Why Yoga is a Boon for a Healthy Lifestyle (108 Benefits)

Yoga can be used for two purposes, one is exercise & the other is therapy.

Yoga has often been related to a healthy lifestyle. It was referred in ancient writings of Rigveda, Upanishads, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Vaisesika sutra, Bhagavad Gita, Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra, Pasupatasutra, Yogaśataka, Linga Purana, Brahmasutra, Mālinīvijayottara Tantra, Mrgendratantravrtti, Śaradatilaka, Yogabija.

It was introduced by gurus from India after the success of Swami Vivekananda's adaptation of yoga without asanas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Two general theories exist on the origins of yoga. The linear model holds that yoga has Vedic origins, as reflected in the Vedic textual corpus, and influenced Buddhism; according to author Edward Fitzpatrick Crangle, this model is mainly supported by Hindu scholars. According to the synthesis model, yoga is a synthesis of indigenous, non-Vedic and Vedic elements; this model is favored in Western scholarship.

According to Knut A. Jacobsen, yoga has five principal meanings:

1. A disciplined method for attaining a goal

2. Techniques of controlling the body and mind

3. A name of a school or system of philosophy (darśana)

4. With prefixes such as "hatha-, mantra-, and laya-, traditions specializing in particular yoga techniques

5. The goal of Yoga practice

Types of Yoga as per The Bhagavad Gita:

1. Karma yoga: yoga of action

2. Bhakti yoga: yoga of devotion

3. Jnana yoga: yoga of knowledge

Patanjali defined an eight-limbed yoga in Yoga Sutras 2.29:

1. Yama (The five abstentions): Ahimsa (Non-violence, non-harming other living beings, Satya (truthfulness, non-falsehood), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (celibacy, fidelity to one's partner), and Aparigraha (non-avarice, non-possessiveness).

2. Niyama (The five "observances"): Śauca (purity, clearness of mind, speech and body), Santosha (contentment, acceptance of others and of one's circumstances), Tapas (persistent meditation, perseverance, austerity), Svādhyāya (study of self, self-reflection, study of Vedas), and Ishvara-Pranidhana (contemplation of God/Supreme Being/True Self).

3. Asana: Literally means "seat", and in Patanjali's Sutras refers to the seated position used for meditation.

4. Pranayama ("Breath exercises"): Prāna, breath, "āyāma", to "stretch, extend, restrain, stop".

5. Pratyahara ("Abstraction"): Withdrawal of the sense organs from external objects.

6. Dharana ("Concentration"): Fixing the attention on a single object.

7. Dhyana ("Meditation"): Intense contemplation of the nature of the object of meditation.

8. Samadhi ("Liberation"): merging consciousness with the object of meditation.

In Hindu scholasticism since the 12th century, yoga has been one of the six orthodox philosophical schools (darsanas): traditions that accept the Vedas.

Yoga as exercise

Yoga is a physical activity consisting of asanas (often connected by smooth transitions, sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises and usually ending with a period of relaxation or meditation. It is often known simply as "yoga", despite older Hindu traditions (some dating to the Yoga Sutras) in which asanas played little or no part; asanas were not central to any tradition.

Modern yoga types:

1. Hatha

2. Viniyoga

3. Iyengar

4. Ashtanga

5. Sivananda

6. Integral

7. Kundalini

8. Bikram (trending yoga globally)

9. Vinyasa

Other types of Yoga:

1. Raja yoga (By Swami Vivekananda)

2. Kriya Yoga

3. Cittabhumi

4. Shinshin-tōitsu-dō

5. Samyama

6. Thelema

108 Benefits of Yoga:

1. It improves mental & physical wellness

2. It gives relaxation & relieves stress

3. It helps to heal various diseases very quickly along with integrated medicine

4. It improves balancing

5. It improves posture

6. It improves cardiovascular

7. Its relief back pain

8. Its relief headache

9. It helps to reduce rheumatoid arthritis

10. It helps to get rid of sleeping disorder

11. It improves your energy level

12. It helps hair growth

13. It helps skincare

14. It strengthens each & every body part

15. It improves self-care

16. It reduce inflammation

17. It reduces anxiety

18. It will boost immunity

19. It improves self esteem

20. It improves bone health

21. It enables body awareness

22. It enhances brain functioning

23. It helps to reduce depression

24. It reduces period cramps

25. It improves fertility rate

26. It improves motility

27. It helps for weight reduction

28. It improves athletic performance

29. It increases muscle strength & tone

30. It protects from injury

31. It turns you optimistic

32. It reduces anger & violent tendency

33. It will keep you calm

34. It will make you happy

35. It lowers cortisol level

36. It increases serotonin level (happy harmone)

37. It gives inner peace of mind

38. It improves emotional stability

39. It improves self-confidence

40. It increase brains grey matter volume

41. It will improve memory power

42. It improves concentration

43. It increases your attention span

44. It improves focus

45. It makes you smarter

46. It improves your gaming skill

47. It improves mental toughness

48. It improves body recovery time

49. It helps for prompt reaction

50. It increases dexterity

51. It improves agility

52. It increases endurance

53. It will improve hand eye coordination

54. It improves flexibility

55. It gives better abs

56. It improves sexual performance & satisfaction

57. It make your stronger

58. It increases energy level

59. It fights fatigue

60. It lowers blood pressure

61. It improves blood circulation & flow

62. It improves respiration function

63. It helps gastrointestinal function

64. It helps to relieve thyroid problem

65. It regulates metabolism

66. It controls adrenalin glands

67. It lowers blood sugar

68. It lowers cholesterol level

69. It improves endocrine system

70. It increases oxytocin level

71. It helps parasympathetic nervous system

72. It increases red blood cells

73. It lowers triglycerides

74. It reduces oxidative stress

75. Its slowdown aging process

76. It helps weight management

77. It keeps joints healthy

78. It improves spine health

79. It helps mother during pregnancy

80. It improves social & spiritual life

81. It improves interpersonal skills

82. It prevents age related alzheimer's disease

83. It helps to reduce Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

84. It reduce the risk of osteoporosis

85. It protects against type 2 diabetes

86. It lowers risk of stroke

87. It helps to quit smoking

88. It is effective for pain relief

89. It helps the patients of attention deficit disorder & hyperactivity disorder

90. It relieves asthma

91. It helps cancer patient

92. It relief carpal tunnel syndrome

93. It helps to reduce epilepsy seizure

94. It can reduce your medication

95. It reduces Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

96. It helps for menopause symptoms

97. It reduces migraine

98. It encourages mindful eating

99. It helps for eating disorders

100. . It helps with Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

101. . It improves vision

102. . It reduces Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

103. . It reduce Sinusitis

104. . It reduces neck pain

105. . It reduces chronic pain

106. . It helps sciatic nerve

107. . It helps Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

108. . It reduces muscular dystrophy

Disclaimer:

The article having some affiliate links, we will get small commissions if you buy our products.

Thanks for visiting our site.