WHAT IS YOGA? Yoga is a practice that combines physical, mental and spiritual exercise disciplines. This practice, which has millions of f...
WHAT IS YOGA?
Yoga is a practice that combines physical, mental and spiritual exercise disciplines. This practice, which has millions of followers around the world, aims to increase spiritual well-being by creating harmony between body, mind and soul.
In this article we prepared for you; We will answer the questions you are most curious about, such as what is yoga, what are the purposes of yoga and how many types of yoga are there. You will find everything you are looking for on this subject in our article.
You can continue reading our article to access the details about yoga, which is a separate path in itself.
WHAT IS YOGA USEFUL FOR?
It is a proven fact that having a flexible and comfortable body makes your life easier. You don't have to be a professional gymnastics athlete to stretch your body and get a clear mind immediately afterwards! You can achieve these by devoting some time to yoga.
WHY SHOULD YOU DO YOGA?
Yoga is an activity that has been frequently preferred recently to be healthy in every aspect. Contrary to popular belief in some segments of society, yoga is not just stretching!
In the items listed below, you can learn why everyone should do yoga at least once:
- Mental well-being: Yoga can help lower your anxiety levels. You can do yoga to bring the feeling of calm back into your life.
- Spiritual development: The main goal of yoga is to contribute to the spiritual development of the person. You can take your spiritual development to the next level through self-questioning and understanding practices.
- Gain health: You should do yoga to improve your overall health and find out if you can handle certain physical challenge
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF YOGA?
The impact of yoga on physical and emotional well-being is enormous. By practicing yoga exercises regularly, you can easily unlock dozens of benefits that can improve your quality of life. Here are the benefits of yoga that can enrich your life:
1. MENTAL BENEFITS OF YOGA
- Reduces stress: The combination of physical postures during exercises helps relieve stress.
- Allows you to control emotions: Studies have proven that yoga positively affects mood. It has been found that it can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and improve the mechanism of controlling emotions.
- Provides improved cognitive function: If you have problems such as attention deficit or memory impairment, you can relieve them by doing yoga.
2. SPIRITUAL BENEFITS OF YOGA
- Improves inner peace: You can accelerate the development of inner peace with the yoga practices you do.
- It provides the opportunity to know yourself: Gaining one's self-esteem and ending the war with oneself are among the spiritual benefits of yoga.
3. PHYSICAL BENEFITS OF YOGA
- Gives flexibility: Yoga exercises affect various muscle groups. It is thanks to this effect that strength and flexibility increase over time.
- Provides increased coordination: Regular yoga practice increases awareness and coordination.
- Contributes to weight management: Some styles of yoga require more energy. This energy spent affects body mass and contributes to weight management.
- Provides cardiovascular benefits: It stabilizes unstable blood pressure and improves heart rate variability.
WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF YOGA?
Yoga is a broad system that encompasses a variety of styles, each with a different methodology. Although there are many types of yoga, the following are some of the most popular ones:
- Hatha Yoga: It forms the basis of the yoga style. It focuses on the application of breathing techniques. Since it has a slower pace, it is the ideal choice for beginners in yoga.
- Ashtanga Yoga: It is a style that allows you to exert a lot of physical energy. It is applied in the same order each time. The important thing here is strength and flexibility. It is recommended that you take it with the help of experts.
- Vinyasa Yoga: It is important to be dynamic in this style. You can benefit from cardiovascular benefits in a yoga style where your breathing is synchronized with your movement.
- Kundalini Yoga: Dynamic movements are available to stimulate your chakras. You can see special breathing techniques and hymns together. Spiritual awareness and development can be achieved with this style.
- Yin Yoga: Yin Yoga, which we can describe as a meditative style of yoga, focuses on joints and deep connective tissues. Here you are asked to hold your postures for three to five minutes.
- Restorative Yoga: Your body's healing is encouraged by supporting your body with gentle and gentle touches. It is suitable for all individuals, including beginners and advanced levels. It is especially
- useful for getting rid of stress, anxiety and worry
HOW TO DO YOGA?
