Try Yoga for Health

Pictures included in the ads for yoga studios and gyms with yoga classes always show young, healthy people in classic, relaxing yoga poses. The health benefits for these yoga practitioners are obvious. Healthy people following a healthy lifestyle will stay as healthy as possible. Can yoga be beneficial for people with physical ailments? How can the weak learn the yoga regimen? What types of people can use yoga for health?

So Many Branches

In the 5,000 years that yoga has been around, many different schools of yoga have developed. There are four main pillars or path of yoga: Karma Yoga is about action, Jnana Yoga is about knowledge and intellectual pursuits, Bhakti Yoga is about devotion to the Divine, and Raja Yoga is the about meditation. From these four trees, many branches have developed. Some emphasize meditation or worship, others emphasize the discipline of breathing and others emphasize movement and physical fitness. Many branches combine two or all three of theses disciplines in different ways. The result is that there is a choice of yoga for every one and his needs.

Many of the types of yoga practiced in the West branch off from Hatha Yoga which combines all three of the disciplines in a gentle form of exercise. Other popular forms of yoga come from the Vinyasa Yoga family which concentrates on the movement from one position to another in a set series of poses. The Vinyasa Yoga group is ideal for the young, healthy yoga fans. The rapid movement and physical demands make a good cardiovascular workout. For those in great health already and looking for a serious workout, Ashtanga Yoga, Power Yoga or Hot Yoga might be the advanced form of yoga for health.

The question is whether those who have health challenges can use yoga for health. No matter what type of yoga you study, the relief of stress will be a big part of the program. According to the American Medical Association, about 75 per cent of illnesses are stress related. Obviously, anyone with a stress-related disorder can get some relief with yoga. Those who have problems with high blood pressure, asthma, nasal allergies, digestive troubles and the like will get a benefit by trying yoga for health.

The gentler forms of yoga with emphasis on breathing and meditation will get results. For those who need help with muscle problems, Iyengar Yoga uses props to assist in holding poses. The emphasis in Iyengar Yoga is achievement of perfection in each pose rather than rushing from one to another. A class that specializes in help for physical problems can help use yoga for improving health.