Cindy Nguyen

Yoga: More than just a trending exercise

Yoga is an ancient practice with origins stretching back thousands of years in India. The

true essence of yoga revolves around developing a positive outlook on life and a sense of

serenity and peace. It aims to achieve this through a series of physical and mental exercises. At

the physical level, the methods comprise various yoga postures that aim to keep the body

healthy. The mental techniques include breathing exercises and meditation to discipline the mind.

The traditional purpose of yoga has always been to bring about a profound transformation in the

person through the transcendence of the ego. Today, yoga has officially hit the mainstream. Its

hard to believe that just thirty or so years ago the word yoga was still taboo, associated

primarily with mystical yogis and dreadlocked hippies. Luckily, yoga has broken free (for the

most part) from its bohemian stigma, which is evident in the yoga studios that are becoming as

commonplace in cities as coffee shops. Hitting the mainstream also means media hype, and

magazines, television, and even yoga studios themselves promise weight loss, glowing beautiful

skin, peaceful mind, and good health.

Literature Review

Yoga is commonly understood as only referring to the physical asanas (poses), which

leads to the belief that most of yogas benefits are limited to the body. The word yoga itself

means, to yoke; it is the process of connecting the body, mind, and breath that is the essence of

yoga, rather than the physical practice itself. In fact, the physical practice, is only one of the six

systems of yoga, and is one of the many vehicles that brings the mind to the ultimate goal of

transcendence. Raja (meditation), bhakti (devotion), jnana (knowledge), karma (action), kriya

(cleansing techniques), and hatha (asanas) are all pathways to union, and are each suited to the

different temperaments of individuals. When yoga is seen as being purely physical, it can be easy
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to overlook the immense power that the practice of yoga has to unite the body, mind, and breath.

This is what makes yoga different from traditional exercise; yoga has the unique capacity to

bring your attention to the mind, body, and breath simultaneously, bringing all aspects of yourself

into one line of focus. In other words, yoga harmonizes your entire being, leading to a healthy,

limber, body, and calm, focused mind. And when you feel physically robust and mentally

composed, it becomes natural and easy to show up to life with your full attention and energy.

Yoga is said to be more than just mastering postures and increasing your flexibility and

strength. Yoga gives us relief from countless ailments at the physical level such as stress and

body tension. The practice of the postures enhances muscle strength, coordination, and

flexibility, normalizes blood pressure and also improves cardiovascular performance. On a

psychological standpoint, yoga sharpens the intellect and aid in concentration, steadying the

emotions and developing a more open-minded view on life. Although this practice is rising in

popularity as a trendy thing to do for the younger aged population, many dont realize that

studies have shown from doctors and practitioners that yoga benefits the older and unhealthy

population more so in the long run. This brings forth a great topic of discussion for one should be

aware that there are other options aside from being prescribed loads of medications for better

health, one of which is doing yoga. The biggest question of concern though is: Are there enough

reliable studies to prove that the statement is true?

Studies have shown yoga to be beneficial for both physical and mental health, but the

biological mechanisms for why have been poorly understood until now. Lisa Diamond, an

American psychologist and feminist wrote an article sharing evidence in support of prescribing

yoga to patients in primary care as a method of stress management. In doing so, she incorporated

her own studies, taking psychological measurements to explain that others studying in this field
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have only begun to scratch the surface on all the effects yoga practice can have. These effects not

only on affect the body by the way of flexibility, strengthening, balance and breathing, but on the

mind and its impact at a cellular level, specifically our white blood cells and immune system.

She provides support for her clause in the article by saying, given that there are few to no side

effects, it is relatively inexpensive and can be performed anywhere by nearly everyone, it is

difficult to find reasons not to prescribe yoga to patients. (Diamond, 2012). The first

randomized trial (or high-quality experiment) on yoga was published in 1975 in The Lancet. It

showed that yoga was more effective than relaxation for reducing high blood pressure. But that

trial only involved 34 participants, and all of them already high blood pressure, so it is difficult to

know whether the effect of the yoga would bear out in a larger trial of healthy people.

According to The Huffington Post, Marlynn Wei, a psychologist, wrote an article called

Why do people do yoga? She states that More than 90 percent of people come to yoga for

flexibility, stress relief, health, and physical fitness. But, for most people, their primary reason

for doing yoga will change. Two-thirds of yoga students and 85 percent of yoga teachers have a

change of heart regarding why they do yoga most often changing to spirituality or self-

actualization, a sense of fulfilling their potential. Yoga offers self-reflection, the practice of

kindness and self-compassion, and continued growth and self-awareness. Yet the health benefits

are very real. Yes, yoga can increase your flexibility, improve your balance, and decrease your

cholesterol. Yoga is said to be more than just mastering postures and increasing your flexibility

and strength. Yoga gives us relief from countless ailments at the physical level such as stress and

body tension. The practice of the postures enhances muscle strength, coordination, and

flexibility, normalizes blood pressure and also improves cardiovascular performance. On a

psychological standpoint, yoga sharpens the intellect and aid in concentration, steadying the
 Cindy Nguyen

emotions and developing a more positive mindset. The problem is: people tend to allow what the

world thinks to define who they are. Like anything else, radical affirmation is the idea that by our

inherent nature, we say, yes to life. Its the willingness to affirm ourselves and our

understanding in the phase of overwhelming descent or denial that one encounters in life. As Dr.

