Why in today’s stressful lifestyle do many find balance in activities like yoga and meditation? We tell you what it is, what its advantages are and who can practice it.
Contents
What is Yoga?
Yoga, which means “union” or “strength” in Sanskrit, is an ancient practice of Hindu origin that integrates mind, body and spirit, developed in the Vedic-Hindu tradition. It offers liberation through meditation.
Meditation aims to master the mind and at the same time achieve a state of mindfulness.
From a more Western and rational point of view, meditation is a technique that contributes to general well-being and to the reduction of states of stress.
Later religions, such as Buddhism, Christianity, the Jewish Kabbalistic tradition or Muslim Sufism, immersed themselves in meditative practices, given the beneficial effects they provided.
Over the years, yoga and meditation have spread all over the world, both in the East and in the West, acquiring different variations.
types of yoga
Hatha Yoga: If you want to start practicing yoga for the first time, this is the best option since it is possible to practice it in gyms and sports centers.
Traditionally, this variant works on the physical and spiritual aspects, but since it is more “popular”, it is often reduced to the practice of basic postures called asanas and correct breathing exercises (pranayama).
With this practice, you can gain flexibility, muscle strength, and an improvement in your body posture. Also, with breathing exercises, you can improve your stress levels.
Kundalini Yoga: This type of yoga, in addition to asanas and breathing, incorporates meditation techniques, such as visualizations and mantras.
accentuate in the primordial energy or force that runs through our body and that has its origin at the base of our spine and its union with the coccyx (first chakra).
Through different asanas and the so-called “breath of fire” proposed by the Kundalini, we can make this energy, which identifies itself with a serpent, awaken, rise and spread throughout our body.
This energy rises through the spine and is purified through the various energy cores or chakras, achieving personal wholeness on physical, mental and spiritual levels.
Yoga Vinyasa: This type of Yoga, also called “dynamic” aims to coordinate the movements of our body with the breath.
It is a more intense physical work, a little more aerobic, which tests the strength of our body (we work with our own weight). In addition, it promotes flexibility and stimulates concentration. This variant of yoga is a good option if we also want to improve our physical condition and get in shape.
Iyengar Yoga: This type of Yoga focuses above all on the alignment of the body and is a little softer than the previous ones. Between asana and asana, the pauses are longer, resulting in greater muscle tone.
It is ideal for people with physical limitations as they can perform the postures correctly using supports, such as chairs, wooden blocks, belts and other specially designed devices.
One can also use all these supports to intensify the results of the asanas; in order to come as close as possible to the actual posture. And like all types of yoga, they lead to the release of stress and tension.
There are many other variations of yoga such as Ashtanga, Anusara, Karma, Naked, Kripalu, Siddha, Nidra, bikram yoga, Acro Yoga, SUP Yoga.
It is a question of exploring which variant is closest to our needs and our possibilities of practice.
benefits of yoga
Yoga, in general, can improve our physical condition, reduce stress levels, correct posture and increase flexibility.
Among the other benefits that yoga brings along with meditation, we can see that:
- They help increase concentration, coordination, memory and attention.
- Reduces the emotional impact of pain.
- Strengthens the immune and nervous system.
- Reduces the risk of having a heart attack by 50%.
- Reduces hypertension and cholesterol levels.
- Helps regulate sleep.
- It contributes to the regulation of emotions and self-control.
- Facilitates digestive processes.
- Delays aging.
- Increase your self-control.
- Improve your social life with increased empathy and reduce feelings such as loneliness and anxiety.
- Power of creativity.
Who can practice Yoga?
Practically almost everyone can do yoga and meditate, of course with a routine adapted to their possibilities and needs.
The elderly, children, pregnant women and people with specific pathologies or injuries must be supervised by specialists who will adapt the practice. Yoga offers care, kindness and compassion for the body, whatever the condition of the person.
Where to practice Yoga?
There are many possibilities in terms of spaces when practicing yoga.
If what we want is to enter the world of yoga and obtain all its advantages, we can go to a specialized yoga center, where we will surely find all the variations of the practice and choose the one that best suits our needs. Our needs.
On the other hand, if what we are looking for is to benefit from the exercises offered by the practice such as improving posture, increasing tone and flexibility and improving our breathing, we can attend a room gym or a sports center that offers yoga classes among its activities. .
We can also opt for personalized practices with coaches who accompany us, or, on the contrary, if we are looking to manage our times and our rhythms and we already have some experience in yoga, we can choose online or yet download an application for the cell phone with different workout routines.
In conclusion, yoga is good
Without a doubt, the practice of yoga will bring us well-being by revitalizing and rejuvenating our body and mind. It will keep us balanced, whole and in a better position to face life, thus comforting our spirit.