Yoga is a spiritual and discipline that includes breath control, meditation, and poses that promote health. It is the result of thousands of years’ efforts of our ancestors who found and documented the many ways one could improve their well-being. Yoga isn’t just a physical exercise, but it is a holistic science that promotes mental and physical well-being. ‘Yoga’ literally translates to union: the coming together of the mind, body, and spirit towards well-being and consciousness.
While the benefits of yoga have been experienced, documented, and well-known, people realize the importance of yoga now more than ever. Yoga is a means to improve physical, mental, and spiritual well-being – the need of the hour. Let us look at some ways how yoga and yoga asanas are great immunity boosters.
- Better flexibility, balance, and strength
Practicing regularly over some time helps improve balance, flexibility, and strength of the body. While doing yoga, it is ideal for holding your breath for a few seconds; this strengthens the targeted muscles and increases the lung capacity.
- Help find pain relief
Yoga is a stress-free and delicate way to get pain relief. Targeted yogasanas can help relieve back pain. It involves stretching, strengthening, and improving mobility in the lower back area. There are multiple yogasanas for back pain relief. However, the simplest of them all is the Cat-Cow pose or the Bitilasana-Marjaryasana. Get down on fours, place your knees below your hip and place your palms under your shoulders. Inhale and drop your stomach like a cow. Next, exhale as your pull your arch back up like a cat.
- Helps relieve arthritis
Arthritis is difficult to manage symptom as heavy exercise can worsen the pain, and no exercise makes your joint stiffer. Arthritis is best treated through the gentle and slow approach that yoga offers. The right poses and yoga asanas can help reduce swelling and the tenderness of joints.
- Promote heart health
As discussed earlier, yoga is a holistic approach to better health. One of the many organs that benefit from yoga is the heart. Regular yoga practice helps calm down the body, soothes the senses, and significantly lowers stress levels. It can also help relieve many other factors that contribute to the ill health of the heart, like obesity and high blood pressure, indirectly contributing to heart health.
- Improves immunity
Yoga boosts immunity by emphasizing breathing techniques. Yoga is a part of Vaidyanath offerings for its immeasurable benefit to the immune system. With every yoga pose, yoga works towards improving lung capacity, improves your breathing (even subconsciously), and helps fight vicious viruses. Sinuses and frequent colds caused by allergies can be managed well with pranayama. It lowers stress significantly, indirectly contributing towards better immunity.
- Improved mental health
With all the primary benefits of yoga, including better physical health, stress management, relief from chronic pain, and more, there is an improvement in mental health. Yoga leaves you with increased mental and physical energy, brighter moods and helps manage mood swings resulting from hormonal imbalances.
On the whole, yoga is the power tool we all need for better mental and physical health.