Yoga is a series of asanas (postures) that improve flexibility, achieve spiritual and physical harmony. But it is not a cure for all problems and, despite the numerous "pluses", it has its drawbacks. Yoga: benefits and harms for women - what more?
In order to get the maximum benefit from the classes, you need to follow some rules.
All classes are based on breathing. Breathing exercises in yoga is called pranayama. First, exhale to let the stale air out of your lungs. During breathing, the abdominal muscles and diaphragm are involved in the process. Thanks to correct breathing, the body relaxes, oxygen enters the brain, and well-being improves.
In no case do not fuss during classes. Each asana is performed at a measured pace. Focus on your breath and the exercise you are doing.
Ideally, for classes, you need to allocate a special bright room where street noise does not penetrate.
Listen to your body. Yoga should bring only positive feelings. If you experience pain while performing an asana, then the exercise should be replaced.
Varieties of yoga
There are several interesting views yoga. If you read this list, you will definitely find something for yourself.
Hatha
The journal Psychosomatic Medicine did the study. It turned out that women who practice hatha yoga cope with stress faster than others.
You can start with the classic version: asanas - even breathing- delay - exit from the asana.
Ashtanga Vinyasa
This type yoga is especially loved by teenagers, as it is similar to aerobics. Ashtanga vinyasa includes nine vinyasas (dynamic asanas using special breathing techniques) that flow from each other non-stop. At the same time, it is important to concentrate on breathing, do not forget about relaxation and perform asanas in the prescribed sequence. With this type of yoga, about five hundred calories are burned per hour (equivalent to a bar of chocolate). So those who think yoga is boring, ashtanga will surprise.
Yin yoga
The name of yoga comes from the word "Yin". It symbolizes the peaceful feminine. Each asana requires a delay of three to five minutes. Yin yoga does not need a coach, because the main thing here is not correct execution and personal comfort.
power yoga
Power in translation from English means "strength". This type of yoga is similar to Ashtanga in its dynamism. The difference is that power yoga does not require following the order of asanas - you can do different exercises each time.
iyengar
This type of yoga is useful for people recovering from injuries. The asanas included in it are aimed at the harmonious development of the body and its perfection in terms of anatomy. In each asana, you need to linger for three to four minutes.
The journal JAMA Internal Medicine conducted a study and proved that Iyengar yoga relieves chronic back pain in four months.
Bikram
The so-called "hot yoga". The room is heated to a temperature of forty degrees. Such conditions improve muscle elasticity, remove toxins, toxins and extra pounds from the body.
Yogalates
This is a partial synthesis of yoga (asanas that develop flexibility) and Pilates ( strength exercises). This alternation leads to strengthening of the muscles, beautiful relief and slim body.
Pros of yoga
So why is yoga good for women?
Flexibility
One of the first things that is associated with yoga. And not in vain. All asanas are aimed at developing flexibility and strengthening muscles. Due to this, the tone of the body increases.
In some cases, a person's height can increase by a centimeter or two after systematic yoga classes.
Healing
Yoga classes contribute to the healing of joints and bones, alleviate the situation with sprains, dislocations, and fractures. It happens because during classes blood circulation improves and provides damaged cells with nutrients. This relieves pain and promotes accelerated healing.
Moreover, yoga can prevent all these damages.
weight loss
Asanas do not carry a strong physical load, so you will not be able to quickly lose weight. But yoga can affect the diet, make it healthier, due to which weight loss will occur. Yoga also reduces appetite and normalizes metabolism.
Slenderness
Unlike weight loss, here the result is unambiguous - after regular classes With yoga, the body will become slender and toned, and the posture will be admirable.
Leather
The skin is toned, it becomes elastic and tightened, the risk of early wrinkles is reduced.
Impact on the brain
Yoga strengthens motor memory, improves coordination, concentration and reaction.
The cardiovascular system
All asanas contribute to the improvement of the condition of cardio-vascular system and increase endurance. The heart processes a larger volume of blood, because of this, the body receives a sufficient amount of oxygen.
Treatment of diseases
Hatha yoga succeeds in treating asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure, improves general state in rheumatism, epilepsy and hysteria.
Before taking the medicine, make sure that you have no contraindications to it. The situation is the same with yoga. Here is what is not compatible with it:
- diseases of internal organs in the acute stage (appendicitis, pancreatitis, etc.)
- blood diseases
- disorders in the cardiovascular system
- oncological diseases
- inguinal hernia
- the first six months after a heart attack or stroke
- infections in the brain or spinal cord
- high blood pressure or body temperature
- serious mental disorders (schizophrenia)
- SARS, influenza, tonsillitis
- back problems
Yoga should not be practiced by pregnant women who have a period of more than three months and within four months after childbirth.
