Conscious about your self – Yoga and You

Yoga and You

June 21 marks International yoga day. When you spread yoga mat or durri it’s your sacred space for self-awareness, to know yourself. It’s your solace. It’s your ME time place. The fundamental purpose of yoga is to foster harmony in the body, mind, and environment. Yoga professes a complete system of physical, mental, social, and spiritual development. The meaning of the word “Yoga” is “union”. It is derived from the Sanskrit root “yuj,” (pron. “yug”) meaning “to join”, ‘to yoke’, “to unite” but also “to subjugate”, with the meaning also “to control” and “to discipline”.

Yoga is essentially a spiritual discipline based on an extremely subtle science, which focuses on bringing harmony between mind and body. It is an art and science of healthy living.

Yoga when locked-down

Anxiety and stress levels are somewhere increasing and they usually trigger the sympathetic nervous system. This will have manifestations like increased blood pressure, tensed muscles, lack of concentration, faster breathing, and yoga helps to calm that down. One of the best forms of physical, mental, and spiritual practice, Yoga is best suited for this quarantine period. “Practice of yoga takes care of all these mental issues. Yoga along with breathing and meditation can be considered as an all-round exercise that will take care of our body, mind, and soul.

So along with being aware of surroundings don’t forget to peep inside yourself and be conscious of yourself too. In all this awareness a simple to do Yoga Meditation comes as an easy-to-do in daily life.  Practicing yoga is known to improve flexibility, balance, endurance, and physical strength. While meditation helps to keep the mind sharp and clear, relieves stress and improves overall well-being.

Since imbalances in health affect not just our bodies, minds, or souls separately, such therapies help heal our systems as a whole. Some include relaxing or meditation techniques to calm our systems and allow us to heal at a deeper level. Others allow us to express ourselves more fully and thus heal more fully.

In the whole day we have in our hands it’s just those few minutes we spend on ourselves. So just cheat a bit and get your Me-Time. I’m a yoga fancier and certainly find it very beneficial. If you are unable to do any instead just 15-20 minutes of yog nidra can also be very helpful for overcoming stress and anxiety just before you go to sleep. Yoga is beneficial to all ages so do have some  Yoga time with your kids too.

“Breathe”

The lifeline of our existence. Breathing which leads us to feel more centered and making choices more consciously. They are simple methods that have been used for thousands of years and offer the simplicity of sometimes require nothing more than a mat or an empty space.

Breathing: Simple breathe-in breathe-out or advanced breathing exercises choose for yourself.

Meditation: Online, offline, self-practice there are many ways to be regular with it.

Yoga: Again classes or online it’s everywhere. During lock-down, many classes and apps are available to try it out at ease and comfort of your home.

Not to sound like a preacher listing some benefits I observed from yoga in the years of its regular practice.

• Builds muscle strength.
• Healthy bone health
• Increases blood flow in the body
• Boosts your immunity
• Makes your happier
• Takes you toward a healthier lifestyle.
• Improves concentration and focus
• Relaxes you within
• Releases your tensions
• Deeper breathing
• Peace of mind
• Increases inner strength
• You are motivated for self-care

So just roll the mat and snatch your me-time.

This post is part of my Earth series on Conscious living with sustainable practices.