Yoga has proven to keep the mind and body sharp

Katherine George

Silhouette Staff

Strengthening oneself physically, mentally and spiritually, yoga is an extremely self disciplinary form of exercise,

Having been practiced for over 5,000 years since its creation in ancient India, close to 11 million Americans are enjoying its health benefits.

Yoga is a diverse form of exercise consisting of numerous different styles that are all unique from one another.

For example, yoga poses called asanas work to stretch the muscles in your body, releasing tension, stiffness, pain and fatigue.

At the same time, it explores the different movements of your body, teaching your muscles to stretch and increase the diverse ranges of motion joints are able to perform. Each pose within yoga serves a purpose. Whether it is downward dog, upward dog, plank pose or a stretching pose, they are all particularly designed to strengthen certain muscles within your body.

Many yoga poses may seem intimidating and exclusionary to individuals of a certain age or body type, but surprisingly, flexibility can be improved at any age.

For instance, there are more calming styles of yoga that focus strategically on the alignment of poses, such as lyengar or hatha, while still providing strength and muscle toning. It is also important to consider that yoga is not a competitive sport, but more about individual accomplishments.

Yoga is especially beneficial to athletes because it concentrates on deep rhythmic breathing in order to create relaxation, but it also works to enhance lung capacity and improve athletic performance.

Especially in a heated room, hot yoga requires the strategic concentration of breathing deeply and slowly in order to find oxygen in an overwhelmingly humid environment. The style of yoga aimed at athletes would be ashtanga and power yoga.

These two styles of yoga are a great deal more vigorous than others, focusing primarily on improving muscle tone. Yoga is not only beneficial in physical terms, but also psychologically.

The psychological benefits of yoga are extensive - a brief list of benefits includes improved concentration, attention and focus, enhanced memory, social skills and relief of stress. Arguably, the most sought after psychological benefit of yoga would be to relieve stress.

Certain meditation techniques within yoga work to eliminate the chattering thoughts that clutter our minds on a daily basis, such as concentrating solely on breathing.

It is not uncommon for students practicing yoga to suggest that not only do they experience a more attentive ability to concentrate, but also feel a change in mood.

Similarly to any other form of exercise, yoga reaps health benefits in relation to the heart and has shown improvements in the symptoms of chronic medical conditions, such as asthma, back pain, arthritis and clinical depression.

The soothing relaxation of practicing yoga has proven to lower blood pressure in individuals who suffer from high blood pressure, risk of stroke or heart disease and slow the heart rate.

McMaster Athletic and Recreation programs offer various yoga classes that range from beginner, intermediate, advanced, power yoga, athletic conditioning and contact yoga which involve a partner. Each class is unique in terms of the physical poses, emphasis on technique, movement and pace.

Access to instructional programs, such as yoga, in the athletic facilities at McMaster are available to students with a facility membership, but also students, members of the McMaster staff, faculty, alumni and the community who are not facility members.

Prices for instructional programs range between the different levels of yoga, as well as facility membership.

Relaxation is a rare commodity that can sometimes be lost within the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Practicing yoga reminds individuals of the importance in creating time for oneself, not only better your health physically, but also improve your state of mind.