What is
yoga?
Most people
know yoga as a kind of exercise which aims at developing strength and
flexibility. To practice yoga, you learn a series of ‘postures’, where you put
your body into different positions. The correct breathing is also important.
However, yoga is really about more than just exercise. In 2014, the Prime
Minister of India, Narendra Modi, asked the United Nations to create an
International Day of Yoga, saying that yoga ‘is not about exercise but to
discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and nature’. He felt
that yoga could not just help people to be healthier but also help connect
people to each other and to nature. The United Nations agreed, and
International Yoga Day is now celebrated on 21 June.
Where
did yoga come from?
The history
of yoga goes back at least 5,000 years, and some people claim it is nearer
10,000 years ago. It was first developed in Northern India and at this stage
was a spiritual as well as a physical form of exercise, connected with both
Hinduism and Buddhism. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, yoga was
introduced to the Western world when Swami Vivekananda travelled to the United
States to talk about yoga at a conference in Chicago in 1893. Others followed
in the 1920s and 1930s, and by the 1960s yoga had become a very popular form of
exercise in the United States and in Europe. Most people who practice yoga
today do not do it for spiritual reasons.
What are
the benefits of yoga?
Yoga is good
for the mind and body. Regular practice of yoga helps people to improve their
balance and stamina. Although you won’t really get out of breath, like you
might playing football or running, it does help to keep your heart healthy and
you can lose weight. It can also help with back pain.
The
breathing taught in yoga can help people to reduce stress and anxiety. There
are lots of different possible breathing patterns you can do. Yoga also
improves concentration and helps people to sleep better, so it’s great for
anyone who’s under pressure at work or in their studies.
Different
types of yoga
There are
lots of different types of yoga, so you can choose what suits you best. Hatha
Yoga is often good for beginners, because you hold each position for a few
breaths. In Vinyasa Yoga you change position much more quickly and you might
get out of breath. It’s quite challenging if you haven’t done much yoga before.
Bikram Yoga is sometimes called ‘hot yoga’, because the room must be heated to
around 40 degrees. As well as these and other more traditional forms of yoga,
there are also some more unusual modern forms of yoga. For example, you might
enjoy ‘laughter yoga’, where people do breathing exercises and laugh about
nothing in particular – laughing is very good for your health. Or what about
‘Aeroyoga’, where you do yoga while you are hanging from the ceiling? It’s
supposed to be very good for your back. Or ‘Doga’, where you do yoga together
with your pet dog?
Questions
- Have you ever done yoga?
- What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
Sources:
Comments
I have never done yoga, but sometimes I add some elements to my stretching at the end of the training. I would love to go to yoga classes very much, but unfortunately I have trouble finding the time to do it.
What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
I think yoga is very cool and certainly helps to cope with stress, but in my opinion it is a domain of all kinds of physical activity.
No, it doesn't really appeal as something useful or interesting to me.
What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
I think everything can help us fight stress as long as we are able to relax and forget about our daily problems. Everyone has their own 'springboards' or hobby's that are allowing us to relax - it's up to you what you choose and what is appealing to you.
Me personally no, but i know a lot of people who did it and they were really pleased about it.
What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
I'm most certainly sure it can, as I wrote a second ago, every single person who did yoga and told me about it was certain that it made them calmer and more relaxed.
I am a huge yoga fun. I discovered joga few years ago when I had sleeping problems and pain in my back. I started stretching and learn to breathe properly to reduce stress and pain. Since then I have tried to be more and more aware of my body and mind and do yoga at least few times a week.
What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
I think yoga can help everybody who would be open on such methods and slow pace of exercises. Stretching reduces tension in our body and helps with being more aware of our physical possibilities, feeling our body and staying focused to keep mental and physical balance.
To be honest, I have never tried to do yoga, but I would say that this article encouraged me and maybe I'll try this in the nearest future. :)
What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
Yeah, it might be. It helps calm down and clear your mind so it seems like a great way to fight stress.
Yep, I go to the gym where we have yoga classes. Once a week, but it's cool.
What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
Maybe, but I think you have to find the right person that will help you, lead you during exercises.
In my opinion, yoga is a very good exercise for stabilizing breathing and calming down. It is important not to get angry in our time and reduce the impact of stress, so certainly yoga can be helpful for many people. Hmmm, I wonder what's better, yoga or meditation.
