The stereotypical first thing that comes to mind when you think of yoga practice is bending exercises done by people standing on yoga mats and wearing leotards. While a large part of doing yoga means holding certain positions to build flexibility and muscle tone, there is another part that works with the breathing. This is meditation and even beginners have found extremely positive, healthy results from practicing meditation on a regular basis.
Yoga meditation has shown to be very helpful in achieving better sleep patterns. The deep breathing that comes with meditation results in lowering the heart rate during the period the individual is meditating, but over time this regulating of the body’s blood flow will stay in effect even when the person is not meditating. This helps people get to sleep faster, which is great news for insomniacs, and provides them with a deeper and more restful sleep. Yoga works to free the mind from a lot of stress, which in turn relaxes the body.
Tests have also been done on prisoners participating in yoga meditation. What was found was that these individuals had less anxiety about their situation, and showed a marked decrease in aggressiveness towards others. As their behavior became far more socially acceptable, the effects of mental illness were also reduced, and long term effects such as an increase in the desire to participate in more positive activities, such as sports and educational pursuits, began to occur. Providing yoga information to prisoners could be a good way to encourage rehabilitation.
Doing yoga practice on a regular basis can also help people in the work environment. The benefits of yoga in the workplace usually focus on the reduction of stress. Meditation lowers the heart rate, resulting in people who are more relaxed, yet are able to respond to stressful situations more quickly and efficiently. The body’s motor skills tend to improve, and memory recall becomes stronger as well, all of which are valuable resources to have in the workplace.
Those who do meditation as part of their yoga practice may not seem to be doing much in the twenty to forty minutes a day that it takes, yet the results speak for themselves. A great deal of research has been done on this centuries old practice, and the results have shown a much better life for those who meditate. The history of yoga has shown that basic breathing exercises can change a person’s life, and with the little time it requires, there is nothing to lose by trying.
Kristine writes about a variety of health and fitness issues. Visit her mini trampoline site where you’ll find reviews and information on everything from the Needak mini trampoline to the ReboundAir rebounder.