YOGA AND HEALTH

Yoga is a spiritual discipline that brings harmony between mind and body. It’s a powerful tool that teaches us to live a life of balance, peace, harmony, strength and flexibility in all levels. It deepens our connection to the body, mind and spirit, supporting us in living and loving long, vibrant, happy, healthy and fulfilling lives.

Yoga consist of physical postures (asana) and movement, breathing techniques (pranayamas) and meditation. It motivates you for a healthy lifestyle, eating habits, mental attitude .

Yoga is accessible to all, whether you are old or young, injured or unfit, supple or inflexible, male or female. You just need correct guidance and motivation.

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Benefits of yoga on health

1.     It improves strength, balance and flexibility. Deep breathing and slow movements increases blood flow and warn up muscles. Holding a pose can build strength.

             Example-: TREE POSE – Also called as Vrikshasana .

·        Stand straight with both of your feets in full contact with the ground and weight equally distributed on them .

·        Now start to shift weight to one leg and lift the other off the floor. The leg on the floor should be straight and avoid locking of knee.

·      Now bend the lifted leg and bring the sole high onto your inner right thigh

·        Press the foot into your thigh and your thigh back into your foot with equal pressure. This will cause squaring of hips .

·       Concentrate on a fixed point which will help you to maintain your balance.

·        Take 5 to 10 breaths, then lower your foot to the floor and do the other side.

 

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2.     Relieves back pain. Yoga eases pain by stretching and also improves mobility in people with lower back pain

                       Example-: Cat – cow pose

·      Keep your hands and wrist directly under your shoulders and knees below your hips. Place your shins and knees hip-width apart. Keep your spine in neutral position.

·      Cow Pose: As you inhale drop your belly towards the mat. Lift your chin and chest, and gaze up toward the ceiling. Move your shoulders away from your ears .

·      Cat Pose: As you exhale, draw your belly to your spine and round your back toward the ceiling. The pose should look like a cat stretching its back. Release the crown of your head toward the floor, but don’t force your chin to your chest.

   

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                                          Repeat 5-20 times, and then rest by sitting back on your heels with your torso upright

3.     Eases arthritis symptoms. Gentle yoga helps decreasing discomfort of tender, swollen joints for people with arthritis.

          4.     Improves health of heart: Practicing yoga regularly reduces levels of stress of body-wide inflammation. It also                          maintains excess of body weight and blood pressure.

                  Example-: Downward dog pose

·        Start with all fours limbs on floor position, with your hips above your knees and shoulders above your wrists.

·        Bring your hands slightly forwards of your shoulders.

·        Try to create a suction cup in the middle of your palm by pressing through the outer edges of the palm, the base        of the fingers and the fingertips. This is called Hasta Bandha.

·        Create a spiral action in your arms by rolling your upper arms away from you and your forearms spiraling inwards.

·        As you exhale, engage your lower belly drawing the navel back to the spine. Press through your hands and lift your   hips back and up to bring yourself into an upside-down V pose.

·        Keep your knees bent at first as you find length in your spine.

·       Maintaining length in the spine, ‘walk your dog’ by alternately bending and straightening your legs. Eventually bringing both heels towards the floor. They do not have to touch the floor.

·      Stay for 5 breaths.

·      To come out of the pose, bring your knees back down to the floor and come into Child’s pose or transition into a lunge by stepping one foot towards your hands.

 

 

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5.     Provides relaxation and improves sleep schedule. Consistent bedtime yoga routine helps you to get in the right mindset and prepare your body to fall asleep.

 Example-: Leg up to the wall pose

·        Start by setting up a cozy space around a wall

·        Then bring your hips as close to wall as possible.

·        Walk your feet up the wall until your body is in a L-shaped position.

·        Your body should be fully relaxed and you can make adjustments for the same.

·        Focus on your breath – try elongating your breath, taking a deep, slow inhale through your nose and a deep, slow exhale through your nose.

·        Try to stay in this position for at least 10 – 15 minutes for optimal benefits.

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6.     Builds bone density . Supporting your weight during yoga pose helps building up bone density.

7.     Nourishes the skin . Sweating improves circulation bringing in oxygen and nutrients ruch blood to skin cells .

Contraindications!!!

·        Pregnancy – Pregnant women should not practice rigorous asanas , advanced core strengthening , inversions ,intensive backwards ,poses that compress the abdomen or extreme twisting should be completely avoided.

·        Fracture- Yoga can worsen your pain and can hurt more .

·        Unsteady sugar and bp level- Consult a doctor first before starting yoga .

