The benefits of yoga - Helium

Yoga is suitable for all people, regardless of age, sex or condition. Everyone, young and old, can practice yoga. Whether you do every day or once a week, yoga enriches your life! You will soon discover that Yoga has a positive effect for body and mind. There are over 1001 reasons to practice yoga. Below we list 10 benefits of yoga on the quality of your life will improve:

1. Stress reduction

Yoga reduces the physical effects of stress on the body. Thanks to the relaxing effects of yoga will see a decrease in the stress hormone cortisol in the body occur. Additional benefits for the body to a reduction in blood pressure and heart rate, improved digestion and increased immunity. Further softened yoga symptoms of anxiety, depression, fatigue, asthma and insomnia.

2. Pain Relief

Another advantage of practicing yoga is that it can relieve pain. Studies have shown that practicing yoga asanas (poses) and meditation, or a combination of both, relieves the pain of both cancer patients, MS patients, people with immune diseases and hypertension, as people with back and neck pain and other ailments. Some yogis yoga helps even when processing emotional pain.

3. Improved breathing

Yoga teaches people to breathe slower and deeper. This leads to improved lung function and the body is encouraged by it to relax. Thus increasing the amount of oxygen is absorbed by the body.

4. Agility

Besides relieving pain, yoga also improves the flexibility and agility of the body. During their first yoga lesson many can not touch their toes with arms outstretched. Little by little starts, however, the correct muscles. Over time, the ligaments, tendons and muscles extend, making the body more different poses can take. In addition, the practice of yoga leads to a better posture, which in turn leads to relieving neck and muscle problems.

5. Increased strength

Yoga asanas (poses), every muscle in the body area, thereby increasing physical strength from head to toe. In addition, yoga relaxes the tight muscles in the body.

6. Weight loss

Yoga (even less intense variations) helps to maintain body weight. Thanks calorie burning and stress reduction, yoga also encourages to eat healthier and leads to a sense of wellness and self-confidence.

7. Improved blood circulation

Yoga improves the functioning of the circulatory system. As a result of various asanas can oxygenated blood to the cells of the body more easily.

8. Cardiovascular Training

Even light yoga exercises have cardiovascular benefits. They reduce the heart rate, increasing endurance and improving oxygen uptake.

9. Focus on the present

Yoga helps us to focus on the present and creates a good balance between body and mind.In addition, yoga leads to improved concentration, coordination, reaction time and an optimal memory.

10. Inner peace

Thanks to the meditative aspects of yoga puts man in a more satisfying spiritual way of life.Many who practice yoga for other reasons, said to be the main reason why yoga is an essential part of their life has become.

Learn more about this author, Raul Abrahams.

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Commonwealth Games opening marked by yoga, rock - CBC.ca

Images are projected onto a kind of airship during the opening ceremony for the 19th Commonwealth Games at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in New Delhi, India, on Sunday. (Anja Niedringhaus/Associated Press)The Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, launched Sunday in grand style with elements that moved from ancient to modern-day.

An enthusiastic crowd of 60,000 in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi greeted hundreds of performers who opened the ceremonies with Tibetan horns, one of the oldest musical trumpets in the world with origins dating back to 1500 B.C.

Audience members included Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, Indian President Pratiba Devisingh Patil and Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee.

The event was livestreamed on CBC Sports.ca.

As dozens and dozens of horns blared, a massive helium airship began to grow and float up and the audience counted down from 10 to one, at which point the rim of the stadium erupted in torch-like fireworks.

Then hundreds of drummers from all over India hit their instruments as giant puppets danced and floated above them.

The drummers included a seven-year-old musical prodigy pounding on his drums by hand. The driving beat went on for more than 10 minutes as yellow and orange lights pulsed to it.

Singer Hariharan, who pioneered the fusion of traditional Indian music with modern stylings, performed Swagatam as schoolchildren, wearing red, white or green formed the flag of India.

The children painted a white cloth above their heads, which became Mehndi hands. Mehndi, sometimes referred to as henna tattooing, is a traditional ornate hand-painted decoration that is temporary.

As music played on, the athlete delegations walked into the stadium, first led by Australia, which hosted the last Games in 2006.Performers entertain a crowd of 60,000 with a classical Indian dance at the opening of the Delhi Games. (Anja Niedringhaus/Associated Press)

More than 100 people from the Canadian delegation of 400 were led in by flag-bearer Ken Pereira, whose family hails from India. The Torontonian is a field hockey player.

After the athletes parade and official opening remarks, a cascade of dancers in classical Indian dance costumes infiltrated the grounds and performed "The Tree of Knowledge" segment, featuring India's guru shishya tradition with folk dancers and musicians.

That was followed by performers in gold lamé body suits doing yoga moves, eventually grouping around a luminous, electrical image of Buddha with coloured discs going from tailbone to its head to represent the different chakras.

In contrast to the tranquility of the yoga piece, the next section was a busy showcase of how the majority of Indians live — with a cavalcade of village-like scenes in which people carried fruit on their heads, rode bikes, danced in circles and carried pots or bricks around.

The grand finale included a rock 'n' roll piece by AR Rahman, who captured two Oscars for his compositions for the hit film Slumdog Millionaire. Rahman sang Let's Go,a piece that recalled a kind of stadium rock with modern and traditional dancers nodding to the beat.

He finished with his rousing Slumdog tune, Jai Ho. Rahman ended the song with the proclamation: "Let's go India!"

Seventy-one countries fielding about 7,000 athletes are participating in the Delhi Games, which end on Oct. 14.Two of hundreds of drummers perform in the early part of the show. (Anja Niedringhaus/Associated Press)

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