Yoga Boosts You With Energy And Happiness
Dancing Elephants Book Project: Exercise and healthy eating tips/recipes
Growing up with yoga and exercise
When I was young my father had a yoga trainer for the family. We did yoga but more because my father was so keen that all of us should do it rather than for any health benefits.
I loved the sound of ‘Om’ and found it powerful but after the yoga session, all was forgotten.
Simple fitness exercises
Many years later, when I was married and was having babies I remembered my mother’s words that exercise was good for you and found a great American mini-physical exercises book that explained exercises of 10 minutes only. I had found it at a local bookstand.
It was a plan in which you did 10 exercises in 10 minutes. The repetitions of each exercise increased with the level you were achieving. There were three levels to achieve. This plan was described separately for male and female participants. It was a very effective plan and now you do not find this book on any book stand.
It is another matter that I did not put on too much weight despite the fact I had three children in four years. I will still give the benefit of doubt to that book that kept me slim despite three quick pregnancies.
For a few years life went on and I tried several exercise and yoga programs and good diets.
I was doing my Ph.D. and had three young kids and some teaching load of the master's program. In those days I did not have my own car as in India people had one family car and felt that they were blessed.
The pressure was catching on to me and I was burdened with a lot of work. I started reeling under the pressure of using public buses for commuting and doing a Ph.D. with no computers either during that time.
I was both mentally and physically exhausted and could just not do any more to keep my sanity.
There is always a day when you learn. I realized that fitness was not only physical exercise but there was something more than that in our lives.
I enrolled in many fitness yoga and meditation programs and experimented a lot.
Walk transformed my life
In the meanwhile, a friend advised me to take to walking because my limbs would be exercised and I would feel better.
Walking helped me a lot. I wrote about it earlier that A Forty Minutes Walk for 60 days, transformed my life. You can do it too.
With time and maturity, I realized that walking was beneficial but to be complete I should add value to it through something more than that.
It was then that I learned that a holistic approach is to try the inside-out approach. Believe me, try it with a combination and you will get the following results:
30 days of yoga and you are blessed with good health and happiness.
Holistic yoga added the flavor
I now learned to see yoga with new eyes. I focussed now and did the physical exercises coordinating them with my breath. I practiced and learned that it was the union of the mind and body. The breath of a person is as important as physical exercises so learned to breathe deep and understand its philosophy of it.
I realized that there were many types of yoga but the simplest and oldest form properly coded is Patanjali yoga and it is holistic in nature.
Holistic Yoga combines physical movement while focussing on the breath, to rejuvenate the body, mind, and spirit.
Yoga is not a physical exercise alone but it is a philosophy, practice, and discipline and it strives to achieve harmony and balance between the body, mind, and soul. It takes you to the path of spirituality.
Yoga helps to achieve inner peace, health, and wellbeing. Asanas, breathing exercises, meditation, food and nutrition are all part of, and essential to a complete yoga practice.
The takeaways
- Complete package: Yoga is a complete package. Only exercises do not give results. Yoga helps to bring out mental health and emotional well-being that will change and bring about physical well-being.
- Focus: You have to pay attention and be mindful when you are exercising which means that your inner self is completely involved and you are right there with yourself.
- Breath is important: The exercises have to be coordinated with your breath to get the maximum benefit.
- Meditation brings calm and peace: Just be with your inner self for a few moments to become calm. It is not necessary to sit in the position for hours. A few moments of meditation help. Meditation can be in the form of positive thoughts, keeping your mind calm and peaceful, leaving it blank, repeating a spiritual word, affirmations, or anything that brings calm and happiness. It brings calm and happiness.
- Food and nutrition: Yoga brings with it a lesson on a wealth of good nutrition food with plenty of nuts, fruits, and fresh food.
- The path towards spirituality: Yoga is a way of life. It is simple living and high thinking. Your calm mind and attitude towards people give you a direction towards being helpful to people and carrying on your activities with love and affection.
- Yoga improves our overall mental and physical health: Yoga affects our mental health, and positively affects and helps our daily moods and life. It teaches you patience, makes you calm, and keeps you happy and away from depression.
Wrapping up
Yoga is a union of mind and body. It is good for stretching, flexibility, and mental and physical benefits as it is the union of mind and body. Walking is an additional help to keep your body intact and be in nature. It gives you a lot of awareness.
During my journey and experience, I learned that yoga boosts your energy and happiness and makes it a way of life for you. It is like a graceful dance in a flow sequence and you completely get immersed in it.
Do remember that only a steady and daily practice will give continued good results.
“Yoga is a light, which once lit, will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter the flame”-B.K.S. Iyengar
References:
- https://medium.com/illumination/a-40-minutes-walk-for-60-days-transformed-my-life-you-can-try-it-too-ba0c1ab97033
- https://alayayogaonline.com/holistic-yoga/
- https://isha.sadhguru.org/global/en/wisdom/article/patanjali-yoga-sutras-true-nature
- https://quotefancy.com/quote/1496163/B-K-S-Iyengar-Yoga-is-a-light-which-once-lit-will-never-dim-The-better-your-practice-the
I would like to tag the wonderful hardworking ‘editors’ and also thank them for working on the book project Lady Dr. Gabriella Korosi, Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles, Sharing Randomly.
©Dr. Preeti Singh, 2022.
I invite you to join Medium by clicking my referral link. ‘Join Medium to Become A Member’