In ancient India, yoga was defined as a discipline focusing on achieving harmony between the body, mind, and spirit, leading to a sense of union with the universal consciousness. The word “yoga” itself, derived from the Sanskrit root “yuj,” means “to join,” “to yoke,” or “to unite,” reflecting this goal of unification. As Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras says that the eight limbs of yoga, including yamas (ethical restraints), niyamas (observances), asanas, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi
The Panchakosha theory, originating from ancient Indian texts like the Taittireya Upanishad, suggests that human beings are composed of five layers or sheaths, known as koshas. These koshas are thought of as coverings around the Atman (Self). The theory suggests that understanding and harmonizing these koshas is crucial for holistic well-being and realizing one’s true nature.
The Five Koshas:
- Annamaya Kosha:The physical body, made up of the gross elements, food, and matter.
- Pranamaya Kosha:The vital life force, energy, and the breath.
- Manomaya Kosha:The mental sheath, encompassing thoughts, emotions, feelings, and desires.
- Vijnanamaya Kosha:The intellectual sheath, including intellect, wisdom, discernment, and higher cognitive functions.
- Anandamaya Kosha:The bliss sheath, representing pure consciousness, bliss, and happiness.
Yoga offers both Regeneration and Revitalization through physical poses (asanas) and breathing techniques (pranayama), leading to a renewed sense of well-being and increased energy. By improving circulation, increasing oxygen intake, and removing physical and mental blockages, yoga helps individuals feel refreshed and reborn.
Yoga is a beneficial low-impact exercise option for middle-aged individuals, offering various health advantages. It can improve physical and mental health, including respiratory function, flexibility, strength, balance, and cognitive function. Beginners should start with gentle or Hatha yoga classes, focusing on proper alignment and body awareness.
Yoga can enhance respiratory function, increase flexibility, and improve strength and balance. Weight-bearing poses in yoga help maintain bone density, reducing the risk of osteoporosis. Yogic meditation can improve mental clarity, concentration, and memory, potentially counteracting age-related cognitive decline. Yoga can help reduce stress and anxiety, promoting relaxation and mental well-being.
Physical Benefits:
Yoga can help increase range of motion and build strength, especially important as we age. Poses like Tree Pose and Revolved Triangle Pose can improve balance and coordination in the body and mind which lead to happy and total healthy life. Yoga can help reduce aches, pains, and stiffness in joints and muscles as when we do yoga our blood circulation improve with more oxygen (O2) to all the body parts and also, we exhale more carbon dioxide (CO2) and other gas throughout the body which lead to healthy blood flow and its impact on body.
Mental and Emotional Benefits:
Yoga can help reduce stress and promote relaxation through breathing techniques and mindful movement. Yoga is known to boost mood and improve overall mental well-being. As when we do yoga quality of relaxation improve with inhale & exhale gradually to the max that impact on still the mind and improve sleep quality. Yoga encourages awareness of the body and mind, promoting a sense of presence.
Medical practitioners and health-focused websites are increasingly recommending yoga to those of middle age and up, perhaps because yoga can help make you more flexible and mobile, improve your balance, reduce age-related changes in gait, increase your energy, reduce chronic pain and addictive behavior, decrease the risk of heart attacks and strokes, alleviate depression and anxiety, improve sleep quality, and even slow the effects of aging on a cellular level.
Most fashionable repetition is based on Hatha yoga that is largely defined by physical practice. The Pradīpikā, a Sanskrit manual written in 1350 describes fifteen primary postures, seven performed while seated, and eight in other positions, along with 69 combined postures for a total of 84 asanas. Recent involvements have modified these for a variety of health conditions problems in aging, pregnancy, chronic pain, diabetes, stroke, heart failure, mild traumatic brain injury and brain health in addition to many others.
It is necessary to develop therapeutic interventions that target core cognitive and behavioral processes that contribute to women’s negative body-related experiences, and help them modify dysfunctional thoughts, feelings, perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors related to their bodies in order to enhance their overall health and well-being in the women through Yoga activities Regular will boost the body and mind in a positive way.
The impact of long-term Yoga practice on connectivity between the prefrontal and posterior cortex of the brain—the network of interconnecting neurons that transfers data related to working-memory, spatial attention, and decision-making was much better than normal person, Yoga practice has also been shown to have positive neurological and mental health benefits. A systematic review and meta-analysis of yoga practice on brain structure, found that regular practice was associated with anatomical changes in the frontal cortex, hippocampus, anterior cingulate cortex and insula—all areas implicated in aging-related cognitive decline.
Master over the monkey mind is the way to get out of all the aliments in the body through regular practice of yoga help to balance body, mind and soul for middle individual there aging process also slower than non-yoga practices. So every individual should practice yoga regularly for total health benefit.
- Contributed by Yoga master, Mr. Mallikarjun