purpleaggregates, mindfulwellness:
Physiological benefits:
1- It lowers oxygen consumption.
2- It decreases respiratory rate.
3- It increases blood flow and slows the heart rate.
4- Increases exercise tolerance.
5- Leads to a deeper level of physical relaxation.
6- Good for people with…
Why do yoga? The short answer is that yoga makes you feel better. Practicing the postures, breathing exercises and meditation makes you healthier in body, mind and spirit. Yoga lets you tune in, chill out, shape up — all at the same time. For many people, that’s enough of an answer. But there’s more if you’re interested. For starters, yoga is good for what ails you. Specifically, research shows that yoga helps manage or control anxiety, arthritis, asthma, back pain, blood pressure, carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic fatigue, depression, diabetes, epilepsy, headaches, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, stress and other conditions and diseases. What’s more, yoga:
by John Tunney
And that’s just the surface stuff. In fact, most of the benefits mentioned above are secondary to yoga’s original purpose.
Developed in India, yoga is a spiritual practice that has been evolving for the last 5,000 years or so. The original yogis were reacting, in part, to India’s ancient Vedic religion, which emphasized rituals. The yogis wanted a direct spiritual experience — one on one — not symbolic ritual. So they developed yoga.Yoga means “union” in Sanskrit, the classical language of India.
According to the yogis, true happiness, liberation and enlightenment comes from union with the divine consciousness known as Brahman, or with Atman, the transcendent Self. The various yoga practices are a methodology for reaching that goal.In hatha yoga, for example, postures and breathing exercises help purify the mind, body and spirit so the yogi can attain union.
Pranayama breathing exercises help clear the nadis, or channels, that carry prana the universal life force, allowing prana to flow freely. When the channels are clear and the last block at the base of the spine has been opened, Kundalini rises through the spine, through the central channel called the sushumna-nadi, and joins the crown chakra. According to the tradition, the release of Kundalini leads to enlightenment and union.
http://www.yogasite.com/why.htm
1. Bring the knees to the floor with the knees together and the feet hip’s width apart. Carefully sit back on your heels with the heels touching the outside of hips. Rest the hands on the knees with the palms facing up or down.
2. Press the lower legs down into the floor and reach the crown of the head up to lengthen the spine. Drop the shoulders down and back, and press the chest towards the front of the room.
3. Relax the face, jaw, and belly. Let the tongue rest on the roof of the mouth, just behind the front teeth.
4. Breathe deeply through the nose down into the belly. Hold as long as comfortable.
Benefits: Thunderbolt pose is a comfortable seated position for meditation. This pose gently stretches the quadriceps, lengthens the spine and promotes groundedness and inner calm.
Contraindications: Recent or chronic knee injury or inflammation.
Yoga is the fountain of youth.