Why for Holistic Health Yogic Practices are Better than Physical Exercises?
Prof. K.
S. Iyer
Today, we see people are crowding at Gym and put long hours of
workout. Are these people really know they healthy and well? Do these people enjoy Total Wellness? In a way, yes, but I have my own
doubts, when I come across the report of religious Gym goers collapsed on the
street while in the morning walk, while chasing the ball in the football player on the ground or
while performing rigorous physical activity. No doubt, exercise is a component
of Yogic way of living, the Vihar, one of the components of Yogic Lifestyle, i.e., Aahar – our diet, Vihar – Activities and the
Nidra – our relaxation, (both in deep sleep when the brain waves are in delta stage or in Shavasana or in
Yoga Nidra).
Yoga asana is a set of physical postures that are done in a systematic manner
to ensure good health with the equilibrium of
the mind, body, and, soul. Yoga asana should be performed following the
principles given by Maharishi Patanjali along with the techniques detailed
in Hatha Yoga literature, Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Swatmaram Suri
Asana deals with the spiritual, mental, and physical aspects
of the human life that the person is healthy not only from outside but also from the inner self. Yoga asana involves slow and steady movements integrating organs
and mind with the smooth breath that will not make us exhausted. Instead, we
feel refreshed and satisfied. The asana postures are classified into three
categories:
Meditative
asana: these are done during meditative practices.
Balancing
asana: these help us in achieving peace and balance to the mind.
Strengthening asana: these help to enhance strength
of muscles & nerves thus physical power.
Ø Asana help in improving the balance, flexibility,
strength, agility, vitality, and longevity of a person.
Ø It helps in maintaining holistic health and managing
various disorders.
Ø Continuous practice of asana enables to
regulate our breathing process, thereby enabling us to get maximum oxygen to our body
to enhance its vital energy, cleaning the Pranamaya kosha and making it
transparent and energized.
Ø Improved breathing helps in getting maximum
quantity of oxygenated blood, which enriches every cell of the body that every the tissue is repaired, every organ becomes strong and their functioning becomes
most efficient. Every gland secretes the optimal hormone, the most improved circulatory system enables all the capillaries to carry blood smoothly and an unobstructed network of the nervous system communicates between the brain and the rest of the parts
of the body.
The final outcome is holistic health with improved physical strength, good memory, absolute calmness, wellness, alertness, and achieves
a positive attitude.
Yogic practices are for everyone there is no
bar on age, sex, body condition, caste, or religion. Yet, to perform an asana in
a traditional way we need a smooth, supple and flexible body. Our incorrect way
of living for years has amassed layers of flesh all over the body, corrupted
our mind and there is a complete disjoint between living and supreme bodies that
spiritualism has reduced to rituals. To tune the body to derive the maximum
benefits of Yoga Suryanamaskar and exercises are the most desirable form of
activities.
Physical exercise is the activity of the body
that deals with the physical fitness and physical growth & development of
the body. This is done to develop muscles, improve physical skills, enhancing the immune system, managing body disorders like diabetes, cardiovascular problems,
and reducing the weight in obese individuals and managing the ideal body
weight.
There are three categories of exercise which enhance
the flexibility, strength and endurance of the body parts, these are as
follows:
Stretching exercise to improve flexibility and to tone
the muscles;
Aerobic exercise to improve the endurance of respiratory
and cardiovascular system
Strengthening exercise is Anaerobic and done
to improve muscle & nerve strength.
Thus regular exercise burns calories and fat, helps
in maintaining the right weight, improving the bone densities, and healthy the functioning of body parts.
To sum up, the Yoga asana are involved in
improving the health of the body internally as well as externally. Physical
exercise mostly does not involve the
internal organs of the body in exercise. Energy expenditure occurs while
performing physical exercise. In yoga, energy is not expended much while
performing the asana. Hence the person does not feel tired.
* Prof. K. S. Iyer
Dip in YEd, Dip in Y.Th ,
ND (YVN) Diploma in Integrated Yoga Therapy (IYT , US
AGM, RBI; Ex Prof cum Registrar ITM – IFM; Visiting Professor to
DDE Madras
University & JBMS, & IFSc Mumbai University
Consultant, Om Shree Academy – A Centre
for Yogic Lifestyle (Health & Wealth)
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