YOGA

DOC WHAT ARE THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF YOGA

Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India,whose goal is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility.

The goals of yoga are varied and range from improving health to achieving Moksha which is liberation from all worldly suffering and the cycle of birth and death .

The more technical sense of the term "yoga", describing a system of meditation or contemplation with the aim of the cessation of mental activity and the attaining of a "supreme state" .

"Ashtanga Yoga" ("Eight-Limbed Yoga").

The Eight Limbs are:
1. Yama (The five "abstentions"):
non-violence,
non-lying,
non-covetousness,
non-sensuality,
non-possessiveness.

2. Niyama (The five "observances"):
purity,
contentment,
austerity,
study,
surrender to god.

3. Asana: means "seat", and refers to the seated position used for meditation.

4. Pranayama ("Suspending Breath"):
interpreted as control of the life force.

5. Pratyahara ("Abstraction"):
Withdrawal of the sense organs from external objects.

6. Dharana ("Concentration"):
Fixing the attention on a single object.

7. Dhyana ("Meditation"):
Intense contemplation of the nature of the object of meditation.

8. Samadhi ("Liberation"):
merging consciousness with the object of meditation.

Types of Yoga are:
1. Raja Yoga: the first yoga the path of meditation
2. Karma yoga: The yoga of action.
3. Bhakti yoga: The yoga of devotion,
4. Jnana yoga: The yoga of knowledge.
5. Hatha Yoga: the purification of the physical body as leading to the purification of the mind.

The Hatha Yoga is generally the yoga accepted by the western world as the yoga which they practiced .

Health benefits of yoga:
Yoga came to the attention of an educated western public in the mid 19th century as a form of purely physical system of health exercises :
1.meditation
2.breathing
3.concentration

Yoga is used for treatment of cancer patients :
1.to decrease depression,
2.reduce insomnia,
3.relieve pain, and fatigue
4.control anxiety.

stress.
Treatment with yoga reported significantly :
1.less mood disturbance and
2.reduced stress
3.positive effects on sleep anxiety,
4.better quality of life,

Schizophrenia:
Yoga's ability to
1.improve cognitive functions
2.reduce stress
makes it appealing in the treatment of schizophrenia because of its association with cognitive deficits and stress related relapse.

Heart disease.
studies of the effects of yoga on heart disease suggest:
1. yoga may help reduce high blood pressure,
2.improve symptoms of heart failure,
3.enhance cardiac rehabilitation,
4.lower cardiovascular risk factors.

Other health benefits:
1. musculoskeletal and mental health improvements,
2.reduced symptoms of asthma in asthmatics.
3.improve mood and anxiety more than other exercises, such as jogging or walking.