Thursday, February 3, 2011

What are the uses of yoga?

Yoga is useful in getting rid of the stiffness on the body by improving flexibility through the movements of the various asanas specific to muscles and joints. Due to daily practice and performance, an individual will be able to gain flexibility in every part of the body and renewed vigor.
Most importantly, yoga is extremely useful and instrumental in warding off various kinds of disorders at a number of aches and pains. Most people who suffer from back pain, pain in the shoulders, crick in the neck, headaches and overall body pain find much relief in the various movements of yoga. Another vital constituent in the practice of yoga is the emphasis of breathing aka Pranayama. Most people have shallow breath patterns, which are the primary cause of most disorders. Pranayama aims to correct, modulate and heighten the practice of breathing in order to achieve maximum results. Through the practice of Pranayama one learns to focus the attention on the breathing pattern and to use the lungs in a more beneficial manner that will prove advantageous for the entire body. Certain types of breathing techniques and Pranayama helps to clear the nostrils and the nasal passages, and even go so far in soothing the central nervous system in order to benefit the body and mind.
According to medical scientists, yoga therapy is successful because of the balance created in the nervous and endocrine systems which directly influences all the other systems and organs of the body. Yoga acts both as a curative and preventive therapy. The very essence of yoga lies in attaining mental peace, improved concentration powers, a relaxed state of living and harmony in relationships.
Through the practice of yoga, we become aware of the interconnectedness between our emotional, mental and physical levels. Gradually this awareness leads to an understanding of the more subtle areas of existence. The ultimate goal of yoga is to make it possible for you to be able to fuse together the gross material (annamaya), physical (pranamaya), mental (manomaya), intellectual (vijnanamaya) and spiritual (anandamaya) levels within your being.

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