·        Mental disorders

·        Spinal cord injury

·        Traumatic brain injury

·        Malignant neoplasms

·        Blood diseases

References-:

·       https://www.artofliving.org/in-en/yoga

·       https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

       https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/13-benefits-of-yoga

WEIGHT REDUCTION

No one likes to carry too much weight around with them, when it's damaging your health.

It requires patience and effort for safe reduction of weight. You need to make some lifestyle changes which involve nutrition and physical activity to lose and maintain your weight for long term basis.

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EXERCISE TIME!!

Exercise can prevent or even reverse the effects of certain diseases. It lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, which may prevent a heart attack. It also helps in building a sense of confidence and well-being thus reducing anxiety and depression.

For maintaining health benefits, perform aerobic exercises for at least 3 times a week for a minimum of 20 mins. 

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Weight training: This not only helps in reducing fat but also build muscles. Major muscle group you need to work on are:

1.    Abdominals:

·     Crunches -Lie down on your back. Place your feet on the floor, hip-width apart and bend your knees and place your arms behind your head. Contract your abs and inhale.

-Exhale and lift your upper body, keeping your head and neck relaxed.

-Inhale and return to the starting position.

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·     Scissors-Lie down on your back with your hands either at your sides or underneath your glutes for added back support.

-Extend your legs out straight, then twist them in and out above each other.

 

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2.    Biceps:

·    Wall push ups- Keep your legs and feet wide, about 2 feet from the wall. One arm should be straight out in front of you, palm on the wall, at about shoulder level and in line with the center of your body. The other arm should be around your back.

-Bend your elbow and begin to lean your body toward the wall as far as you can go. Ensure that your back stays straight .

-Try to keep your body weight evenly distributed instead of leaning to the side you are pushing from.

-Push back to the starting position and complete as many reps as possible.

Switch arms and repeat.

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3.    Calf muscles:

·     Stair calf raises- Stand at the edge of a stair with your heels out and only place your balls of feet over the stairs .

-Elevate your heels by pressing down into the balls of your feet. Pause very briefly at the top and lower your heels back down.Go for time instead of reps. Complete 3 sets of 15 to 2.

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·       Jumping rope –

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4.    Chest:

·     Incline push ups- Stand in front of your box or bench, then bend down and place both hands on either side of it with  fingers pointing forward. Your hands should be about shoulder-width apart.

- Then position  your body back into a plank position. Make sure your body is in a straight line, your head is aligned with your spine.

-Now, bend your arms to help you slowly lower your chest toward the box. Straighten your arms to bring yourself back up into a straight line.

-Repeat 10 times for 3 sets to start. You can increase the repetitions within each set as you get stronger.

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·  Decline push ups- In this your feet will be on  the top of the bench .  Your head in the opposite side of bench. Put your hands on the floor, shoulders over your wrists and elbows at 45 degrees.

- Bend your elbows and lower your chest to the floor, keeping your back and neck straight. Push into the floor to return to starting position, extending your elbows. Complete 2 to 4 sets of 8 to 20 repetitions.

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5.    Forearms:

·   Pull-ups - Leap up and grip the bar with your hands shoulder width apart and your palms facing away from you. Hang with your arms fully extended, you can bend your legs at the knee if they’re dragging on the ground.

-Keep your shoulders back and your core engaged throughout. Then pull up.Try using your upper body muscles to move you up.

-Move slowly upward until your chin is above the bar, then equally slowly downward until your arms are extended again.

Aim for 10 pull-ups.

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·  Crab walk- Come into reverse tabletop position. Place your hands under your shoulders with your fingers facing forward. Align your ankles directly under your knees.

-Walk forward on your hands and feet for up to a minute at a time.

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6.    Hamstrings:

·       Single- leg glute bridge-Lie on your back with knees bent, feet shoulder-width apart and 12–16 inches from glutes. Lift your right leg so it's straight up in the air at hip height with your foot flexed.

-Keeping your upper back on the floor, engage your glutes, drive through your left heel, and raise your hips off the ground until your knee, hips, and shoulders form a straight line. Keep your core engaged the entire time.

- Pause at the top, squeezing your glutes for one to two seconds. Then lower back down to the start.5 reps, then switch legs.

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• Marching glute brigde- Lie on your back with you feet about 12 inches from your hips and hands by your sides with palms up. Press your heels into the ground and lift your pelvis up until your knees, pelvis, and shoulders are in a straight line.

