Yoga in Sanskrit means ‘Union’. Though the word has now been used as a synonym of traditional Indian exercises which includes a lot of stretching and twisting of body parts, it is a way to self-realization. Yoga has is practiced in India for ages and now has been transported to all the parts of the world through various organizations.
Here are 9 unbelievable facts about yoga that every yoga practitioner should know about.
1. Mood changer
Since breathing is an important aspect while practicing yoga, it acts as a mood changer for your body. Breathing is directly related to a person’s mood. You can notice, when you are angry your breath rates are high when you are at peace, your breath rate is much slower .
When practicing yoga regularly, you can attain a certain control over your breath and can also control your mood. Even 5-minute breathing can bring about complete peace in your body.
Related post: Best Yoga Asanas to Improve Mental Health
2. Increase life span
Regular practice of yoga has immense health benefits. It keeps your body fit and prevents diseases. With better metabolism and immune system, your body will surely last long.
“Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.” — The Bhagavad Gita
3. Nude Yoga
Though it sounds weird in recent times it has gained so much popularity. People love doing nude yoga as it allows them to practice it deeper and in an efficient way. It is believed that it increases acceptance towards one’s body and increases bonding with the people in the community practicing nude yoga. Learn more about Naked Yoga
4. Doga
Well, if you love your dog, you want them to be healthy always. Isn’t it? Dogs doing yoga is called Doga. It was started in New York in the year 2002 by Suzi Teitelman. It is said that Doga increases friendship and bonding with dogs with their owners.
5. Hot yoga
There are many yoga asanas that are practiced in very hot weather. It can be sometimes dangerous though as it can affect blood pressure and heart rate.
“You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside.”
6. Rest
With the current practice and classes, many people do yoga continuously for around an hour. This is actually a wrong practice. Ideally, there should be a 5-minute rest after every 30 minutes of Yoga exercise .
You may also consider reading yoga asanas that pregnant women need to avoid.
7. Yoga is not only twisting and stretching body parts
The Yoga Sutra has 8 manifolds namely: Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayam, Pratyahar, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi. These are the 8 stages of practice which leads to self-realization. The current trend believes only the Asana as real yoga.
8. World’s Oldest Yoga teacher
Want to make a guess? Well, the world’s oldest yoga teacher is Ida Herbert who received this title from Guiness World Records in 2012 when she was 96 years old.
These were some of the crazy and unbelievable facts about Yoga. Apart from these, there are many other interesting facts related to yoga that you might be interested in.
• There are around 84 classic yoga asanas
• Swami Vivekanand is known to be the greatest proponent of teaching yoga in the west.
• Lord Shiva is considered as Adi Yogi or the First yogi who taught the yoga to Sapt Rishis (seven saints)
• Ancient yogis believed we only have a limited number of breaths for each life. And hence they focused on stretching each breath and making it deeper and slower for longer life.
• World Yoga day is celebrated on the 21st of June every year since 2015. United Nations Organization marked a record number of votes for passing the introduction of Yoga day.
Hope you enjoyed these amazing facts about yoga. If you know some more facts about it then just don’t keep it with yourself. Share it with our fellow readers in the comments section below.
