Definition of health: WHO definition of Health - Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

What is YOGA?

• From Sanskrit word “yuj” meaning union between mind, body, and spirit.
• Include ethical discipline, physical postures, breathing control, and meditation.
• Yoga is not only stretching.
• There are 8 limbs of yoga.
• Physical posture called “Asana” is just one of the eight limbs of yoga.
• Majority of types are more concerned with mental and spiritual well-being.

So, basically, yoga is...

• A set of practices, including postures (asanas), breathing (pranayama), meditation (dhyana), and more
• Though not a religion, provides tools to prepare for spiritual enlightenment, facilitate religious experience, and practice
• Patanjali’s Eightfold Path
• These practices can enhance acceptance and serenity.

The 8 limbs of YOGA:

• Yama
• Niyam
• Asan
• Pranayama
• Pratyahara
• Dharana
• Dhyan
• Samadhi

"Yoga and the martial arts allow us toexperience our connection with the natural world directly and intimately by stimulating our awareness of life energy that flows through us.

Yoga is a spiritual practice…and places the person in a unique position to receive many insights and to access states of consciousness [usually] beyond reach…”

- The Mystic Heart by Wayne Teasdale

YOGA: A WAY OF LIFE -

Let's address the elephant in the room - S-T-R-E-S-S & How yoga can be helpful...

Stress is the wear and tear our bodies experience. The state of threatened homeostasis. Stressors cause imbalance. Body tries to balance.

Yoga can be a great help to balance the imbalance!

• When you “perceive” a threat your sympathetic nervous system takes over and kicks into a “fight or flight” response. The heart rate becomes more rapid, muscles tense up, breathing moves into chest breathing and the blood flows away from the internal organs and towards the muscles of the limbs. Senses become sharper preparing the body to either fight or flee danger.
• Modern life has become fast­‐paced with many pressures, expectations, and stressors. When we experience these stressors in our everyday life and don’t have a means of coping with the stress our bodies and nervous systems develop habitual stress responses. When the body becomes over-­‐stressed and the sympathetic nervous system is in over-­‐drive, in a constant state of fight or flight, there can be negative effects both emotionally and physically. 

Stressors:

• Can be positive and negative.
• Positive stressors-can help compels us to action and can result in a new perspective. e.g.: The birth of a new baby, a job promotion, or getting married.
• Negative stressors-can result in feelings of distrust, rejection, anger, etc. E.g.: death of a loved one, losing a job, getting divorced.

Negative Effects from STRESS:

On your Body:

• HEADACHES
• MUSCLE TENSION OR PAIN
• FATIGUE
• DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS
• AUTOIMMUNE CONDITIONS
• DIABETES
• BACK AND NECK PAIN
• HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
• HEART PROBLEMS
• WEAKENED IMMUNE SYSTEM
• ULCERS

On your mood:

This is a major part where an individual ignores health and thinks that these are simple living conditions.

• on your behavior
• Anxiety
• restlessness
• lack of motivation/focus
• irritability or anger
• sadness or depression

On your behavior/focus:

Here an individual thinks that that's their personality they have developed but actually that's not the case.

• over-­‐eating or under-­‐eating
• angry outbursts
• drug or alcohol abuse
• conflict with others
• social withdrawal

"Yoga slows down the fluctuations of the mind” - Patanjali

Yoga practice is experiential and without using words…

It invites pause, enhances receptivity, and increases awareness of inner wisdom. It enhances insight.

But exactly how can we become more still?

YOGA!!

JUST RELAX: 

• The state of being free from tension and anxiety. When we are free from tension and in a relaxed state, we tap into our parasympathetic nervous system or our “relax and renew” system.
• The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for bringing the body back to a state of equilibrium.  

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF YOGA:

• Reduced stress.
• Spiritual growth
• Sense of well being
• Reduced anxiety and muscle tension.
• Increased strength and flexibility
• Slowed aging.
• Sound sleep
• Improve many medical conditions:
• Lower heart rate
• Lower blood pressure
• Allergy and asthma symptom relief
• Smoking cessation help

How YOGA can help?

Practicing yoga can be the best thing a provider can do for himself/herself. Doing simple “Pranayama” (breathing technique) in breaks can calm their mind. Practicing yoga for ½ hr. a day can make their body fit to take care of others.