The excitement of starting a new activity can be scary. If you have just started and are feeling excited mixed with fear, don't worry! Because there are very useful tips to guide you in this section of our content:
- Choosing the Right Yoga Style: Each yoga style has its own unique characteristics. Beginners should thoroughly research these styles and decide according to their physical abilities.
- Attending Yoga Classes: Attending classes will provide you with a structured, supportive environment. With clear instructions and adjustments, you can keep your worries and risk of injury to a minimum.
- Practice: You should practice the techniques you learn in class regularly to improve and get your body used to that style. You can increase your motivation by adding new techniques with the guidance of your instructor.
YOGA MOVEMENTS
Yoga is a set of movements that require a lot of flexibility and attention. Here are some basic yoga moves that you can repeat routinely at home:
Mountain Pose: It is the basic movement for all yoga styles. The main target; The aim is to increase body awareness, strengthen the legs and increase the harmony between the limbs.
- Stand flat on your mat.
- Take deep breaths and hold your breath for about 5 seconds.
- Exhale and repeat this movement until you are ready for the next movement.
Tree Pose: It is aimed to stretch the groin, thighs and trunk. Strength is built in the ankles and calves and balance is improved.
- Keep your feet together.
- Stretch one leg and bend it towards your groin.
- Bring both palms together at chest level.
- Stay like this for at least 30 seconds and after thirty seconds, switch to the other leg and repeat the process.
Bridge Pose: It is an important movement to hug the back of the body and strengthen your shoulder muscles. It develops your leg muscles and helps the supporting muscles in your hips gain strength.
- Lie on your mat with your knees bent.
- Place both hands at your sides.
- Slowly lift your hips up and hold for 30 seconds.
- After 30 seconds, slowly lower your hips.
Warrior Pose: It is a stance style that will help you build strength, balance and flexibility.
- Stand in front of your mat and step your right foot back about a leg's length.
- Bend your left knee, making sure your ankle is at the same level as your knee.
- Make sure your hips are parallel to the long edge of your mat, then breathe in and out a few times.
- Stop the movement after waiting for 30 seconds.
Downward Bending Pose: In this posture, your circulatory system is activated and your spine becomes stable.
- Place your knees and hands on your mat.
- Wait with your face facing the ground.
- Lift your hips up without bending your knees.
- Take your head between your arms and do not bend your elbows during this process.
YOGA DURING PREGNANCY
Yoga during pregnancy will be beneficial to you and your baby in many ways. You can learn what benefits you can get from yoga while pregnant from the following items:
- Prepares you and your baby for birth: Breathing techniques in yoga help activate the muscles in the pelvis. This allows your pelvis to open more quickly for your baby to be born.
- It saves you from pregnancy complaints: Most women report many complaints during pregnancy. Nausea and back pain are some of these complaints. You can reduce your complaints with yoga.
- It ensures you have a healthy pregnancy: As your belly grows, your body has difficulty adapting to it. Yoga increases flexibility, making it easier for your body to adapt to your growing belly. In this way, your fatigue will decrease during pregnancy and you will have a healthier pregnancy.
HISTORY OF YOGA
Yoga has a complex history going back thousands of years. Its origins are in Ancient India. It reflected the philosophical changes that took place in Indian society and has undergone many transformations until today.
Physical postures and breathing exercises were developed and incorporated into Indian philosophy around 500 BC. In the period that immediately followed, the body prepared for spiritual quests. During this period, the Hatha Yoga type was discovered and the movements were synchronized with the breath. With the emergence of the modern age, yoga has moved away from classical movements. Some Indian scholars went west and introduced yoga to Western countries. After this introduction, yoga was adapted to the Western world.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOGA AND MEDITATION
Yoga and meditation are among the main techniques used for years to train the body. Although both techniques are useful for individuals, there are some differences between them that cannot be ignored:
- Their basic principles are different: meditation aims to train the mind, while yoga aims to train the mind and body.
- Difficulty levels vary: Yoga includes more difficult exercises than meditation.
- Their applications are different: You can complete almost the entire process of meditation from where you sit. Yoga requires variety of movements.
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