Yoga's benefits over gym

Gym vs Yoga

GYM

A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is a covered location for athletics. They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational institutions. "Gym" is also slang for "fitness centre", which is often an area for indoor recreation and may be open air as well.

Yoga

Yoga is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in Ancient India. Yoga is one of the six Astika (orthodox) schools of Hindu philosophical traditions.

• Yoga benefits the mind, body & soul.

It tones an individual's body and helps to experience the moment. Yoga fills the spirit with positive energy.

On the other hand, gym workout focuses only on an individual's physical condition.

• Yoga benefits the full body externally and internally.

It makes the body lean or helps to remove extra fat and makes an individual full of grace.

The twisting, stretching & folding in a yoga asanas are good for all the internal systems such as the digestive system, the circulatory system and more.

It also the body to detox and developing stronger muscles. 

But gym only focuses on strengthening muscles and boosting cardio.

• Yoga teaches acceptance.

Yoga helps an individual to believe he/she is perfect the way he/she is with his/her strengths and weaknesses.

Yoga is not about self-improvement, it is about self-acceptance.

But gym forces to buff and shape the body parts.

• Yoga helps to cure the diseases and problems

Yoga helps each individual to cure his/her disease or health problem without any other side effects.

Yoga is not only for curing problem, it should also be practiced for a healthy life.

But on the other hand gym doesn't cure any disease or problem.

• Yoga can be practiced anywhere

Yoga can easily be practiced anywhere without any special equipment. But some of the practices need silent places or isolation.

But gym needs special equipment for workout.

  

  - Dixit's Yoga

4 drinks on time will make you healthy


Every individual wants to be fit and healthy. Most of the part in being healthy depends on the diet taken by an individual. Every individual should must have large amount of liquid in his/her daily diet at particular time. That liquid can be taken in various forms and these are-


Morning (Fruit Juice)

An individual should drink 2 glass of water just after he/she wake up.

• Then should also have a glass of fresh fruit juice before the breakfast.
• This will help an individual to feel fresh as well as healthy.
• This will also be good source of energy.

Along with a breakfast an individual should must have curd.


Afternoon (Buttermilk)

An individual should have a glass of buttermilk just after the lunch.

• This will help an individual in digestion process as well as buttermilk is full of nutrients.
• Buttermilk will also help an individual to lose weight and will also maintain the metabolism process.

Night (Milk)

An individual should have a glass of warm milk after an hour of having dinner.

• Having milk will help an individual to have a better sleep and will also help in various internal processes.

(Water)

An individual should must drink 3 liters of water daily.

• This will help a person in not going to a situation of dehydration and will also maintain the amount of water required in the body.
• This will also help in excretion of unwanted components in body.

5 best time/techniques to drink water

 for a healthy and long life.

We all drink water and drinking from n number of years, but most of us don't know How and When to drink it?


Drink Early in the morning-

Make a habit when you wake up, drink 2 glass of water, even without having a brush.

• you can have a warm water and,
• can have lemon or honey in it.

This will help an indivdual in-

• increasing immunity.
• increasing metabolism.
• cleaning the intestine.
• will maintain the body fat.

Drink just after having a bath-

Drink a glass of water just after having a bath and do not drink more than 2 glasses.

• This helps an individual's body to maintain the blood pressure level
• This will also help an individual to have desired amount of water in a day.

Drink just before the meal-

Always try to have 2-3 sips of water just before the meal.

This will boost the digestive fire of an individual, which will help in the digestion process and strong the digestive process too.

Earlier people used to do achman-(a hindu tradition) just before the meal.

Do not drink just after the meal-

Don't drink water just after the meal, always drink after an hour.

• Drinking just after the meal will shrivel up the digestive fire and an individual's body will not be able to absorb all the nutrients.
• This will leads to several problems and diseases also.
• An individual can have a buttermilk just after the meal.

Drink plenty amount of water-

An individual must drink at least 3 liters of water in a day.

• This will complete the amount of requirement of water in the body.
• Will help in detoxification, will throw out all the unwanted particles with the urine.
• An individual will never feel dehydrated. 

Yoga for Obesity

Obesity- is a condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health.

WHO defines overweight and obesity as follows:

For adults

• overweight is a BMI greater than or equal to 25, and

• obesity is a BMI greater than or equal to 30.

BMI provides the most useful population-level measure of overweight and obesity as it is the same for both genders and for all ages of adults. However, it should be considered a rough guide because it may not correspond to the same degree of fatness in different individuals.

Children under 5 years of age

• overweight is weight-for-height greater than 2 standard deviations above WHO Child Growth Standards median, and

• obesity is weight-for-height greater than 3 standard deviations above the WHO Child Growth Standards median.

• Charts and tables: WHO child growth standards for children aged under 5 years.

Children aged between 5–19 years

• overweight is BMI-for-age greater than 1 standard deviation above the WHO Growth Reference median; and

• obesity is greater than 2 standard deviations above the WHO Growth Reference median.