I think so. At least I haven't heard about the bad influence of yoga :) People who do yoga are surprisingly more balanced, calm and good-looking. I will definitely try it sometime. But for this, it seems to me, you need to at least prepare yourself, or to learn the subject with a professional person.
I've never done yoga and I don't feel such a need. I may need some help with my back and fitness, but I prefer to use other methods for this. Yoga requires a great deal of concentration and isn't very dynamic, which is why I don't know if I could adapt to such a slow rhythm. It's usually hard for me to keep one position and stay like that for longer than a moment. Besides, yoga seems like a good exercise, maybe one day I would try it.
2. What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
Yes, I think yoga is a kind of physical and mental rest. Yoga is associated with slow movements and calmness, for this you definitely need focus and openness of mind. When doing this type of exercise, not only your body rests but also the mind. We can forget about life for a moment and focus on figures or other issues important to us. We can cut ourselves off from the outside world and enter the box where we are alone.
I've never done yoga before. I prefer to use other methods for this. I am very energetic and sometimes even hyperactive. Yoga is not very dynamic, that's why I don't know if I could adapt to such a slow rhythm.
2. What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
I think yoga can help fight stress. It is a kind of mental, physical and mental rest. During yoga, not only your body but also your mind rests.
I've never done yoga but my girlfriend had. I would like to try it one day but for now I stay with gym and swimming.
2. What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
Like I mentioned above, my girlfriend was doing yoga for a PE class one semester and she always used to tell me that it was a really pleasant and relaxing experience and a moment of chill-out. She told me that it isn't that easy like as it may look.
Now while we writing this answer she recalled the experience connected with these excercises and decided to start doing it again 👍
2. Yes, I think yoga is a good way of intellectual relaxation and is good to relieve all stress. That's why I siad above I have to try it.
2. Yes, I believe that yoga can calm you down and helps to relax. People are in rush nowadays and they need to concentrate on something else than everyday affairs - yoga can be a good way to achieve that.
I have never tried yoga.
2. What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
I really don’t know if this can help fight stress without trying first. Maybe for some people this is helpful at last this is what most people that do yoga say but I’m not one of them.
2. In my opinion yoga is great form od physical activity because it brings connection between our body and soul. Moreover I think that yoga is
benefitial for our health, because it improves our posture, lower blood pressure and help to sleep better. In addition yoga helps calm the mind, focus and reduce stress.
I have never tried yoga. I heard about it a lot but I never thought that it might be something for me.
What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
I am fairly convinced that it has a lot of positive influence on human bodies. It not only can help with fighting stress but also can have positive impact on our physical health. Even though I say that I am still not interested in trying it out. I just feel that it would have been boring for me and also I don't feel the need for additional activities like that in my life. At least for now.
No. I have never done yoga.
What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
All activities can reduce stress. I guess yoga is combination of a 'sport' and meditation both of which reduce stress so it really might be a thing. I have done some meditations before and its quite relaxing.
I'm really interested and I would like to start to do it.
What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
As I heard this is best way to concentrate your thoughts, feel your body and just focus on it. So basically I agree with that and suggest to start doing yoga for everybody
1. No, I haven't. I prefer other activities to keep myself in shape.
2. I think yoga is fine to people who enjoy it. I'm not this kind of person though. About fighting stress any kind of physical activity can help you with that. It is up to a person what is the most suitable.
2. I think it can. If some calms down by focusing, static exercising and meditating in quiet environment it definitely reduces stress. It wouldn't work for me because I prefer sports like gym and boxing where I could blow off steam by intensive workout but still I don't negate positive effects of yoga to people who like it.
No, I’ve never done yoga. I don’t like the stretching exercises. I hitting the gym almost every second day and I focus more on my strength than flexibility.
What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
As I’ve written in first answer, I’m not a fan of yoga. I’m sure that many people like it since it’s so popular nowadays. I think it can help fight stress because it’s very relaxing and calming. While doing yoga you can stop thinking what stresses you out and you can focus on present time.
1. I have never done yoga. But in my opinion it a great fun. I like stretching. I am going to gym and after my training, every time i do it. I am not flexible person, but I am working on it. Maybe one day I will go on some yoga lessons. It can be interesting experience.
