. Helps in sound sleep

Yoga benefits in relieving us from the speedy modern life. Processes like yoga nidra, shavasana and pranayama soothe our nervous system and decrease stress and provide sound sleep.