Many girls (but not all) say that yoga during menstruation leads to severe pain.
Some girls, having seen enough pictures of professional yogis doing unthinkable poses, try to repeat it. In vain. Often this only leads to injuries: sprains of muscles and ligaments, spinal injuries and joint damage.
A beginner can exaggerate the concept of "pranayama" and breathe too actively. This will lead to an imbalance in nervous system, loss of concentration.
The ideal option is to contact a trainer. Now there are a lot of unqualified people who teach yoga, so before you pay money, make sure the trainer is reliable.
There is no such person who would not benefit from yoga, so it is safe to say that it is suitable for everyone. The exception is some diseases in which the benefits of yoga are questioned and its practice can even harm: infections of the brain and spine, malignant tumors, mental illness, acute diseases of internal organs. In other cases systematic studies yoga normalizes all physiological processes in the body, and the body begins to function smoothly - this is how it works, probably, only in childhood, when nature itself fully helps the young body.
How do yoga practitioners benefit from yoga? When viewed from the side, people are sitting in comfortable positions and do nothing special... Nevertheless, work in static position going serious. In short, by combining breathing with muscle tension and relaxation of the body.
Breathing allows you to control attention and enhances the effect of the asana. Muscle tension sets in motion the deep-lying muscles (passive), and they, in turn, reflexively affect internal organs, to which in other types physical activity just don't get there. And finally, after a good tension, there is a deep and high-quality relaxation of the whole body.
The benefits of yoga for men: a digression into history
In ancient India, yoga, generally speaking, was considered an occupation only for men, as a way to achieve the Absolute, the highest knowledge of oneself and merge with the Creator after complete liberation from the material and purification from karmic activity. To achieve liberation is a man's prerogative.
Human consciousness goes through certain stages of development from the mineral world, continuing with the vegetable and animal, and receiving a human incarnation. Being born, a person also goes through stages of development of consciousness, and, from this point of view, a woman is a certain stage. According to yogic treatises, only women who perform their earthly duties well, serving their husband and family, can acquire the right to be born a man. Further, the evolution of their consciousness continues in the male body, which has much more possibilities.
The gradual development of human consciousness is well illustrated by the doctrine of energy centers in human body- chakras - and division into castes according to them. People with a low level of development, satisfying only their own needs, shudras (workers), conditionally live in the lower centers: chakras and Svadhisthana. The consciousness of vaishyus (merchants) rises to the Manipura chakra: in addition to themselves, they already show concern for others, for example, about the family, and produce something for society. In the old days, yoga was allowed from this level.
The next level of the Anahata-chakra is in the caste of kshatriyas (warriors), who devoted themselves to taking care of everyone. They practiced a special yoga aimed at developing strength, endurance, patience and sanity. A lot of Kshatriya yoga has been brought into the current practices, which helps us to stand in the endlessly raging modern world.
The Vishuddha Chakra is developed among the highest caste - the Brahmins (wise men). These are leaders of organizations, public figures, managers, politicians and kings. At this level, consciousness evolves to the understanding that I am a soul and not a body. Having played enough roles of a sudra, vaishya, kshatriya, a person comes to the knowledge of his spiritual nature, and he is prescribed to practice yoga and meditation.
The two upper chakras in the forehead and crown - Ajna and Sahasrara - are the way out of the human consciousness and are responsible for communication with the cosmos. In his development, a man also goes through all these stages. Therefore, here we can talk not just about the benefits of yoga for men, but about the fact that it is the foundation on which this evolution is achieved.
Yoga for me is both a physical practice and a philosophy of life. On the mat, I find answers to many life questions. But it was not always so.
I started practicing about a few years ago, for a change. At that time, I was already engaged in kickboxing, dancing and constantly tried other activities. My first foam yoga mat cost about $14 and was thin and slippery. I took it to my first yoga class, which I showed up in sneakers and a stretched Kurt Cobain t-shirt. When I returned home, I was as if pricked by a feeling of some kind of quiet joy. It kept growing and growing and I came home completely happy.
Most likely, that feeling was both the anticipation of new activities, and the pleasure that you finally found something of your own. I continued to go to classes and over time noticed that I began to feel and understand myself more: pain, clamps, patterns of the body. For me, this was a big relief. I always lived in my head, adored philosophy, loved to think - often thoughts came to my mind that I could not cope with, and they hurt me. Then I began to speed up the pace of my life to distract. I ran to boxing, got hit in the stomach by my partner, then did 200 push-ups in a row - and that was just what I wanted, but certainly not what I really needed.
