5 Reasons To Practice Yoga With The Ayurvedic Diet
Ayurveda recommends the practice of yoga postures as an important exercise program for optimal health and wellness.
The Yogis of India have practiced yoga postures for thousands of years to give them vigor, vitality and strength.
In fact many long-lived yogis both in the east and the west credit their health and longevity due to the practice of yoga.
On of my yoga teachers that I have studied yoga with claims that his mom at the ripe age of 100 yrs still does headstand everyday and feels great.
In Ayurveda, yoga postures are prescribed as important treatment measures for specific diseases.
Practicing yoga postures and having the right diet – the “Ayurvedic diet” are two of the most important aspects of Ayurveda.
Both of them work in synergy to create lasting health.
Therefore, it is important to have a regular yoga practice.
Yogic poses have tremendous therapeutic effects on the mind and body, provided they are done correctly.
Here are 5 reason why should practice yoga postures as a part of your Ayurvedic Wellness program.
1. Yoga postures are helpful in digesting food. They aid in stimulating and increasing ‘Agni” which is your digestive fire. Hence, this increases your metabolism, helping you to burn fat.
2. Practicing yoga allows the various bodily and energetic channels to open. When the energy, plasma and blood flow freely, nutrients that you take in through food are easily assimilated by your cells. This is also due to the deep breathing techniques that you use in the practice of yoga.
3. Practicing yoga helps to cultivate the “Sattvic” quality. In Ayurveda, this means to establish a state of balance, harmony and equanimity. This state also calms your mind and allows you to become more focused and centered.
4. Practicing yoga makes you more conscious and present. It allows you to observe and witness your actions with awareness. This also increases your everyday awareness in what you say, eat, and how you treat yourselves and other.
5. Practicing the right yoga postures allows you to keep your doshas in balance. For example if you are feeling spacey, dizzy or light-headed (an excess of Vata), then you can practice grounding postures such as tree pose or mountain pose.
If you are someone who has high pitta constitution with a lot of fire, it is better and healthier for your mind and body to participate in a slow gentle yoga practice rather than a hot, power yoga type of class.
It is extremely important to practice those specific posture needed to balance your dosha or ones that are more beneficial for your constitution.
Everyone should practice 30 to 60 minutes a day to prevent doshic imbalance. At a minimum, one should practice 2- 3 times a week if they are doing other types of exercises.
To see what type of yoga is best for your dosha stay tuned for upcoming articles on:
Yoga postures for Vata Dosha
Yoga postures for Pitta Dosha
Yoga postures for Kapha Dosha
image courtesy of myyogaonline
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