The problems like overweight and obesity can be easily cured by various yogasanas and these are as follows-

Suryanamaskar- 

Incredible benefits of Surya Namaskar:

• Helps maintain cardiovascular health.
• Stimulates the nervous system.
• Helps in stretching, flexing and toning the muscles.
• Excellent exercise for weight loss management.
• Strengthens the immune system.
• Enhances cognitive functions.
• Improves overall health, strengthens the body and relaxes the mind.

 Tiryaka Tadasana

How to do-

• Stand straight with legs together and hands by the side of your thighs, then open your chest and keep your spine erect. Then Interlock your fingers of both hands facing the palms downwards and then inhale slowly and raise your hand upwards over to your head,stretch your hands straight touching your biceps to your ears.
• Now while exhaling slowly bend sideways to your right side keeping the hands straight and biceps will be touching the ears,try to band as much as possible.Stay at the last point you reached and feel the stretch on the opposite side (left side). Now inhale slowly and come up to the center.
• Again exhale and bend sideways to your left side. Keep your biceps touched to your ears, bend sideways as much as possible, stay at the last point and feel the stretch on the opposite side, i.e. on the right side.Then inhale again and come back to the center. Now bring your interlocked hands downwards while exhaling.

Padahastasana

How to do-

• Stand in an erect position with feet parallel to each other and inhale to lift the hands up in the air, with fingers pointing towards the upwards. The knees caps are lifted and thigh muscles are contracted to create a sense of alertness in the body. Feet should be placed shoulder-width apart. If the practitioner is on an advanced level, he or she can keep the feet together as well.
• Keeping the legs completely straight, the spine elongated and erect and without rounding the back, exhale and bend from the hip joint. Start to go forward in the pose. The forward motion should be created in a way that hands, head, and torso should look like a unit.
• As your chin or nose touches the knee while the hands meet the toes, gently slide the fingers underneath the toes. Stay in the pose for a few breaths.
• In order to come out of padahastasana yogasana, slide your hands back from under the feet and hold the waist, and while supporting the lower back, inhale and gently, lift up, back to a standing position.

Trikonasana

How to do-

• Stand straight. Separate your feet shoulder width apart, then turn your right foot out 90 degrees and left foot in by 15 degrees. Now align the center of your right heel with the center of your arch of left foot.Ensure that your feet are pressing the ground and the weight of your body is equally balanced on both the feet.
• Inhale deeply and as you exhale, bend your body to the right, downward from the hips, keeping the waist straight, allowing your left hand to come up in the air while your right hand comes down towards floor. Keep both arms in straight line.Rest your right hand on your shin, ankle, or the floor outside your right foot, whatever is possible without distorting the sides of the waist. Stretch your left arm upwards in line with the tops of your shoulders. Keep your head in a neutral position or turn it to the left, eyes gazing softly at the left palm.
• Ascertain that your body is bent sideways and not backward or forward. Pelvis and chest are wide open.Stretch maximum and be steady. Keep taking in long deep breaths. With each exhalation, relax the body more and more. Just be with the body and the breath.As you inhale, come up, bring your arms down to your sides, and straighten your feet.
• Repeat the same on the other side.

Apart from these asanas there are some other physical exercise which are very helpful to cure obesity and overweight and these are as follows-

• Running or Walk

• Breathing Exercises-

1. Kapalbhati
2. Anulom Vilom

*Heart patients should avoid Kapalbhati

An Individual should give attention towards his/her activities that-

• He/she should avoid over eating and unhealthy eating.
• Do not take stress, because stress is one of the very important factor in any type of problem and disease.

5 asanas in 5 minutes

These asanas are best form of workout to do at home and can 

be done in very short span of time. An individual can perform these asanas daily. The asanas are as following-

Sarvangasana

How to do Sarvangasana

• Lie on your back with hands by your side.
• With one movement, lift your legs, buttocks and back so that you come up high on your shoulders. Support your back with the hands.
• Move your elbows closer towards each other, and move your hands along your back, creeping up towards the shoulder blades. Keep straightening the legs and spine by pressing the elbows down to the floor and hands into the back. Your weight should be supported on your shoulders and upper arms and not on your head and neck.
• Keep the legs firm. Lift your heels higher as though you are putting a footprint on the ceiling. Bring the big toes straight over the nose. Now point the toes up. Pay attention to your neck. Do not press the neck into the floor. Instead keep the neck strong with a feeling of tightening the neck muscles slightly. Press your sternum toward the chin. If you feel any strain in the neck, come out of the posture.
• Keep breathing deeply and stay in the posture for 30-60 seconds.
• To come out of the posture, lower the knees to forehead. Bring your hands to the floor, palms facing down. Without lifting the head slowly bring your spine down, vertebra by vertebra, completely to the floor. Lower the legs to the floor. Relax for a minimum of 60 seconds.

Halasana

How to do Halasana

• Lie on your back with your arms beside you, palms downwards.
• As you inhale, use your abdominal muscles to lift your feet off the floor, raising your legs vertically at a 90-degree angle.
• Continue to breathe normally and supporting your hips and back with your hands, lift them off the ground.
• Allow your legs to sweep in a 180-degree angle over your head till your toes touch the floor. Your back should be perpendicular to the floor. This may be difficult initially, but make an attempt for a few seconds.
• Hold this pose and let your body relax more and more with each steady breath.
• After about a minute (a few seconds for beginners) of resting in this pose, you may gently bring your legs down on exhalation.