When I started going to yoga once a week to stretch overstretched muscles, I noticed that everything seemed to fall into place in my head. The instructor demanded from us slow performance of asanas and patience. At first it seemed that he was mocking, but over time you yourself begin to understand the meaning.
Here I am barely standing in the most difficult position for myself, sweat is dripping from me in hail, my whole body is trembling, but all that remains for me is either to fall out of the asana or to breathe. And you humble yourself and choose to breathe. Although your hyperactive brain tries to grab onto the most idiotic thought, replays events of a thousand years ago in your memory, you still pacify it and concentrate on breathing. It was an incredible challenge for me.
When I started mastering this height, I noticed how much easier it became for me to live. First, physically, because the body felt great. But, secondly, and morally, many of the thoughts that had tormented me since childhood were comprehended and disappeared, I felt an unusual relief.
Yoga is the only thing I have remained true to. This does not mean that I want to become an instructor, I do not get out of yoga retreats, and my Instagram is full of photos of where I am in cross twine. It’s just that yoga has become my daily practice, which I don’t want to quit, on the contrary, I want to return to it (although stability is not in my nature).
Last year when I lived in Ethiopia, I practiced almost every day (it helped me cope with homesickness). In the course of practice, I noticed that I was careless about myself: I overloaded my joints, did not give myself rest, did not recover in any way - as if I was deliberately destroying myself. Then I focused on compassion for myself. Now, during practice, I put emphasis on careful handling of my body, I try to forgive, not to criticize myself for bringing my shoulders to a bad state. This is one of the best benefits of yoga - during practice, everyone learns their weak spot and gets the opportunity to heal this wound. This process is not limited to the rug, it happens to you all the time.
After years of regular practice, I finally learned not to put pressure on myself to appear stronger, faster, or taller. The most important thing for me now is to listen to myself and understand what I really need, to live in the present and be in harmony with the world and myself.
On the occasion of Friday, we decided to dilute our blog with an unorthodox, but hopefully useful post about the benefits of yoga from the point of view of one of our developers.
All our lives we live in stress, moving from one problem to another. Sometimes the anxiety caused by them reaches such proportions that it begins to affect the results of labor: physically you sit and do one thing, but in your mind you are anywhere, but not in this task.
To calm the mind, as they say in the ancient Vedas, in particular in the Bahavad Gita, "is more difficult than to calm the wind." Everyone finds their own way to curb stress. Yoga was my choice - the path by which you can learn to achieve this natural calmness of mind, concentration, purposefulness. I will tell about my yoga experience from the point of view of a programmer of a development outsourcing company in this article. I hope that I will be able to not only be useful, but also find on Habré those who share my views, such as these wonderful gentlemen:
A few words about yourself. I am 32 years old and I am the technical director of EDISON. Married, no children. I help my mother - apart from me, she has no relatives in the city. I am engaged in yoga and spiritual practice based on ancient Vedic knowledge. In childhood and youth, he was fond of live music, theatrical performances, electronics, tennis and snowboarding. I'm leading healthy lifestyle life, which automatically follows from yoga. Should at least follow when it comes to real yoga, and not about yoga-branded fitness.
How yoga helps me live
To answer this question, I ask myself - what prevents me from living? For yoga to help, something must interfere, right? With my pace of life, as, I think, with many in the modern world, I was plagued by stress, insomnia, even depression. And most of all - various anxieties of the mind, because you constantly think about all sorts of problems, solutions to problems, everyday and professional affairs; in a hurry, but still not in time. And with a restless mind, it is impossible to do anything qualitatively. After all, if you are in constant stress, then the activity occurs unconsciously: by inertia you go to work, do household chores, even communicate with friends - the whole life is by inertia. There is no time and desire to really think and concentrate. But there is a way.Harmony is one of the key concepts in yoga. It was amazing to notice that the ancient treatises that describe the yoga system contain wisdom that is applicable in all areas of my life, whether it be: health, material prosperity, success in business, achieving the goals of life. Acting contrary to the law of nature and being in a state of stress, it was not possible to achieve significant success in any of the areas of life, because it was not possible to accept right decisions. Everyone has this experience when we make a hasty decision in a state of anger, affect, or vice versa apathy. Later we realize that the decision was wrong, and our future depends on the decisions. And by and large, the decision is all that we can do, it is the only thing in our power. So the yoga system as a whole allows me to have a calm mind in order to make the right decisions on which success in my life depends.
Why was a restless mind my problem?
