Finding True Happiness Through Practicing Yoga

These are truly stressful times. We live in a very complex and challenging environment, and our lives are constantly bombarded with stress and anxiety. Since many of us worry about our jobs, our incomes and other earthly concerns, it’s quite hard to be happy these days. The fast-paced lifestyle has also lead to an alarming rise in the number of depressed and physiologically-imbalanced individuals. It has also led to a spike in cases of people suffering from ailments such as diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, hypertension, migraine, ulcer, insomnia and nervousness. How can the age-old practice of yoga help the person to attain true happiness?

Happiness and peace of mind all comes from within, asserts long-time yoga advocates. However, most of us either fail or don’t know how to fully connect with our inner selves. Through practicing yoga, the person learns to attain a much deeper attachment to his inner consciousness, which can help in reducing or removing all the negative energy that’s responsible for all our ills and problems. We all have the right to be happy, and all of us were born to be happy, in both life and death. Now how come most of us remain unhappy? Will yoga be able to truly show us the way towards eternal happiness and bliss?

Spiritual yoga is defined as a dynamic and practical system for attaining a fuller experience of peace, spiritual enlightenment and transformation. In order to practice the tenets of spiritual yoga, one needs to perform a series of yoga postures and meditation techniques, to jumpstart the process towards connecting with your inner self. The yoga postures, meditation and breathing exercises must also be coupled with doing selfless service and good deeds. Yoga isn’t simply just an exercise or meditation form that leads to a healthier body, because it also leads to the formation of a well-rounded and better individual.

The Many Therapeutic Benefits of Yoga
During these stressful and fast-paced times, many are looking for the right formula for keeping in touch with their inner selves, and for experiencing inner peace and happiness. Yoga offers a wide array of therapeutic benefits, which are both physical and physiological. Yoga therapy focuses primarily on the mental aspects, which help to allow the mind and body to work in tandem. Spiritual yoga aims to keep our body and mind healthy, so that we can effectively ward of the negative energies and emotions that wreak havoc to our body and spirit.

The centuries-old practice of yoga is composed of many unique elements. While Pranayam (controlled breathing) and Asanas (body posture) are deemed to be the popular forms today, there are a number of different poses and breathing techniques as well. The different elements include  Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Spinal Twist),  Yoga Mudra (the Symbol of Yoga), Dhanurasana (the Bow Pose), Halasana (the Plough Pose), Trikonasana (Triangle Pose), Supta Vajrasana (Supine Pelvic Pose), Viparitkarani (Inverted Posture), Sarvangasana (Shoulder Stand Pose), Savasana (Corpse Pose),  Sirshasana (Head Stand Pose) and breathing exercises such as Bhastrika (Bellow Breath),  Anulom-Vilom (Alternate Breathing) and  Kapalbhati (Cleansing Breath). The breathing and meditation exercises provide great help in enhancing the body’s internal organs, and also aids in rejuvenating the nervous, digestive, reproductive and endocrine systems.

The mind is a powerful thing. It can lead us to a state of intense happiness, as well as lead us down the torrid depths of depression and anxiety. The practice of yoga teaches us the techniques for transforming our mind to become a center for transformation and healing. Through yoga, we learn how to use our mental energy in a positive manner, in order for us to attain a balanced frame of thought, and eliminate any negative thoughts or energies that are causing us to be sick or psychologically unstable. 

Yoga offers a wide array of emotional and mental benefits. It develops our confidence and willpower, and sharpens our concentration. It allows us to have a fresh infusion of enthusiasm and a greater interest in life. It also enhances our sense of inner peace, and calms our senses. Yoga also works to sharpen our memory and improve concentration. Wit constant practice, we will slowly be more equipped to remove all negative energies from our system, and any subconscious or unconscious worries and concerns are erased. In turn, our minds are re-enhanced to continue to stay focused and remain positive always. Yoga also helps alleviate or ease a wide range of physical illnesses. It helps ward off back pain, headaches, hypertension, digestive disorders, depression and anxiety, arthritis and more.   

Yoga is something that can be practiced any time, depending on whether you want to do meditation, rhythmic breathing or yogic poses in the early morning or evening. You also don’t have to refrain from eating certain types of food, as well as sweat profusely and practice for prolonged periods of time. Practicing half an hour of yoga should be appropriate enough, as long as you regularly perform it. For beginners, you can choose to attend introductory yoga classes, or have private yoga lessons at home. Yu can also buy books and magazines, audio books, e-books and other visual aids related to yoga at the  nearest book store or local yoga club. The main objective of yoga is to create a strong and lasting bond between your inner self and the universe. Once you faithfully practice the tenets of yoga, and start to become more aware of yourself, you’ll surely be able to connect with the universe as well. Yoga basically is an art that teaches us the fundamentals of how to become a better, well-rounded individual.