Buy Walking VideosThe Benefits of Yoga
The article linked below is called “The Science of Yoga.” It’s a misnomer, because I expected it to go into detail about scientific experiments that try to explain the benefits of the practice. It didn’t.
It did talk about the benefits of the practice, however:
In physical yoga, the major actions are forward bends, back bends, lateral bends, inversions (with the head below the heart) and twists. There are poses that work on building strength, flexibility or balance; some poses work on all three.
The muscles at the core of the body—in the abdomen and pelvis—are worked and strengthened in yoga, allowing movements to be more graceful and centered because they are supported by the deepest muscles in the body. In addition, yoga focuses on creating a strong and supple spine, enhancing range of motion and quality of life.
I know researchers are studying yoga to find out the reason yoga poses affect human emotions as much as they do. Practioners cite immediate emotional responses to some of the yoga poses that benefit them. Is it the placebo effect or can the position of our bodies affect our mental states? Scientists are still researching this. For now, all we can do is follow along and see if it works for us.
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December 27th, 2005 at 11:42 pm
Oh, absolutely the way we move our body affects our emotions and our perceptions. There are very clear research studies that show that the way we move affects the way we perceive.