Yoga, which finds its origins in ancient India, has today become a part of the daily life of millions of people across the globe. It consists of physical, mental, and spiritual practices that can be grouped as per the needs of an individual or a group to gain health, both mental and physical, benefits.
Yoga can be practiced by one and all across ages and even physical and mental ability. A yoga guru or certified instructor can guide an individual based on their health issues on what combination of yoga stances or asanas would benefit them the most. This requires a complete understanding of what the issues are with the human body and which asanas can help correct them.
While Yoga has been around for thousands of years, it has gained renewed popularity in the last few years. So much so that now we have a day dedicated to it. Every year since 2015, the International Day of Yoga is celebrated annually on 21 June, following its inception in the United Nations General Assembly in 2014. Yoga can improve our well being and is now being hailed as the lifestyle that can help deal with the issues that the current prevalent lifestyle is posing.
The current lifestyle, being governed by technology and digital mediums, has contributed to several lifestyle issues like stress, diabetes, etc. And this is not just limited to working individuals but affects kids, young older people as well.
Students today have to sit at their desks for hours a day. They need to pour over textbooks and e-books for hours to finish daily assignments, study for numerous tests, and even participating in various extra-curricular activities. These activities tend to create tension and stress in the body and mind. Yoga at educational institutes and home can certainly help them deal with these issues better.
In the past few years, many schools have made Yoga a part of their curriculum and are already witnessing positive changes. Here are a few health benefits of Yoga for students that are making more schools join the movement.
Improved Posture and Attention span – sitting for long hours, hunched over a desk or with our neck bent down towards books and digital devices leads to permanent bad posture, chronic pain in neck, shoulders and other muscles and also reduces our breathing capacity. Kids today are used to a fast-paced life and their attention span is very low.
Yoga asanas like tadasana, Nataraj asana, posture n Surya Namaskar and meditation help in improving the posture, and increase attention span. The breathing techniques used in the session increase the capacity of the lungs and improves the blood circulation.
Reduced stress and Anxiety – That students today are stressed is not unknown. The fierce competition, the will to excel, multitasking, and peer pressure all add up to the overall stress and lead to various anxiety-related physical and mental health problems.
Yoga and meditation have a calming effect and stimulate growth and stress-relieving hormones which reduces the stress considerably. Regular Yoga and breathing exercises enable students to handle the stressful situation in a better manner.
Better Emotional and Physical Control – For a better life, students must keep their emotions and physical reactions to the situation in their control. Emotional or physical outbursts during stressful situations have become very common and are a cause of concern.
Regular Yoga is proven to keep the mind and body in better control. Students are more mindful of their emotional surges and physical reactions to angry, unfavorable, or stressful situations.
Apart from these, Yoga helps students sleep better, improves their flexibility, manage their weight, improve memory and immunity, and increases their self-confidence. The right kind of Yoga asanas under the right guidance will surely help students bloom into well-minded, healthy, and successful citizens of tomorrow.
