Author: Randeep Singh / go to all articles on Yoga Concepts
Benefits of yoga practice are immense,
for the overall personality development,
The daily 15 minutes of yoga practice
is enough for, giving better result in areas
beyond your physical health.
Most of the people think of Yoga as
a therapy to illness and disease,
others look at it as a fitness regime which
improves flexibility and physical strength.
Very few realize the all pervasive benefits of yoga practice. Would you believe me if I say that Yoga can help you ace your examinations at school and college. It can help you stride up the ladder of your corporate career, as well as personal life. Put succinctly, Yoga can transform your personality for the better.
Enhanced Positivity – Benefits of Yoga Practice
Every single element of which the universe is made up off can be reduced to energy as the raw material it is composed of. The basic three gunas of Samkhya, the combinations and permutations of which evolve into various forms of matter, are nothing but different qualities of energy.
Sattva, out of the three, equates to positive energy. As one of the benefits of Yoga practice, it helps increase the Sattva guna in the mind via the body. A positive mind, positive thoughts, attracts everything positive from around it due to the law of attraction. A person infused with Sattva guna has nothing stopping it from his goals and targets he has set out to achieve.
At home, or at work, everything with the same positive wavelength gets sucked towards a positive mind. It is one of the main traits recruiters look for in a candidate during a job interview. Positivity is a buoyant force which not only keeps the rider floating above everything else, it is like the whirling plumes under a space shuttle which provide the lift for its continuous elevation towards unfathomable heights.
A positive person makes good impressions on others, under any situations, can make more quality friends, better handle crises, is an excellent team player as the energies can rub against the energies of the people in the surroundings impacting the overall environment positively.
A person coming out of a intense yoga session is filled with the motivation for conquering the skies, or winning the toughest battles of life with confidence.
Self Awareness, Understanding, Discipline
The basic tenets of Yoga goad you to learn the art of self awareness. Staying and living in present is the elementary rule of Yoga, all its techniques and processes has it as their undefined goal. Awareness isn’t possible in case the mind is always embroiled in either the past or the future. One can only be aware of one’s behaviour, thinking, or actions only when one is in the here and now moment.
This is easily achieved with Yoga, as it uses concentration of the divergent energies of the mind into a single unit or direction. This is normally done by directing the distracted thoughts on to something which is existing of happening in the present, like the breathing process, or an real object in front of the practitioner.
Once the mind gets trained on staying in present, it can begin to notice, and see things as they exist, are in the present moment. This is awareness. One cannot improve upon anything if one is not aware of where one stands on that in the present. Most of the times one misses on one.s behavioral aspects during an arguement or trying to contain a crisis, because the mind remains entangled in the future , outcome of the argument involved for example.
As the mind learns to remain calm, in present under these circumstances one is able to observe oneself from outside, or like a witness. Now, one knows what needs to be fixed where.
Such a training can help one identify the interplay of one’s ego in different circumstances. One gets the space and time to unravel the elements of ego and when and why, which one of them gets triggered. Thus, one of the benefits of yoga practice is that one begins to understand that identifying with the ego is not the real self. Since all out thoughts and actions are connected to our ego, this understanding can help one change one’s habits that may be detrimental to one’s spiritual and overall progress.
Ego is also the mother of most of out negative emotions, anger, jealousy, hate etc. As one gains insights into the fabric of one’s ego, one begins to create and understand the graph of these emotions better. Self discipline as advocated by the philosophy of Yoga helps one to control and transform these destructive tendencies into more constructive outcomes.
Yoga helps with disciplining one’s mind, a disciplined mind is the mental energy which can be directed or focused on anything at will. When it is directed on one’s goals, achieving them becomes a lot more easier. Now the personality ceases to follow the directives of the ego, the false identification with the perishable mind and the body, and thus frees itself from its vices.
One if the meanings of Yoga is Unity. Unity with the entire universe. It doesn’t talk about the separate existence of the individual, but advocates the fact that we all are interconnected to each other and all things forming the material universe. Ultimately, we all originate from and merge with the same source. This concept helps to broaden one’s thinking with aspect to one’s relations to other animate and inanimate elements of the universe.
Such a personality is more inclusive, incorporating of others and have better patience. This improves the harmony between the various elements of nature, without which the existence of life is not possible.
Moral Upliftment – Benefits of Yoga Practice
The first two steps of the Classical Yoga of Patanjali, Yamas and Niyamas are nothing but guidelines in moral aspects of human life. Patanjali believes that a mind which is not morally uplifted cannot be pure and thus lacks the ability to progress on the path of Yoga.
Thus, virtues like non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, and maintaining purity in sexual matters form the part of these guidelines. A mind which has violent tendencies is not a steady mind. Harming other beings goes against the principle of universal co-existence. A personality with such tendencies cannot progress on the path of spiritual growth.
Yoga talks about being non-violent in one’s actions, thought, and speech. one must be content with whatever one possess and not crave for material things which belong to others. Stealing is strictly negated for the aspirant of the discipline of Yoga. Non- coveteousness and contentment help remove the tumults of greed from the ind which help keep it steady and pure.
Speaking the truth, under any circumstances is highlighted by the teachings of Yoga. The energy of a lie is not settled and calm. The Yoga practitioner is expected to stand by the truth, as it is of facts, i in order to keep the balance of mind. Adhering to truth adds strength to one’s will power and confidence.
Yoga is even known to sublimate the sexual desires into more productive aspects. It advocates moderation in sexual activity in order to preserve energy for higher practices. Yoga also help one with learning the rules of good conduct, an important element of moral upliftment, in turn enhancing Sattva guna within the being.
A serious student of Yoga is expected to develop these moral qualities in the very beginning as a preparatory practice to the higher steps of the ancient discipline. In a way these are nothing but cleansing and strengthening one’s personality of alll impurities.
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