Yoga: advantages and disadvantages for health –

In order not to be disappointed in the practice of yoga, it is useful to find out its advantages and disadvantages, as well as the effects on health, coming to a reasonable conclusion about the advisability of practicing yoga.

Briefly about yoga

Yoga as a practice has a centuries-old history. With its help you can find bodily and spiritual harmony, direct positive energy in the right direction and get rid of negative emotions.

The practice of classical yoga includes 3 directions:

1. Correct breathingwhich allows you to eliminate hypoxia and fill the body with vital oxygen.
2. Meditationwhich helps organize thoughts, increases resistance to stress and helps you be alone with yourself.
3. Performing asanaswhich helps to release muscle tension, make the joints and spine flexible, fill the body with energy and increase tone.

Yoga can be practiced regardless of age. Yoga for pregnant women is becoming more and more popular. If there are no contraindications, gynecologists welcome this practice, which helps future mothers learn to breathe correctly and use the body’s strength to overcome problems. Yoga helps reduce the intensity of pain and relieve spasms during childbirth.

The level of load and complexity of poses are selected individually, taking into account strength, desire and level of physical fitness. An experienced instructor will help you solve spiritual and physical problems without harming your health, following one of the fundamental principles of yoga: do no harm!

Advantages

Yoga classes are attracting more and more people, even at a young age. Many find in this practice an opportunity to heal, calm the soul and acquire basic psycho-emotional stability. The positive effects of yoga on overall health have been proven by experts. One of the advantages of such exercises is the opportunity to practice at home, at a convenient time. People who love yoga and practice it for 1.5-2 hours several times a week can point out a number of advantages of such classes.

Practicing yoga can:

• Make your muscles flexible and posture beautifulpreventing sprains of the spine and strengthening the supporting muscles of the back. The practice increases the resistance threshold (Paršvottanasana, Adho Mukha Švanasana, Virasana). Even middle-aged people can learn to sit on the string in 3 months.
• Get rid of itextra kilos. Yoga classes help activate the metabolism and speed up the weight loss process, so you can maintain the result for a long time without special diets and fasting.
• Fight brittle bonesprevent the progression of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.
• Normalizes blood pressure strengthen blood vessels, restoring their elasticity and elasticity. Such activities have a positive effect on the cardiovascular system and digestive tract. With the help of yoga you can improve blood circulation, strengthen immunity and prevent the development of diabetes.
• Calms the nervous system control the production of stress hormones, as well as discover the ability to control one’s mind.
• Eliminate pain and reduce the severity of symptoms of some pathological conditions. Specific poses and mudras allow you to get rid of severe pain and discomfort during menstruation, hemorrhoids, lower back and neck problems.
• Gain trustovercome depression, get rid of bad habits and realize your true purpose.
• Fight increased anxiety and neurosis, normalize sleep.
• Cleanse cells of toxins and toxinssaturate the blood with oxygen, improve brain activity (shashankasana – upside down exercise).
• Normalizes the hormonal backgroundprevent age-related changes and start the rejuvenation process.
• Take it mental and physical harmonypeace and tranquility.

Disadvantages

Yoga classes should be started after familiarizing yourself with the existing contraindications. The exercise system cannot be performed in case of mental disorders, blood or heart diseases, oncological, spinal, brain injuries and stage 2 or 3 hypertension.

It should be remembered Yoga is a dangerous practice, sometimes fraught with injury. Difficult exercises can only be performed under the supervision of an experienced instructor, acquiring increasingly advanced skills over time.

You need to be careful because:

• Some asanas can cause stroke or heart attack both young and old. This is due to possible disruption of blood circulation to the brain and heart when taking specific positions, sudden neck movements and neck bending. As a result of such damage, vision and hearing may be impaired and headaches may occur.
• For starters, for muscle stretching there is a risk of severe pain. Age does not matter in practice. Some people start practicing yoga after age 50, but have an athletic background. Such exercises are risky for people (regardless of age) who have led a passive lifestyle and have never done physical activity.
• Yoga is more likely to cause problems with blood vessels, intervertebral discs and hip joints, as well as injury to the temporalis tendon.
• Sitting on your knees for a long time can lead to a dangerous disease – branches of the sciatic nervepassing under the streets. Due to violation of the blood flow of the sciatic nerve, its dysfunction occurs and a person begins to experience great difficulties in moving from one place to another. This syndrome is called “failure leg defect”.
• For people with mental health problems, yoga classes can do this form an addiction. They begin to rely only on life-saving meditations and postures, abandoning the real world. These people may constantly be in a hermitic state, seeking solitude, giving up faith and sometimes even other activities.

Recommendations

It’s important practice yoga with an experienced mentor. The transition to complex poses and exercises should be done gradually, consulting a specialist in the list of asanas. Activities should be temporarily limited in case of exacerbation of chronic diseases, during menstruation, immediately after meals, in the first trimester of pregnancy and in the postoperative period.

Yoga classes are not a panacea for all ailments and diseases. Breathing exercises and meditation should be combined with sport and exercise to achieve good results. You should also maintain a healthy lifestyle.