Understanding YOGA from a medical aspect:

The parasympathetic nervous system controls your rest, relaxation, and digestion response. This system is responsible for bringing the body to a state of calm and healing. When the parasympathetic nervous system is dominant. -

• breathing slows
• heart rate drops.
• blood pressure lowers
• blood vessels' relaxation.
• digestion occurs.
• all of the systems in the body function more optimally   

How breathing practice helps to release stress...

By controlling our breathing, we can control our nervous system's response to stress. Controlled breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system and creates a state of calm in the mind and body. Calming the breath calms the nervous system. A calm nervous system calms the mind. 

How to breathe:

• Expand belly, chest, and shoulders on inhalation.
• Exhale fully and slowly with awareness of deep abdominal muscles.

Abdominal Breathing:

• Compare movement over the belly and ribcage. 
• Are you a reverse breather?
  Follow your breath in and out - experiment with Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses to inward focus) and Dharana (concentration) during this breathing exercise.
• Attention to the spine and hips during the breath - what happens to them?

Breathing Practices for relaxation: UJJAYI BREATH, 2-­4 BREATH, ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING, FALLING OUT BREATH, and BELLY BREATHING to name a few.

2-4 Breath:

• Sit up tall in a cross-legged position or on edge of a chair or lying down.
• Breath in through the nose slowly for a count of 2
• Breathe out through the nose for a count of 4.
• Decrease or increase count (the key is to have twice as long for exhale than inhale). 

Falling out of Breath:

• Sit up tall in a cross-legged position or on edge of a chair or standing up.
• Breathe in deep through your nose.
• Open mouth and exhale -­ haaaaaa

The power of Pranayama (Breathing exercise):

Slow, deep breathing > Soothes the nervous system > Calms and shifts the mental environment > Enhances feelings of compassion, creativity, sense of connection, intuition, and receptivity to spirit > Healing and spiritual growth.

Benefits of controlled breathing:

Controlled breathing can...

• Lower blood pressure and heart rate
• Reduce lactic-­‐acid buildup in muscle tissue.
• Reduce levels of stress hormones in the body
• Balance levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood.
• Increase physical energy.
• Increase immune system functioning.
• Support healthy digestion.
• Increase the feeling of calm and well-­‐being.

ASANA (Yoga poses):

When we are in a constant state of stress, our minds are tense, our bodies are tense, and our sympathetic nervous system is heightened. Specific yoga poses can induce a relaxation response in the body. Calming and restorative poses along with controlled breathing activate the parasympathetic nervous system, bringing the mind and body to a calm and relaxed state.

ASANAS ON THE GO OR IN THE WORKPLACE TO RELIEVE TENSION IN THE BODY AND INCREASE RELAXATION:

• SEATED FORWARD FOLD
• RAGDOLL
• DOWN DOG AGAINST THE WALL
• SHOULDERS SHRUGS
• NECKS ROLLS
• SEATED TWIST
• PALM ON FOREHEAD
• EAR STRETCHERS
• SHOULDER OPENER
• GHOMUKASANA ARMS
• EAGLE ARMS
• NECK STRETCHES

Meditation Techniques:

• Short deep relaxation technique
• Instant relaxation technique

Some famous research in India:

• A study at LTC, Mumbai, India to determine if the practice of yoga has any effect on anxiety status during routine activities and prior to an exam showed a reduction in baseline anxiety as well as anxiety before the exam.
• Study at Nehru Hospital, Chandigarh, India the psychological tests after yoga therapy showed a high sense of well-being in the nurses.

CONCLUSION:

A body with a stressful mind cannot be a healthy body. Yoga physicians are people who help others to keep their bodies healthy. Off course, to do so, first, you need a healthy body without a stressful mind. Yoga helps the mind to become clear and pure and a clear mind is not affected by stress. Professionals also with this kind of pure and clear mind can really work better for the well-being of their patrons.

The most neglected part of health is the effect of stress and fatigue from daily life. Thus, understanding that health is not just physical but also mental well-being is important and of great importance in the present time. Abuse of drugs etc. can be so visible to an individual but wrong breathing practices can hamper health and create a lot of frustration and laziness for an individual who is neglected. Major of the issues start mentally and brings stress. The elephant may be stressed, but a Sedentary lifestyle brings more unfitness than normal.

To accomplish a healthy lifestyle, one needs to be aware of what is healthy in everything mentioned in this article. Moreover, Yoga heals you from within by finding the balance in yourself. 

Yoga for all!!

.    .    .