If you are an ardent follower of yoga and a passionate yoga practitioner, you may have already felt the benefits- maybe you are feeling more energetic, better immune to cold, sleeping more peacefully, having more emotional balance and control. Medical researches are providing concrete evidence to show that yoga can improve physical well-being, keep sickness at bay, relieves pain and aches, boosts immunity. In short, yoga is your overall health booster.
Definition of health (as per WHO)
Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. ( source: https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/frequently-asked-questions )
Definition of health (as per general perception)
According to the general perception a healthy person is confined to the good physique, absence of major diseases, overall youthful appearance, good muscle, and body strength.
What is the concept of health in yoga?
Yoga works on your entire physical transformation. All of us are aware of the superficial benefits it provides. It aids in alleviating the body stiffness, induces sound sleep, inculcates healthy eating habits, reduces the aches and gives strength to endure the pain, aids digestion, Maintains the weight, regulates hormonal secretion, generates mental awareness, makes you feel at ease.
But there are more than these superficial physical benefits. Yoga benefits your physical, mental health but at the same time it actually deep within works on all aspects of your health, life, and overall personality. It includes all the criteria of health given by WHO – physical, mental, and social well-being and also adores it with some extra benefits- mind & soul healing, better communication, consistency and compassion, a well-balanced lifestyle.
So, you must not confide the idea of yoga benefits to just physical wellbeing but consider it as your overall health booster. Here is the list of life areas where yoga works to completely transform you into a different individual who is more passionate, better aware, impeccably relaxed, noticeably healthy, and has a crystal clear lookout to the future ahead.
1. Physical health
Yoga emphasizes the importance of physical activities such as exercises and asana, postures, pranayama, and kriyas on daily basis. It mainly stresses the cardio-respiratory health, immunity system booster. Strengthened muscles and bones, good heart health, balancing, flexibility, enhanced beauty, well-proportioned body weight are the main by-products of such healthy activities.
2. Mental health
Your mind is the epicenter of the entire body system. Yoga helps you to heal this main focal point of health. Great importance is given to the rejuvenation of mental awakening in yoga. It soothes the mind, relaxes the nerves, makes the person aware, and reduces the stress. Pranayama and meditation have a calming effect on the nervous system which leads to a mentally healthy being.
3. Emotional health
Ethical thinking and Right attitude towards life is essential for well being. A balanced state of emotions is obtained by following the mindfulness and moral restraints. Ethical observances, one follows during yogic and meditative practices, known to be the Yama-niyama helps to maintain the balance between expectations and reality. One gets a precise idea of how to distinguish between needs and greed.
4. Intellectual health
The recreational kriyas and activities are vital to relax body and mind which again are highly primitive for good health. Yoga provides these body and mind relaxing activities, which helps to maintain a quietude of action-speech-thoughts. Yoga provides for a broad level intellectual upliftment making a person more capable of thinking rationally, generates a keen for the observance of various perspectives, makes a person highly focused. Yoga is an excellent method of losing a sense of individuality and generating a sense of universality.
5. Spiritual health
Yoga induces a sense equanimity. The development of a holistic personality neither affected by praise nor criticism is necessary for spiritual upliftment. A state of vairagya that is sama bhava- being immune or detached from extreme feelings. This emphasizes the right thought process, righteous actions, a well-balanced reaction, and a correct attitude. The transcending powers of yoga help to connect our outer mind to the inner one. This introspection and inner healing uplift the spiritual health leaps and bounds.
6. Social health
Different yogic concepts help an individual to shape his life and interpersonal relationships in his social life. It guides the concept of considering the whole world as one family. It restructures the emotional bond shared withing family and outside it. A person’s awareness about social responsibilities, imbibing brotherhood, maintaining self-esteem, respecting other’s individuality and many such social aspects are covered in yogic social health.
7. Professional health
A person needs to deal with many physical and emotional distress in his/her work life. Many corporates are including yoga in their health regime. Yoga can help the working professional to deal with mental stress, work-target pressure, fatigue, and help to increase productivity. Regular yoga practice makes the person a good and quick decision-maker, a cooperating team member, and a better team leader or manager.
8. Financial health
Good financial health demands sound health. If the person is physically ailing then it can take a huge toll on his/her financial condition. Yoga takes care of the physical health of the person, keeping the diseases at bay. It also generates a sense of need and greed restricting the unnecessary expenses. The intellectual betterment, emotional stability, mental satisfaction helps to attain financial well-being.
9. Surrounding environmental health
This concept helps us to understand how our actions, emotions, and even our thoughts can influence our surrounding environment or people around us. It makes us compassionate about all the living beings around us including innocent animals, species, plants, etc. A psychic disassociation helps us to be aware of why things happen to us and others in our day to day life.