Yoga for a healthy Brain and Body

Yoga for a Healthy Mind and Body

We all know that exercise is good for you. We all know that we should aim to keep fit for at least 20-30 minutes most days of the week. But, did you know that specific types of exercises can have more of an impact upon your mind than others?

Yoga is an ancient Indian practice of engaging mind and muscle control in the body. It has been practiced for centuries by those in the know to not only keep their bodies fit and strong, but also their minds too.

There are many different styles of yoga, but all of them rely on a series of poses that test the mind and body and create harmony and balance in the body. One of the best things about yoga is that it decreases stress levels in the body, empowering the mind to be able to focus and concentrate correctly without being distracted.

The word yoga means ‘union’, and most yogis will tell you that the true purpose of yoga is to control the mind, with control over the body being secondary. Yoga relies heavily on meditation, self awareness and thought control to improve the mind.

Once a yogi is able to have complete mind control and also free their mind from all constraints, they reach a stage of enlightenment. This is the stage where the yogi is at one with themselves and the Earth. It is seen as the ultimate stage where a person is deemed free of the constraints of the mind and the environment.

For the ultimate mind and body workout though, you should try Kundalini yoga. Unlike other types of yoga, kundalini yoga focuses on developing self awareness through poses and meditation. Kundalini yoga sharpens your awareness and mental concentration.

It is highly recommended that you include yoga as part of your mind and body fitness routine. A gym/studio can be expensive, but the teaching and personal attention you will receive will be invaluable. A good substitute is DVDs. There are literally thousands of DVDs that you can buy and follow along at home to improve your mind and body.

Yoga DVDs are not only cheaper than gym membership, but also have the added convenience of you being able to complete them in your own time. Some good ones to try include:

• Kundalini Yoga for Beginners & Beyond by Ravi Singh and Ana Brett (available from Amazon.com)– an excellent introduction to yoga with a meditation session to help clear your mind, focus your thoughts and leave you energized

• Kundalini Yoga Meditation for Beginners & Beyond by Ravi Singh and Ana Brett (available from Amazon.com) – highly recommended for those of you who want to experience meditation to develop your awareness and control your mindFor a great example of a mind specific exercise, please see the next chapter.

Another great resource on mind control, meditation and brain specific exercises, visit:

Anmol Mehta.com

This particular page has 3 free ebooks you can download that contain workouts and meditation specific to the mind.

Exercises to Try at Home

Two exercises that you can try at home to try and improve awareness and thought control:

• Sit somewhere outside in a quiet place where you will not be disturbed. Now get comfortable and close your eyes. Inhale deeply and exhale deeply. Focus on your breathing for a few minutes and not on any particular thought. Now listen to the world around you and really take it in. Keep up with the breathing. Feel the wind on your face, the grass beneath you. Think about the noises and sensations. Sit and take it all in for at least 30 minutes.

o This exercise is perfect for helping to calm and relax the mind and open it up to new sensory experiences

• Try the same exercise above, but this time, you are focusing your attention on one particular noise. This helps mental clarity by allowing you to pick out one noise from a host of other noises which you have to ignore.

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