Being engaged in intellectual work, I often could not fully concentrate on one goal, scattered my attention between different tasks simultaneously. I am sure that many programmers have had the experience of such deep meditation while working, when you are trying to write some block of code or solve an interesting algorithmic problem - you can spend hours focused on this task, while getting excellent results and pleasure. Any yogi would envy such a state of deep immersion! But this happens rarely, and only when it is very interesting; when you do not just do what you love, but also a specific task is exciting; and when no one distracts. And most often the opposite: absent-mindedness, switching from one task to another, and as a result, the day has passed, and not a single task has been completely solved.
How I came to yoga
I was invited by a friend trial lesson to a yoga studio - just to look, try the exercises and asanas. I went and realized that I have a certain inclination for this, the flexibility of the body. At that time I was playing tennis, and exercise stress was, but rather rough. And here I felt that this is a more subtle study of the muscles and joints of the body. I became interested. I started doing Hatha yoga with a trainer 2 times a week.After classes, I felt a pleasant lightness and a sense of internal and external balance. And even then, when I was doing normal activities at work, I naturally performed various asanas. Leaning into the nightstand for something, I did an exercise to balance my actions: for example, standing on one leg and stretching the other. It was nice, there was a feeling of general uplift.
I cannot say that I came to yoga consciously, believing that I have a restless mind or something like that. I understood this after the fact, I realized the problem when I began to get rid of it. And the fact that a restless mind is a problem became clear when I saw the difference between my usual state and the state that is achieved through yoga. This became noticeable for the first time when at the end of the classes you just had to lie on the floor and not think about anything, how to meditate on emptiness. The mind immediately began to rush about, think about some plans, digest the events of that day, jump from one thought to another. It was impossible to keep consciousness on one thing.
How exactly does yoga calm the mind?
Will now be small digression into Vedic philosophy, and for a person with a rational mind, what has been said may not seem very convincing. But this is really my experience, I feel it, it works. I will try to explain everything in simpler words.According to Vedic science, there are several currents of vital air in the body. Health and well-being is based on the fact that these flows are balanced. When we get sick, it means that the flows are unbalanced, they fail. In addition to the currents of vital air, there are three more qualities of material nature (gunas), which are present in everything: in the body, consciousness, food, environment. These are the three "qualities" of the activity of our energy: the mode of goodness, the mode of passion, and the mode of ignorance. Yoga is aimed at bringing a person from the third and second levels to the first - the level of goodness. This is the level where a person can be happy in this moment time, not when he achieves something; a level where he does not need external sources of joy, but only internal ones. There are also energy centers in the body (chakras) - yoga directs energy from the lowest to the highest center.
Yoga is a very intuitive and, by the way, understandable science. It is logical that if the energy lingers in the lower layers, then we get a lower quality of happiness. The mode of goodness, for example, is associated with higher energy centers. Yoga helps to direct the focus of attention to these energy layers and manage them. And as a result - to bring consciousness to a higher level.
External
Physical exercise and relaxation in hatha yoga is just one of the tools of external influence on the mind and body. Breathing is also important here, as there are so-called energy flows in the body. If we learn to manage them harmoniously, then our whole body, and primarily the mind, will come to harmony and the absence of constant anxiety. Various body postures in yoga (asanas) are also aimed at streamlining internal flows, and not only air ones (blood, the movement of other fluids).Nutrition is also important, because “I am what I eat,” and I didn’t like to consider myself as just a firebox into which I throw anything, just to get some kind of energy, no matter what quality. Nutrition influences not only physical state but also on feelings, moods, even worldview. In other words, mind. Remember this feeling when, after a heavy and plentiful meal, it is impossible to work and think about anything, but you want to lie down and sleep. What's the performance here?
internal
Inner yoga is the work that is aimed at developing a certain frame of mind. The purpose of this inner attitude is to act not contrary to the laws of nature, body, mind, but in accordance with them. In ordinary life, we cannot change the laws of nature for ourselves, so there is only one way out - to act in harmony with them. To act against them is to act against ourselves. Results: diseases of the body and mind, problems, difficulties and general dissatisfaction with life. The development of this mindset allows you to achieve that very calmness and concentration. This gave purposefulness, the ability not to be distracted by many things, but to do the work to which I devote myself at a given moment in time.Such action in harmony with the laws of nature opens up great potential in me and releases inner energy. It became clear that it was pointless to look for a source of energy outside - it was inside me from the very beginning, you just need to find and correctly direct this energy. It's akin martial arts aikido, where the strength of the opponent is used against him: when you are attacked, you redirect him kinetic energy so that this blow did not go to you, but returned to him. The same is true in this approach: there is energy and potential that belongs to nature, which we cannot be stronger than, but we can direct this energy in a direction convenient for us. To do this, you just need to be in harmony with nature.