2. I am sure that it can reduce the stress. There a lot more advantages of doing yoga. You can focus, relax. It is still more and more popular these days. A lof of my friends are doing yoga. Most of them are girls, but I realised that men starts doing it.
2. I have no idea about yoga and I do not know that it can help fight stress. However, after articles and blogs, I conclude that yoga is very healthy and can help fight stress.
, you have to be well stretched. Do I think yoga helps with stress? I have no idea but apparently it works!
2. I believe yoga helps to relieve stress and clear your mind. Attending yoga classes regularly will result in improvement of your body movements and good sense of balance. Furthermore yoga also lets you get fit and stay in shape afterwards.
2. As I mentioned in the first section. Yoga is good for everything. Even at work we have a relaxation room with foam pads where I practice. Yoga makes my brain feel clean.
2. Yes, I do, because there are exercises, which we do slowly and we have to
focus on breathing.
2. I heard from my friends that yoga helps them to relax in some way and to make their thoughts clearer but I think, it is a placebo effect. For me, good 10 hours of sleep clears my mind like anything else.
2. I'm sure it can help a lot of people. It's commonly known that physical exercises can make you feel better. But personally I would prefer many kilometers walk, or basketball match.
I have never, but maybe I will try some day. I always want to try things before I having any thoughts about it.
2. What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
As I wrote above, I should first try it to have anything to say about it. But my first thoughts are that it seems that surely can help fighting with stress, although it can be less effective than meditation in this field.
2)Any physical exercise is generally good to fight stress. With that in mind, though, I don't think yoga should be the first thing you default to when you need to cheer up. Especially considering the fact that although there is a belief that yoga is very "good" for your health, the actual scientific data on that topic is rather contradictory.
Yes, I have been doing yoga every morning during spring (when I was getting out of bed early enough to do it). I had my 20-minute routine and it helped me with my mental condition and with my stretching.
What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
Every kind of deep breathing exercise helps to fight stress. That's why people who smoke, become so angry when they give it up.
I haven't. I'm not a big fan of yoga, I think it looks funny and when it comes to physical activity - I would do something else.
2. What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
I believe that yoga can be beneficial, like any type of sport. What's more yoga is a little bit different, because it's calm, very precise and has it's own style, that I think can't be compared to any type of sport, which makes it so unique. Definitely it can help fight stress.
2. I know that it can help with breathing, calming down, relaxing your muscles and clearing your mind. Maybe it helps you to focus on something. And if you have stress, it will help you concentrate on problems and miserable existence in this world. And this is not helpful at all.
2. In my opinion yoga can help people who prefer fighting stress by relaxing.
Yes. Every Monday, Thursday and Friday morning I have yoga classes. I would like to take more but I don't have enough time. Those classes help me to relax before the day and I feel myself more confident and healthy.
2) What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
As I mentioned above, yoga helps me to be more healthy during the day. I have problems with my back. After yoga, my back doesn't hurt during the day, when I need to sit all day.
2. I think yoga can help reduce stress and anxiety. It can also improve your mood and sense of well-being. I think yoga is a bit like meditation. During yoga, not only our body but also our mind rests. When people are stressed or anxious, their body and mind need to relax, which is what happens during yoga. When people meditate or do yoga, they control their breathing and concentrate on one thought. And it seems to me that with repeated practice, the effect only increases, and people reach a relaxed inner state faster and faster.
2. Probably helps some, for me it is too boring and I prefer more extreme sports to de-stress.
No, so far I haven't but I think I will try in near future.
2. What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
People fight stress how they want so if yoga is helping them then why not.
No, and I would like to try, but I feel like I may need a trainer for this.
2. Of course. Every sport can help to reduce stress levels :))
2. I thing moving/sport are the best way to reduce level of stress in our live. I know it because when I had stressful moment in my life I spent a lot of time on gym and after long day I thought only about going to gym and have great workout.
2. Like any other type of sport, yoga as well can help fight stress, I believe.
Lets you get yourself together, get your thoughts straight, clear your mind.
I haven’t ever tried yoga, but I have thought about trying it many times. It seems really calming.
2. What do you think about yoga, do you think it can help fight stress?
I don’t really know much about yoga, but I think that it might help fight stress. Probably it won’t be good for everyone, some people would probably prefer boxing or other martial arts, but I think that it might be a good way to deal with a stress.