Last March, HealthLine.com's journalist, Leslie Vandever, wrote this article It Doesn't Hurt: Natural Ways to Treat Pain as a guest contributor to my blog. This year, Ms. Vandever has contributed another guest-blog post about Yoga. I am honored to host HealthLine.com and Ms. Vandever. I do hope you enjoy! Namaste.
By Leslie Vandever
What image does the word “yoga” conjure in your mind?
If you imagine a slender, attractive young woman bending
her lithe, flexible, perfect body into pretzel-like positions with an
expression of blank tranquility on her face and a Mona Lisa smile on her lips,
you’re not alone.
Most people associate yoga with people who are young and in
peak physical condition. They don’t have flab, weak muscles, love handles, or
double chins. They don’t suffer from a chronic
illness or have chronic pain. Their bellies are pancake flat and their legs
are long and steely. They have perfect behinds and prefer bean sprouts and chickpeas
to cheeseburgers and french fries.
But this image of the average yoga practitioner is wrong.
You don’t need to be young, healthy, strong, thin and ultra-flexible to
practice yoga. All you need is your body—in
whatever shape and condition it happens to be in at the moment—and a desire to
learn, along with an open mind.
Don’t forget that most yogis and yoginis (male and female
practitioners) don’t start out strong, lithe, and fit. Just like you, they came
to yoga with a not-perfect body. They, like you, approached it with a sense of
curiosity—and a rather serious doubt that they would ever be able to bend like that, because at the time, they
couldn’t. But with patience and calm perseverance, their bodies learned,
adapted, and changed, growing strong and fit. Yoga is a mind/body practice, one
that changes with the individual.
Created in India more than 5,000 years ago, yoga is a
meditative movement practice that branched into many styles over time. The most
common style in the U.S. is hatha yoga. It combines breathing techniques,
physical postures (or “asanas”), and meditation, aiming for physical strength
and stamina, mental peace and balance, and good overall health.
Yoga incorporates a philosophy, taken from Buddhist and
Hindu teachings, that promotes spiritual growth and mastery over the body and
mind. It is not a religion and it doesn’t challenge your beliefs or require you
to change them.
The practice of yoga will help you become more flexible. It
will stretch and strengthen your muscles and increase the range of movement in
your limbs. It will teach you to breathe so that every breathe counts, and improve
your balance. You’ll increase your endurance and stamina, as well. And if you
have pain, a chronic illness, or you’re overweight, with modifications yoga can
still fit your needs. It may even reduce your heart rate and blood pressure. It
may lessen anxiety and depression. It can improve overall physical fitness,
relieve stress, and enhance your quality of life. Yoga can fit almost any
physical limitation, and it can help relieve pain and improve physical
function.
Almost anyone can do yoga. Fat, thin, young, old,
middle-aged, male, or female, it can work for you.
Leslie
Vandever is a professional journalist and freelance writer with more than 25
years of experience. She lives in the foothills of Northern California.
References:
·
Haaz, S. and Bartlett, S. J. Yoga for
Arthritis: A Scoping Review. (2010, Dec. 3) Rheumatic
Disease Clinics. Retrieved on March 11, 2015 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3026480/
·
Yoga for Health. (2013, June) National Institutes of Health. Retrieved
on March 11, 2015 from https://nccih.nih.gov/health/yoga/introduction.htm
·
Yoga 101; The Beginner’s Guide to
Practice, Meditation, and the Sutras. ( 2014, Oct. 7) Yoga Journal. Retrieved on March 11, 2015 from http://www.yogajournal.com/article/beginners/yoga-questions-answered/
