The Health Nut Blog

Stressful work environments and harried schedules cause difficulty to many people trying to balance their busy lives. More and more, people who have trouble keeping their work and personal lives balanced are discovering yoga exercises. Yoga helps them achieve peace of mind and helps them reach that ideal work-life balance.

Interest in this traditional practice has been piqued by the mind-body connection, and studies reveal that it can lower stress levels and blood pressure, enhance on-the-job performance, and even slow the aging process.

Even though the focus of yoga might vary depending on the environment, its central premise is to relax your body and keep your mind alert and focused. For instance, by practicing yoga, your focus in on the movements of your body, your breath, a certain sound, or possibly an object. If your thoughts turn to other things, as they probably will, just return your mind to your object of focus and continue on.

The age-old art of yoga gained new interest in the 60's as part of the consciousness raising activities of the period. But after this, yoga started to decline in popularity. This might be because yoga isn't quite the same as many other kinds of exercise.

For starters, patience is essential in order to achieve maximum benefits. The results are slow but steady. This contrasts starkly with the frenzied pace and fast results of aerobics.

Many people rush to work out every day during their lunch hours, force themselves to keep up a brisk pace, and then rush back to work. No doubt there are physical benefits, but nevertheless it increases the pressure of an already busy life. In contrast, yoga offers a less stressful and competitive workout, and at the same time imparts a sense of just "being."

One of the major reasons yoga is making a comeback is because it can be so healing as an activity. The intense focus on fitness created by workout routines such as weight lifting, running and aerobics has led to an increase in injury, particularly strained knees and back and neck pain.

These days, it's not uncommon for the mainstream medical profession, including orthopedic surgeons, neurologists and chiropractors, to recommend yoga to their patients.

As a matter of fact, it's becoming more and more mainstream all the time. Many business and hospitals are now offering yoga classes; books on yoga are on the bestseller list, and internet discussion groups on the topic abound.

Interestingly, even the U.S. Army has demonstrated its interest in yoga. It has requested that the National Academy of Sciences research New Age practices like meditation to discover if they can improve the performance of soldiers.

In addition, yoga has become a pursuit for some runners, weight trainers or aerobic dancers who don't find peace in their exercise regimes and want the de-stressing aspects of yoga to be part of their workouts.

Around 60 to 90 percent of visits to the doctor in the U.S. are tied to stress. Mind-body approaches offer cost-effective and safe treatments for this ailment that don't involve drugs or surgery. Among those who practice these techniques, 34 percent of infertile patients get pregnant within 6 months, and 70 percent of those who have sleep difficulties, including insomnia, get a good night's sleep on a regular basis. As well, a decrease of 36 percent is seen in the number of people suffering from pain and making regular visits to the doctor.

# posted by NeilG @ 3:35 AM