We all need something. Whether it’s a cup of coffee, a trip to the movies, or a sandwich, we all need something. Often times the things we actually need are elusive to us. Running through the hectic chaos that we call modern life, we often overlook the simple way of life. A quiet moment of peace, a walk in the park, or even your everyday sunset. We know we are missing something, but we’re either too busy to get it, or we are too focused on the hundreds of other distractions that arise daily. One thing we could all benefit from is a healthy dose of yoga now and again.
Here are 5 Reasons You Need Yoga in Your Life Right Now
- Mental clarity – the power of being in the now
- Emotional peace and balance – whether in our personal or professional lives
- Physical Strength and Longevity – being in touch with your body leads to long term health
- Self-awareness – being in tune with how your environment is affecting you
- Self-discipline – being able to set goals and stick to them.
Mental Clarity
The practice of yoga postures and breathing in the form of hatha-yoga requires one to take their focus off of the external world around them, and to redirect inwards to their own body. This gradually helps a person achieve mental clarity and peace by teaching them to calm the mind and thoughts, and be able to focus on a single thing in tandem with one’s breath.
Breathing exercises have long been used for a wide variety of meditation techniques and stress relief methods. Controlling one’s own breath can bring better oxygenation to the cells and bloodstream, having an instant effect on one’s physical well-being and mental state. When one’s mental thoughts become clear from directing one’s attention to their inner workings and breath, introspection then has room to occur.
Introspection is an important part of all of our lives, where internal change can begin to take shape and manifest itself.
By practicing various yoga exercises, one develops concentration, the ability to internalize their thoughts and mind, and to focus on their internal state. This gives one control over the mind, so that they can go about their daily life in a more calm state, able to analyze and deal with situations in a pragmatic manner, rather than being in a constant state of mental agitation.
By constantly practicing detachment, we can overcome the undesirable influence of the mind. See the above video which is a wonderful exhibition of mindfulness meditation practice by Jagad Guru, the founder of Science of Identity Foundation. This mindfulness meditation practice helps to overcome of the disturbances fueled by the mind.
Emotional Peace & Balance
When one achieves mental clarity, they can then start to analyze their internal and emotional state. The teachings of yoga promote balance and peace, and help one to elevate and enlighten their consciousness. Yoga helps one to become balanced within and without, and this in turn lets an individual become aware of their inner self. When we are aware of our true internal self and our detachment from the physical body, this allows us to asses situations and react to things in a more neutral and objective way.
Physical Strength & Longevity
Stress is a known factor in illness and deterioration of the body. When you experience mental clarity and emotional health from your practice of yoga, this will automatically lead to a major reduction of stress in your day to day life. Reduced stress means your physical health will flourish much easier.
Physical strength is very important in our everyday lives, from reducing your chance of injury to assisting in everyday activities and tasks. It is important that we keep our bodies strong to help with good posture, which will reduce back pain later in life and allow us to stay mobile and active for longer. Yoga increases your core strength as well as overall muscle stamina and control, and upon regular yoga practice you will find small things like carrying groceries or opening tight jars become noticeably easier. Also physical activities such as yoga will help keep your hormones in good balance, as well as keep your metabolism at a higher rate. Increased flexibility will allow you to perform tasks with less risk of pulling a muscle or tendon. If you have a happy and healthy body then your quality of life will improve drastically and you will be happy more often.
Self Awareness
As yoga increases your awareness of your physical body, your mental state, your emotional state, and your inner self; you automatically become more aware of your environment, the world you live in, and those around you. Having physical health, mental clarity, inner peace, and emotional balance will lead to caring for those around you, and the world you live in. You will be more conscious of what you feed your body, of what conditions you live in, of how you affect the environment around your living space. This awareness of your living habits, your surroundings, and your relationships with others will improve all the aspects of your life and lead to a more fulfilled life where happiness plays a larger role.
A societal shift towards a yoga lifestyle will improve the quality of life of everyone, the quality of our environment, and will lead to a more peaceful society where violence and discrimination from false bodily identification become less and less common.
Self Discipline
Like with any form of physical exercise made routine, practicing yoga on a regular basis will provide you with all the benefits of consistent physical activity. Disciplining yourself to practice yoga lifestyle on a daily or weekly basis will give you motivation and inspire you to keep going. It carries over into other areas of your life as well, as you realize that you are able to achieve goals, to meet deadlines, and to accomplish things that you set out to accomplish.
Being self-disciplined is a great tool in life, and in achieving your objectives on a short-term and long-term basis. Practicing yoga is an all-round tool that can help you achieve your goals in all areas of life, and to improve your quality of life in all areas. Physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, a yoga lifestyle enables us to reach happiness and a better mindset from which we can operate in this modern world that is often so full of stress and complications.
So take a look into how you can adopt a yoga lifestyle into your life, and start making some positive changes. You’ll be a happier, healthier person for it. We need to live in tune with the science of our real eternal identity.