Yoga boosts mind and body health

Practicing yoga is believed to be beneficial for individuals suffering from a broad variety of health problems such as back pain, chronic headaches, sleeplessness, obesity, neck aches, upset stomach, anxiety, depression and high blood pressure, said Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Other health benefits of yoga include better coping with pain, the improvement of immune functions that would help body to fight infectious and non-communicable diseases such as cancer. 
According to the new research, yoga can also be helpful in individuals receiving cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation by relieving their stress and improving their quality of life."The best evidence really shows that yoga is good at reducing stress and helping people cope with the stress they have… It improves management of stress both psychologically and physiologically," he noted. Body awareness caused by yoga helps overweight people to make a better self-image and subsequently fight obesity, the study suggested. The health benefits of yoga practice are reported to be due to its approach toward providing a balanced connection between mind and body, Khalsa added. Health experts suggest that focusing on one of the various aspects of yoga, including physical exercises, breathing techniques and meditation, may miss out the original intent of the practice on improving the mental, physical and spiritual balance and health. Despite the above-mentioned benefits, physicians warn about some exaggerated and scientifically not approved claims about the health benefits of yoga that may cause some practitioners abandon their medical treatments and practice yoga instead, a condition which may contribute to unfortunate results. Experts also caution individuals against malpractice of the yoga's physical exercises that may cause injuries, suggesting that it would be better for individuals to practice under the supervision of an experienced teacher who combines the three main elements of yoga."Everyone should get an instructor who is experienced and has the traditional yogic principles," said Karen Sherman, an epidemiologist from the University of Washington. "You should be learning how to tune into your body. Yoga is about moving with awareness. That's a skill many of us have to develop."

 Source:PressTv