Yoga is believed to be the best exercise since ancient times. Yoga is actually way more than just exercise, it makes a person realize his body and mind are one, it improves the mental strength, concentration, the physical strength and flexibility, and facilitates mental peace. Many people practice yoga to stay mentally and physically fit and to make sure all the muscles keep getting exercised. Yoga is the most natural way of exercising one’s body and through yoga one also feels connected to the nature and oneself. Yoga has way too many advantages to be considered as something as casual as walking for long or just working out in the gym. Yoga makes you realize that you are alive, it makes you aware of your each breath and gives you a renewed energy to live life.
Yoga is good not only for adults, but for teens too. Teenage is one of the most stressful phase of one’s life and during these years, if a person practices yoga, then it becomes much easier to maintain their calm and concentrate on the right things and throw the negativity out of their life. Here are a few benefits that yoga has for teens-
Mind and body coordination – Yoga helps in improving your mind and body coordination, you start accepting your body, and your mindset towards yourself changes. You become more of a calm person who is at peace with him/herself. Yoga makes you aware of yourself, your breathing and your oneness with the nature. You feel light and you feel you are mentally ready to take up any challenge.
Concentration and Stress Management – Teens are a bad time due to all the pressure that keeps constantly mounting on a person. There is peer pressure, the pressure of being the best, pressure of studies, and family pressure. Yoga, at such a time can help a person in focusing on the positive and constructive things. Yoga helps you in directing your concentration where and when you want. And, yoga makes you mentally strong so that you can cope with new challenges and the pressure every day, and it also helps you channelize your anger, frustration and energy.
Strength and Flexibility – In a world where physical fitness is given way too much importance, yoga helps you in maintaining a perfect and sound body. It helps you in strengthening your muscles and improves the flexibility of your body. It also ensures the smooth blood flow throughout the body and makes your mind calm. Through yoga, one can achieve everything, a good body, a calm mind, the strength to do work and cope with pressure and the feel good factor.
Compassion and Connection – Since yoga is such a natural thing, you start feeling like you and nature are connected in several ways which a person otherwise forgets in the running around of his/her daily life. Yoga keeps you grounded and makes you feel human again. It also makes you compassionate towards the nature and fellow human beings because you have a calm mind which can weigh the pros and cons of every situation and help other people.
Decision making – A sound mind helps in better decision making. Yoga gives you the rationality to deal with situations, to think through them, and look at the bigger picture. Yoga gives you the space to step back and look into a situation from third person perspective. Decision making abilities improve marginally if your mind and body are in coordination and if you have a clutter free head.
Yoga turns out to be a total boon for the mankind, it helps people across all age groups. It ensures that mental and physical health are at the pinnacle and it makes a person feel good and confident. At the end, I would just like to say that yoga is not just a form of exercise, it is a way of life.
Teenage is synonyms to growth. Growing in the right direction physically and mentally will help any teenager excel in his life. Yoga will help correct the hormonal imbalances on a hand increase the concentration on the other. To avoid the stress and anxiety, we must encourage teenagers to work on their body with yoga and the asanas. It will also help in maintenance of the mind and body coordination which is more than necessary in the adolescent years.