Wellbeing and happiness
Yoga is a system of health maintenance that is long lasting and cultivates a sense of happiness and fulfillment. It achieves this by teaching how to tap into inner energy reserves and generate health and happiness from within. True happiness cannot be bought – it is the result of a lift-long investment in health.
Yoga enhances the health and youthfulness of the body and clarity of the mind. Thus a regular practice can help to counter general physical decline due to ageing, negligent use of the body and/ or the accumulation of excess tension.
Enhanced body awareness
Yoga is a means of becoming more familiar with your body (the inner and outer landscape), as the different Yoga postures are together designed to benefit every anatomical structure, system and organ in the body. This process of learning how to assist the body in its healthy functioning can be empowering. It teaches the participant how to make changes in the body, mind and emotional state and therefore take control of their life and health (physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually).
Stress relief and prevention
Life today is fast-paced, competitive and stressful, although not all stress is detrimental. Moderate stress can be uplifting and invigorating.
Nevertheless, when the demands placed upon us greatly exceed our habitual levels of performance or coping (whether they are physical, emotional or mental), we suffer discomfort and strain and the body’s defences become overworked and exhausted. Side effects include frustration, muscular tension (resulting particularly in back problems), depression, anxiety, and shortness of breath and problems of concentration. Yoga works to free the body from these symptoms of stress.
Firstly, deep relaxation training focuses on the body, the mind and the emotions – these skills are effective in countering many symptoms of stress.
Secondly, flexibility exercises are helpful in preventing or alleviating muscular tension.
Thirdly, the use of controlled, deep breathing while executing postures helps to counter any shortness or irregularity of breathing associated with stress. It also helps to achieve and maintain a state of calmness and emotional stability, as the breath is closely linked too emotions and the state of mind.
Finally, the training of raja Yoga mediation, especially when added to other Yoga techniques, enhances patience and clarity of mind and improves the ability to cope with stress.