-Hold your bridge while you lift your right knee toward your chest, until your hip is at 90 degrees. Return the heel to the floor and lift the left knee.This completes one rep.

• Do two sets of six reps.

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7.    Quadriceps:

·       Lunges- Stand straight .Then bring your one foot forward until your leg makes 90-degree angle. Your other knee should remain parallel to the ground and your front knee shouldn’t go beyond your toes.

-Lift your front lunging leg to return to the starting position.

-Repeat 10 to 12 reps on one leg, or switch off between legs until you’ve totaled 10 to 12 reps per leg.

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·     Squats- Stand with feet a little wider than hip width, toes facing front.

- Drive your hips back—bending at the knees and ankles .Sit into a squat position while still keeping your heels and toes on the ground, chest up and shoulders back.

- Strive to eventually reach parallel, meaning knees are bent to a 90-degree angle.

- Press into your heels and straighten legs to return to a standing upright position.

Repeat for 3 sets of 10-15 reps

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8.    Shoulders:

 

·       Push ups- Come on all of your four limbs on the ground, facing the floor and your arms should be little more than shoulder width apart. Legs should be balanced on toes and make sure to maintain a straight body posture from head to toe.Should not bend or arch your body  .

- Now lower your body to the ground, bending the elbows, and return to the original position without lying or touching the ground.

-  Inhale while you are going down and exhale while coming up. The bending elbows should be at a 90-degree angle. 

Repeat the exercise until you over-strain your body or do as much as your workout routine requirement.

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·       Decline push-ups

 

 

9.    Trapezius:

·       Shrug-Stand up straight.

-Raise your shoulders as high as you can get them, as if attempting to touch your ears with your shoulders.

-Hold for a count of two.

-Release them back into their relaxed positions.

Repeat 20 times.

https://www.healthline.com

·       Pushups

 

10.           Triceps:

· Diamond pushup- Come to you all fours with your hands together under your chest. Position your index fingers and thumbs so they’re touching, forming a diamond shape, and extend your arms so that your body is elevated and forms a straight line from your head to your feet.

-Lower your chest towards your hands, ensuring you don’t flare your elbows out to the sides and keeping your back flat.

-Stop just before your chest touches the floor, then push back up to the starting position.

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·     Bench dips- Sit down on a bench, your hands should be next to your thighs . (This can also be performed  off a stair or other elevated surface;  same steps applied)

-Walk your feet out and extend your legs, lifting your bottom off the bench and holding there with extended arms.

-Hinging at the elbow, lower your body down as far as you can go, or until your arms form a 90-degree angle.

-Push up through your palms back to start.

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Precautions

·  If you have a heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, kidney disease and arthritis you should consult a doctor before starting any new activity.

·    Those who are overweight, inactive for months or have recently quit smoking should also consult doctor .

· Don’t push yourself too much ,don’t injure yourself in the obsession of losing weight.

·     Stop if you feel any discomfort.

 

 

FOOD TIME !!

 

·  Maintain a diary of your food and exercise and keep a note of your intake and activity.

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·  Eat a variety of plant – based foods , including plenty of fruits and vegetables. Your each meal should cover one – half or more of your plate with vegetables,cover one -quarter with whole grains and over one-quarter with protein. 

·  Regularly timed meals(especially breakfast) and snacks because skipping leads to overeating later.

·   Stop once you feel satisfied but before you feel uncomfortably full.

·    Limit the amount of alcohol (beer ,wine , liquor)

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·       Limit screen time .

·       Sleep well for about 8-8.5 hours every night.

·    High calorie food like deserts should be consumed less frequently and in small portion.

·  Mindful eating is important- It necessary to be consciously present during meals.

·       Don’t use eating as a way to cope your uncomfortable emotions.

 

 

Unsafe methods of weight loss:

 

·       Reducing calorie intake- It is a harmful way of reducing weight because when you lower the calorie intake from less than 1400 calories per day, your body against itself to a semi- starvation state and looks for alternative sources of energy. In the place of burning fat ,it will burn muscle tissue .

·   Appetite- suppressant drug and other pills – These synthetic products promises immediate or effort less weight loss but are not for long run .They have many side effects like nausea , anxiety, agitation, dizziness, insomnia and elevated blood pressure.

·       Liquid diet- Liquid diet drinks or shakes provide less than 1000 calories per day should only be used under medical supervision.

References-:

-https://www.healthline.com/health/exercise-and-weight-loss#types-of-exercise

- https://uhs.umich.edu/

 

 Written by -:

Ms. Aakriti Goswami ( 4^th year )