"Words fail to convey the total value of yoga. It has to be experienced"
- B.K.S. Iyengar.
It amazes me, when before I started doing yoga, how 1 hour of swimming or playing racket sports would tire me out and now, even 2 hours of yoga everyday leaves me feeling fresh and re-energized! As a mother of two children in high level competitive sport , I do not intend to put down sports or any other physical exercise, but I just feel that yoga has a more wholistic approach to health and wellness.
The following reasons have made yoga increasingly popular and is influential in changing the way we look at our bodies, mind and ways of exercising:
1. Yoga opposes violent muscle movement. Relaxation by deep breathing and Shavasana in yoga pays off oxygen debt resulting from lactic acid build up. While other physical exercises emphasize on violent movements of muscle which produce large quantities of lactic acid in muscle fibers causing fatigue.
2. Yoga regards body as an instrument for journey to perfection while other exercises are designed to develop muscles for an impressive body.
3. Yoga is designed to develop mental faculties and concentration. Other exercises are Rajasic i.e. increased adrenaline stimulates the mind.
4. Yoga regenerates energy. Other types of exercises consume energy.
5. According to yoga, a healthy body is not just a muscular body. Health is when all organs function perfectly under the intelligent control of mind. On the other hand, other exercises focus on a strong body to undergo daily stresses of life. However, mind is not in control and therefore, short-term health can lead to use (or abuse) of steroids, stimulants, drugs etc.
6. In yoga, inverted postures (head stand & shoulder stand) use gravity to force the blood back to the heart which strengthens the heart and increases the volume of blood circulated. Other exercises rely solely on aerobic exercise to pump the heart and thereby increase circulation. This produces tremendous strain o the heart. That is the reason you hear of trained athletes dying of heart failure.
7. Yoga pays great attention to maintaining flexibility of spine and other joints and small deep muscles in the body. It also focuses on counter stretching to maintain muscle flexibility. Other exercises use only large superficial muscles of the back and in the body. They do not focus on stretching opposing muscles which leads to tightness. A common example is tight hamstrings in otherwise physically strong people.
These are just a few of many benefits of yoga over all other physical exercises.
Experience it for yourself and see !!