Wei states, the primary reason for doing yoga can change. As a yogi myself, going to yoga is

more than merely resolving health issues. I take into account a more spiritual level of thinking

for yoga rather than scientific. People like myself, go because it makes us feel good inside and

grounds us in a calming and spiritual way. What I took from this is that often in our relationships,

and other areas of our lives, we sometimes rely on others to make us happy. Although thats nice,

we have to realize that WE are the creators of our own happiness and should make the most out

of life, not just exist within it.

Since then, the number of yoga studies has dramatically increased, but the field is

plagued by some of the same problems of the early studies. As for most conditions, the main

problem is that there isnt enough evidence yet (Shute, 2014). In efforts of developing change,

Rajan Narayanan, a longtime practitioner and economist by day, is one of the founders of Life In

Yoga, a nonprofit organization that seeks to educate people on the benefits of this ancient Indian

practice. A major part of this effort, is directed at integrating yoga therapy in the mainstream

health care system by training medical providers to use yogic breathing and techniques to treat

various maladies (Rao, 2014). Others argue forth that the reason yoga hasnt successfully

impacted health care systems is because those working in the field are only focusing on the

popular image of yoga as just an exercise and not on its scientific side (Harriet, 2015). Aside

from the topic of debate of yoga significantly benefitting a persons health, health problems

arent the key reasons that people keep doing yoga. Its yogas strong connection to philosophy,
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giving learners transformational power and inspirational capacity to recognize one self at a

deeper level other than a form of supreme consciousness to practice yoga (Bohn, 2013.)

The traditional purpose of yoga has always been to bring about a profound transformation

in the person through the transcendence of the ego (Gross, 2015). Any gender at any age or

health level has the capability to do yoga because it has various styles, poses, and tempos at

which they are performed. Some people find yoga to be positively addictive and a powerfully

effective substitute for negative habits like stress (Wheeler, 2012). Whether born of inspiration

or by trial and error, yoga techniques substitute for the kinds of activities our early human

ancestors must have done in the course of just living out in their arboreal lives considering that

this form of art originated roughly five thousand years ago. In general, any one irrespective of

age, health circumstances of life and religion can practice yoga for it helps to discipline our sense

of power with the power of our own. To bring awareness to this subject of power, in 2014, Indian

Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested United Nations to celebrate June 21 as the

International Yoga Day as it is the summer solistice; the longest day of the year in the Northern

Hemisphere. "There is a great misconception that yoga is about physical flexibility," Modi said.

"If that were so, circus performers would be yogis. Bending your body and being flexible is not

yoga." On a day intended to project India's "soft power," school children, yoga instructors and

government employees gathered before dawn eager to extol the virtues of India's ancient

passport to harmony and inner peace (McCarthy, 2015).

Conclusion
Overall, yoga can be considered as a panacea for innumerable aliments. It can strengthen

our body and provide immense mental power and stability (Gaur & Telles, 2009). Yoga has no
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barriers of age, caste, religion or sex. To further pursue in the process of yoga, one must

understand that yoga does not bring away the qualities of genuineness, wholesomeness,

compassion, but rather instills them within us (Singh, 2015). It teaches us that love heals the

giver at least as much as it does the recipient. In addition, therein dwells the sacred power of

community, union, and harmony. Through the art of yoga, everyone can experience the divine

and enjoy the ecstasy of freedom from pain and ignorance apart from other gracious rewards like

longevity and happiness. As a result, one will experience striking and positive transformation of

a mindset and life style.

 Cindy Nguyen

Works Cited

Bohn, Aimee. "Recognizing Your Self through Yoga." YouTube. YouTube, 10 Sept. 2013. Web.

23 Mar. 2017.

Diamond, L. (February 28, 2012). The benefits of yoga in improving health. Primary Health

Care, 22, 2, 16-19.

Gaur, Vaishali, and Shirley Telles. "Effect of a Yoga Practice Session on State Anxiety."

Perceptual and Motor Skills. N.p., 1 Dec. 2009. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

Gross, Terry. "Those Yoga Poses May Not Be Ancient After All, And Maybe That's OK." NPR.

NPR, 01 June 2015. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

McCarthy, Julie. "35,000 Bend It With Modi As India Launches World Yoga Day." NPR. NPR,

21 June 2015. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

Minter, Harriet. "What Yoga Taught Me about Business, Bravery & Bras | Harriet Minter |

TEDxWhitehallWomen." YouTube. YouTube, 04 June 2015. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

Rao, Ankita. "Dr. Yogi: Physicians Integrate Yoga Into Medical Practice." NPR. NPR, 27 Feb.

2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

Shute, Nancy. "Biceps Curls And Down Dogs May Help Lower Diabetes Risk."NPR. NPR, 15

Jan. 2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

Singh, Deepak. "A Ga. School Bans The Greeting 'Namaste.' Do They Know What It

Means?" NPR. NPR, 26 July 2015. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

Wheeler, Mark. "Yoga Reduces Stress; Now It's Known Why." UCLA Newsroom. N.p., 24 July

2012. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

Cindy Nguyen