What does it give at work?
With yoga, it became easier for me to meet various problems and minor difficulties that arise in life. I stopped panicking and worrying every time, because I calmly knew that there was a decision, and its quality depended on the state in which I made it. And this feeling of inner balance, calmness, regularity, which leads to a “cold” mind when making a decision, was an important first fruit of yoga classes. They remain to this day.
Yoga allows me to expand my consciousness without any chemicals, without intoxication. What does it mean to expand consciousness? When I look back at my life before practice, I realize that I existed like a robot, like a rat in a cage. I ran in circles, not understanding why I was doing it - just by inertia. There was not even really a goal in life. Parents said: “How to live? And that's how we live." And I lived simply because it was said so, according to custom. But I wasn't happy. Now I see my mistakes, the reasons for this state. It helps to develop my consciousness, to look wider at the world. In addition, it allows me to understand the behavior of many people and the reasons for my own actions. Thanks to this science (and I boldly call the yoga system a science), I now understand how this world works, what determines the various actions of people.
I will be happy to chat and answer questions in the comments and on
You can say that children, in a sense, are born yogis - well, from an external point of view. 🙂 They can naturally reach their ears with their heels, and it seems to them very cheerful. As we get older, our bodies become more rigid under the weight of stress and challenges (including health issues). Our body loses its natural flexibility and internal balance, and it's not even about age, but more about ourselves, in our lifestyle, what happens in our mind.
The first thing yoga does is restore the natural balance in our body; it is the unification of the body, mind and consciousness into a harmonious whole, as well as the restoration of a natural connection with the outside world. One of the first interesting observations in my yoga practice was that my body began to somehow determine what was worth eating and what was not worth eating; which foods are compatible and which are not. At the same time, I have never studied the compatibility of products before. When I checked some points, it turned out that the body itself knows what, how and with what to eat. Of course, I have increased flexibility, strength and endurance. But the ability to understand what is and what is not was then the most interesting.
Of course, I was later able to appreciate the increased stamina. In addition, I began to get sick much less. And if I caught a cold, I can get rid of it very quickly.
Practice Yoga
It is not difficult to choose a set of yoga classes, even if you are a beginner; the easiest way is to find good school. But, even if you are just a beginner and plan to practice yoga on your own, there are good literature and video yoga lessons that can help you. The point is not even in the style of yoga, but in your attitude to practice. You need to understand that yoga exercises are not just physical education, it is much deeper. It is not necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of yoga poses purely from the physical side, since they also affect the energy-informational level. It is also important to understand that often performing asanas individually is not the same as performing them in a certain sequence. This is due to the fact that with a combination of yoga poses, they begin to complement and enhance the effect of each other. That is why they always look like a series of asanas and pranayamas ( breathing exercises yoga). Any yoga class looks like this.
What Does Yoga Give?
In general, the benefits of regular yoga practice can be divided into three main categories: benefits for the body, mind and consciousness (soul). Of course, we, for the most part, are primarily looking for benefits for the body, because. this level of perception of reality is most accessible to us. However, as our yoga practice develops, we will become more aware of reality, and then we will be able to fully appreciate the mental and spiritual.
Physical Benefits of Yoga is to improve the strength and flexibility of the body. Our breathing becomes deeper and fuller, vitality increases. Improves metabolism, accelerates the elimination of toxins. Blood circulation is normalized, and susceptibility to external discomfort is reduced. The body becomes more stable in its functioning; the appearance and color of the skin improves, there is a general rejuvenation of the body. Of course, these things do not come immediately, but it's worth it.
The Mental Benefits of Yoga consists in gaining the valuable ability to relax and resist various forms of stress. You learn not to depend on external circumstances, become calmer and gain control over your emotions. Does this mean that you stop enjoying life? Not at all. On the contrary, now you will not be “stormed” in terms of emotional urges; you can determine for yourself which emotion or feeling will “carry you away” and which one is inappropriate now. If you are happy, no one can stop you. You gain healthy self-confidence, your concentration grows, you start to see "deeper".
Spiritual benefit from yoga. This may seem ephemeral to some, but spiritual good, according to traditional yoga practice, is just the most important thing. The spiritual benefits of yoga include that you gain peace of mind, your life becomes happier, you develop a desire for a higher reality, and your consciousness develops and deepens. You begin to see the unified nature of things, and fear and anxiety completely leave you. If you are serious in your practice, you can gain a true vision of things, and even enlightenment (although only a few get the latter). A person who has attained enlightenment is not even afraid of death, for he is already free from it.
That's what yoga gives you. It turned out a little esoteric in the end, but the truth did not become less from this.
