New Benefits from Yoga
Jul 17th, 2009 Posted in health | no comment »Yoga, an effective carpal tunnel exercise, is actually an ancient form of meditation that has its roots in India. Yoga in India is a reference to a mental and physical meditation method. It also refers to one of six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy. To understand the practice it is helpful to understand the meaning of the word. In verb form, it means to control, join, yoke and unite, while the noun form means control, conjunction, means and union. As you can see the definition of the word, Yoga is complex. There are five major branches of yoga, Raja, Karma, Bhakti, Hatha and Jnana. There are other branches, but these are the main schools of thought. Following that idea, that yoga is not simply exercise but a thought process it appears often in classical Indian literary works.
There are many branches of yoga, but only five of them are considered major. They are the Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Hatha Yoga. Owing to the fact that it is a school of thought and not just a set of exercises, yoga appears frequently throughout the classics of Indian literature. Outside of India though, the word “yoga” is used to refer to the exercises derived from the traditions of Hindu Philosophy. These are stances known as Asana, and they involve putting the body into different positions and to hold them in such ways for periods of time. Ironically perhaps, the word “Asana” means to sit, whereas sitting, in the most straightforward sense, is the least that you will do in yoga exercises. Yogis, or practitioners of yoga, practice these positions, ideally as meditation aids in addition to the health benefits associated.
The truth is yoga is not all about putting your body into wild contortions. The fact is outside of the Hindu practices yoga is more about getting your body into a stance that is created to do many beneficial things for the body. The tensing and stretching are exercises are very helpful in strengthening tendon and muscles. Yoga can also help improve stamina, which in turn is beneficial to weight loss and dieting endeavors. There has been some evidence that yoga decreased blood pressure and other related circulatory issues. It is not known for sure if this is from the stress reduction or the exercise itself, but it does work. To hold a pose you must focus and when you do this often, you improve your concentration in other areas as well. One added bonus is yoga’s effect on your sex life, however let us leave that to the imagination.
You have heard the saying an oldie but goodie? That in a nutshell is what yoga is, an ancient practice that has contemporary benefits. Sitting in one place for an extended period of time at work is a relatively new concept and with it have come ailments not known before. People are suffering from lower back pain and muscle weakness from these types of careers. Those who also type for hours on end have come across a serious condition known as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. This is a condition caused when the carpal tunnel between the wrist and the hand becomes inflamed and painful. Stretching and relaxing with yoga exercises helps to ease the pain and inflammation associated with carpal tunnel syndrome.
Those who do a lot of typing face one additional horror: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, where the carpal tunnel becomes inflamed and painful. Through carpal tunnel exercises using yoga, the affected part can be stretched and relaxed, allowing the inflammation and pain to subside. Whether the ancient Hindu predicted the occurrence of carpal tunnel syndrome cannot be known, but there is no better cure for it than yoga. It truly is a wonder how yoga, as old as it is, can cure the new ails.