Chakrasana

How to do Chakrasana

• To begin, lie on your back.
• Bend your knees so that your feet are flat on the floor in a parallel position in line with your sitting bones, about a foot’s distance away from your hips. Press your feet firmly into the floor.
• Place your hands on the floor just above your shoulders with your fingers facing your shoulders.
• Press into your hands and lift your upper body off the mat, resting the crown of your head lightly on  your mat.
• Press into your feet and lift your legs, pelvis and abdomen off of the mat, activating your inner thighs.
• Push more into your feet, bringing more of your weight into your palms. This will protect your lower back.
• Maintain strength and stability in your arms by continuing to press firmly into the mat.
• Let your head hang in a neutral position, making sure not to strain your neck.
• Hold for 5-10 breaths.
• To exit the posture, slowly lower your arms and legs and bring your spine back onto the mat vertebrae by vertebrae.

Paschimottanasana

How to do Paschimottanasana

• Sit straight with the legs stretched out. Keep the toes flexed towards yourself.
• Take a deep breath and raise your arms upward.
• Now bend forward while exhaling and fold from the hip joints.
• Stretch the arms out as much as you can.
• Take a deep breath, slightly lift the head and elongate the spine.
• Release your breath and try to bring the navel towards the knees.
• Keep repeating the same a few times.
• Then, keep the head on the legs and remain in the pose for a few breaths.
• Take a deep breath and shift to the sitting position.
• Release your breath and drop arms. 

Tadasana

How to do Tadasana

• Stand straight on the ground, and take a small gap between your feet.
• With deeply breathing (inhale), raise your both arms.
• Keep your arms upward by interlocking your fingers.
• Now come on the toes by raising your heels simultaneously
• Feel the pressure of stretching from toes to fingers.
• Try to maintain this pose as long as you can with slow and deep breathing.
• Now come to the original position with deep breathing (exhale).
• You can perform the number of rounds as per your convenience after having relaxation for a while.

Sources-

Self knowledge 

www.artofliving.com

Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is a measurement of the pressure in your arteries during the active and resting phases of each heartbeat.

·         Systolic pressure. The top number in a blood pressure reading is the amount of pressure your heart generates when pumping blood through your arteries to the rest of your body.

·         Diastolic pressure. The bottom number in a blood pressure reading refers to the amount of pressure in your arteries when your heart is at between beats.

There are 2 types of Blood pressure problems namely-

·        High Bp (Hypertension)

·        Low Bp (Hypotension)

What is high blood pressure (Hypertension)?

• High blood pressure, or hypertension, occurs when your blood pressure increases to unhealthy levels. Your blood pressure measurement takes into account how much blood is passing through your blood vessels and the amount of resistance the blood meets while the heart is pumping.
• Narrow arteries increase resistance. The narrower your arteries are, the higher your blood pressure will be. Over the long term, increased pressure can cause health issues, including heart disease.

What is low blood pressure

 (Hypotension)?

·         Hypotension is the opposite of hypertension. It is best understood as a physiological state rather than a disease. Severely low blood pressure can deprive the brain and other vital organs of oxygen and nutrients, leading to a life-threatening condition called shock.

·         Hypotension can be caused by low blood volume(hypovolemia), hormonal changes, widening of blood vessels(vasodilation), anemia, heart problems, or endocrine problems. Some medications also lead to hypotension.      

 

Yoga to cure Blood pressure problems

For Hypertension

Breathing exercises are the best to cure hypertension and some of them are-

Anulom Vilom

·         Always sit in Sukhasana with your hands resting sideways on the knees.

·         You can also sit in Padmasana. 

·         If you begin from the left then close the right nostril with your right thumb and inhale slowly to fill up your lungs.

·         Now, exhale slowly from the right nostril. 

·         It is essential to focus on your breath and practice the technique slowly.

·         Repeat 60 times or for 5 minutes. You can do this any time of the day.

 Bhastrika Pranayama

• Sit on the padmasana with eye closed.
• Take a deep breath in (inhale), filling the lungs with air.
• After that gently breathe out.
• In this inhaling and exhaling should take the same length of time-2.5 seconds to breathe in and 2.5 seconds to breathe out.
• While you breathe in (inhale) assume that you are taking in positive energy and vibrations and that you are being energized by them.
• During breathe out (exhale), imagine that you are taking out all the toxins from our body and find. (feel that during breathing out all the toxins comes out through your breath)

*(Both the breathing exercises should be practiced with normal rate of speed, neither too much fast nor too slow otherwise result will not be desirable.

Some other asanas like-

• Savasana
• Markat asana

For Hypotension

There are some physical as well as breathing exercises which are helpful in hypotension and these are-

• Surya Namaskar

• Walking
• Jogging

Breathing exercises-

·        Anulom Vilom

·        Kapalbhati

Sources
Wikipedia

Healthline

Swami ramdev channel youtube

Self Knowledge