As I often say in my blog posts, the mind body discipline that is yoga has many benefits beyond just the physical. Yoga teaches valuable life lessons. It teaches us to live life on a higher plane. We can learn to be better human beings when we practice all the tenets that yoga stands for. The committed and correct practice of yoga can alter thoughts, habits and transform us into more positive, productive individuals. I have explored how yoga and Pranayam affect the brain in my last post; today I want to explore this concept further.
Scientific research supports the hypotheses about the benefits of yoga
People often dismiss data about the benefits of yoga as being tall claims unsubstantiated by studies. However in recent times, a significant amount of research has been conducted to demonstrate how yoga is beneficial: we know that several types of chronic pain, high blood pressure and stress are lowered with the help of yoga. Our actions and thoughts have profound implications for our lives. They can and do have a positive impact on the mind and brain.
Researchers at Harvard found that mindfulness (an important constituent of yoga) can actually change the brain and improve health. Not only is yoga able to demonstrably reduce the body’s stress response and lower stress hormones like cortisol, it is cost effective in that it reduces the patience’s reliance on pharmacological interventions. The study found that regular yoga practice can translate into significant health care savings.
How yoga can transform lives
Quite simply, yoga helps you build your will power and increases your faith in yourself. Some people, when they start yoga, feel that some of the more difficult aasans will forever remain out of their reach; that they would never be able to perform them. However, concerted and committed practice helps that person improve and consequently enhance their faith in themselves. This enhancement of self belief can then lead to the breaking of unhealthy habits, the curbing of harmful, corrosive emotions and the development of healthier, better habits and enhanced productivity.
Consider how, when you’re feeling angry about something and you consciously decide to let go of that anger you actually can: you unclench your hands, let your shoulders relax, and alter the scowl on the face, relax and rearrange it into a smile and you feel that anger draining away. When you are able to do this once, you realize how it is not necessary to be held hostage by our emotions and to be swayed by them.
A study published in the Scientific American spoke about how yoga changed the brain. The study found that some parts of the brains of people who practiced yoga regularly, were seen to be larger than those who did not practice yoga. The hours of yoga practice each week was seen to have a direct, positive impact on the brain and yogis are seen to be able to concentrate better and manage stress more effectively.
Practitioners of yoga are able to offer anecdotal evidence of improved memory and concentration, improved physical and mental well being, and lowering of anxiety levels; increasingly this is being supported by research as well. A UCLA study found how meditation and yoga can preserve the aging brain as well. Researchers found very significant changes all over the brains of people who practiced meditation. Specifically, the practice can help to reduce and control the way that our mind skips from one to another subject, the way we worry and let our minds wander. As an active form of brain training, researchers found meditation to be as effective as some types of medication!
Remember, yoga isn’t a magic pill… it is what you make of it. It is how hard you work, and how much you commit to its practice.