Practise Yoga for a Healthier Lifestyle

International Yoga Day is celebrated every year on June 21. Yoga is a blend of physical, mental and spiritual practices done for well-being of a person.

It is an ancient skill based on consistent development of body, mind and spirit. Continued practice of yoga provides sense of peace and well-being, and also the feeling of being connected with the surrounding environment.

Yoga makes one’s body strong and flexible, and boosts immunity. It improves the functioning of circulatory, respiratory, digestive, blood flow and hormonal structures.

Here, we are listing various types and benefits of yoga and we also spoke to a few people to know the importance of yoga in everyday life

Power Yoga

Taking you from one pose to the next, power yoga recruits every muscle in the body, revving up your metabolism and resulting in higher calorie burn.

Although it is deemed the most athletic yoga style, power yoga is tough even for athletes. You may also hear it referred to as ‘Vinyasa Flow’ due to its fluidity in movement.

Bikram or Hot Yoga

Both heated up in rooms 95-100 degrees, these types of yoga will certainly get you sweaty and challenged.

Bikram takes you through a series of 26 poses, while hot yoga may be more varied. The heat aids in flexibility and detoxification – classes are popular and vastly expanding!

Vinyasa

Similar to Ashtanga and Hatha, Vinyasa centralizes poses around the Sun salutation while maintaining a synchronized breath matched to 12 poses.

Friendly to beginners and advanced yogis, Vinyasa will strengthen your core and create connection between movement and breath. Look forward to the final relaxation pose, Savasana, at the end of each class.

Ashtanga

Derived from ancient yoga teachings, this is a sequence-style of yoga that links each movement to a breath.

Rigorous in practice, ashtanga performs poses in a specific order, nonstop.

The breathing technique in ashtanga is designed to centre the mind and control breath flow throughout the body while enhancing flexibility and strength.

Kundalini

With a spiritual and philosophical approach, Kundalini will enhance your mind and body awareness.

Energy flow is directed towards the poses while meditation, breathing techniques, and chanting are incorporated to keep you grounded.

Physical relaxation

Yoga is a metaphor for life. The work we put into our yoga practice while on the mat translates to our interactions with others in the real world.

This parallelism can be applied to physical, mental, and emotional aspects of our asana practice.

When we come back to the breath, whether in a challenging balancing pose or a difficult situation in the workplace, the calmness of mind achieved by practicing pranayama translates to physical relaxation and a stronger ability to be mindful and meaningful in our thoughts and actions.

One of my favorite things about yoga class is the adrenaline rush and ‘happy hormones’ that flood my system.

This adrenaline rush can produce positive thoughts, allowing the practitioner to experience creativity, kindness, and feelings of joy long after one has finished practicing.

The beauty of yoga is that it can always be modified or transformed for your body type, physical limitations, or injury. Once mastered, the simple yet powerful modifications on the mat make it much easier to adapt to adverse conditions off the mat.

The researchers found that people who practiced yoga were more mindful eaters.

Practicing yoga helps you be more aware of how your body feels.

This heightened awareness can carry over to mealtime as you savour each bite or sip, and note how food smells, tastes and feels in your mouth.

People who practiced yoga for at least 30 minutes once a week for at least four years, gained mindful eating that can lead to a more positive relationship with food and eating. It’s time we take our yoga off the mat too. - Pratibha Agarwal, founder & director, Anahata Yoga Zone

A positive way of living

I have been practising yoga and teaching since 1996. Where ever I am, I practise yoga every day.

Presently, I am teaching yoga to more than 60 people at Arts College. In recent times, we are witnessing suicides of students due to various reasons.

This is really makes me feel bad. Yoga helps people to live in a positive way.

There is a need to change parents mindset at least now and start practising yoga and making their children inculcate yoga into their lives.

In my opinion, yoga is the only remedy to avert people from negative thoughts.

All the schools, colleges, institutions and companies should maintain a yoga teacher to teach their students or employees. - Y Chalapathi Rao, Yoga Teacher

For a peaceful life

I have started practising yoga recently and I am trying to imbibe it in my daily routine.

We also have a daily class of yoga as part of our curriculum in our training programme.

It is a great experience for me as I love indulging in yoga every day.

Practising yoga daily improves our concentration levels.

Most of the illnesses can be cured by performing various asanas in yoga.

If one wants a peaceful life, then he or she must practise yoga regularly. - Jespal Singh Kshatriya, PRO

To beat stress

During my college days, yoga was a norm, exercises which give you instant relief and fresh mind were taught.

Many corporate companies even encourage the staff to participate in yoga to beat stress.

Practising yoga every day definitely helps people to lead happier lives. - Rana Ashish Chauhan, social activist

Relaxation of mind and body

Yoga helps in relaxation of the body and mind.

More than a habit, if it is incorporated in our lifestyle, it calms our thought process.

Yoga is a way to fitter body and a healthy lifestyle. - Fronia Priscilla, Journalism student