Nourishing Yoga: Body, Mind and Spirit

The Reasons we do Yoga

Why do you practice yoga? Or why don’t you, if you’re one of our few readers who need convincing to begin? When I started to give up my vices, with every endeavor, with every new habit I’ve picked up and incorporated into my lifestyle, I posed the question ‘why?’

I started doing yoga as it embodies holistic living, and for me it was adopting a lifelong practice that took care of the whole of me, not just the blood and bones. Yoga means union in Sanskrit and helps you get in touch with yourself, and your true unconscious self. It is body, mind and soul food. Yoga does not discriminate either – you can adopt it into your lifestyle as a child or in old age, male or female, fit or fat, sick or well. If you’ve done yoga and kept at it, chances are you don’t need to read on. However if you’d like a little inspiration.

Body

Like many at first, I considered yoga just for the physical advantages. Because there are a multitude of body benefits to practicing yoga.

For one, it improves circulation, which makes the digestive and endocrine systems much more effective and it strengthens the immune system. Yoga practitioners have a much greater sense of vitality. Respiration is improved and the increase in muscle tone also helps fire up the metabolism.

From a aesthetic and health point of view, it lowers fat and improves muscle tone greatly, yogis and yoginis tend to be lean and poised, and look younger than their real age. And most definitely feel it. Physical energy is increased dramatically.

It also increases flexibility and strength not to mention stamina. Holding those poses requires endurance and it translates the same into daily life, making everyday tasks seem much easier.

Even those who are generally active sports persons claim that yoga provides them with a different physical training than their own activity. Yoga improves athletic performance. Many top athletes are devout yogis.

It is also a great pain reliever. Yoga can quickly rehabilitate the bodies of those who have suffered injury or undergone any type of surgery.

Mind

Yoga also teaches you to quiet the mind and remove distractions particularly helpful when trying to accomplish a task or attain a goal. Just like your body, your mind feels energized by yoga as opposed to tired. It will help you be more alert and focus your energy on where you want it to go. It improves concentration tenfold.

Yoga encourages clear, positive thoughts. It provides practitioners with clarity when dealing with difficult situations. It reduces stress by helping one relax and alleviating tension.

It also unlocks the mind and increases creativity. Yoga helps one surrender their ego which is vital to the creative process, and allows the mind to relax and ideas to flow from within.

Spirit

Yoga helps you get in touch with the emotional being, nourishing and soothing the spirit by creating a sense of well being and calm. Gives a sense of union, or oneness as its meaning implies by building awareness of your body, your feelings, the world around you, the needs of others.

Yoga also plays a big role in boosting self esteem and encourages self acceptance.

Practitioners feel more centered and balanced even when facing external distress be it everyday ordeals, life changing events or hormonal changes.

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Photo credits: lululemon athletica, Brenda-Starr, alicepopkorn on flickr