Yoga is not as mysterious as its name may sound. However, if what you currently know about yoga begins and ends with an explanation of its benefits, its name may invoke mental images that leave you with more questions than answers. As the Mayo Clinic notes, though some may embrace yoga as a lifestyle, the breathing techniques and poses that make up a portion of the practice of yoga can benefit almost anyone Getting some basic information on how it works can raise your level of awareness and help you decide whether yoga is right for you.
Yoga Overview
Yoga is different from traditional forms of medicine and exercise in that it focuses on your body and mind as a whole. Although a complete yoga lifestyle focuses on achieving a high level of spiritual, mental and physical awareness through diet, meditation and exercise, you do not have to embrace all its principles to benefit from yoga practices. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, or NCCAM, a division of the National Institutes of Health, reports that in 2007, over 13 million adults and 1.5 million children practiced yoga for fitness and relaxation.
Objectives
Of the many forms of yoga, the most popular in the U.S., according to the NCCAM, is Hatha yoga, a school that focuses on two of the eight principles of yoga. These include postures called asanas and breathing exercises called Pranayama. The objective of hatha yoga is to teach you through poses and breathing techniques how to open and energize mind channels called nadis. These channels, say SanatanSociety.org, promote good health, spiritual growth and self-awareness.
Postures
A single posture or asana works to increase energy and improve the functioning or one or more areas of your body. For example, the twist posture works on your spine, adrenal glands, liver, pancreas and kidneys. Postures are gentle stretching exercises that work to increase blood flow and prana, or energy, to your brain, spine, glands and/or internal organs. These exercises, according to HolisticOnline.com, use three methods to accomplish their objectives. First, each posturing exercise positions your body in a way that increases blood flow to target areas of your body. Second, the position of your body creates a gentle squeezing of the organ or gland that works to both massage and stimulate the target area. Finally, breathing and visualization techniques help send extra prana to the target area.
Breathing
Breathing techniques teach you a method of deep breathing that works to increase the amount of oxygen flowing to your brain and through your bloodstream. According to HolisticOnline.com, poor breathing patterns create a lack of oxygen that can produce tension and fatigue, as well as lead to reduced lung capacity, mental sluggishness, illness and disease. In addition to the health benefits that deep breathing exercises provide, learning to breathe correctly also helps you learn to relax.
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