Importance of Yoga

and Meditation
Created By : Siddhant Kokate
What exactly is Yoga?
 Yoga means "union" in Sanskrit, which is the language of
ancient India where it is believed that yoga originated. This
union is said to occur between the mind, body, and spirit.

A statue of Patañjali,
author of Yoga Sutras of
Patanjali
Something About Meditation…
Meditation is an experience of relaxing the body,
quieting the mind, and awakening the spirit.
Introduction
Yoga and meditation typically go hand-in-hand and
have been around for thousands of years.

They have been used as an alternative form of

exercise to keep the mind and body healthy and
happy.

Practicing yoga improves balance, flexibility, and

strength, while meditation helps keep the mind
sharp, relieves stress and anxiety, and can
strengthen your immune system.
 Benefits of Yoga And
Meditation
1.Treats Back Pain
 Believe it or not, doing a few yoga poses
throughout the week can help with
chronic back pain.

 Studies have shown that stretching

exercises and poses have improved
spinal flexibility.
2.Improves Heart Health
Studies have shown us that yoga is linked to a reduced
the risk of heart disease.

Meditating one time a day for ten minutes can help you
to relax, reduce stress hormones, stable your blood
pressure, and allow for better blood flow.
3.Improves Digestion
If you have trouble with your daily
fiber intake and can’t get things
moving easily then practicing yoga
can be a tremendous help.

There are many yoga poses, twists,

and moves that massage internal
organs that help food move along in
your digestive system.
 4.Helps with Asthma
 Pranayama is a type of yoga that focuses on breathing
techniques that have shown to be especially effective against
asthma.

 Research has shown that adults with mild to moderate asthma

who did an eight week session of yoga combined with their
regular meds saw a marked improvement.
5.Helps You Sleep Better
 In order to live a healthy, balanced lifestyle you need to get
enough rest so you can function the next day.

 Meditation and breathing techniques also help clear your

mind so you can relax and slow down your thoughts,
allowing you the peace of mind to get a good night’s sleep
 6.Boosts Your Mood
 Practicing yoga stimulates the production of oxytocin, which is
the love hormone, and it also produces higher serotonin levels,
which is the happy hormone.

 Combined, these hormones dramatically improve someone’s

mood.
 7.Provides Mental Clarity
 A healthy dose of yoga and meditation will keep your brain
sharp and clear.

 Slow breathing and yoga poses will help your memory and keep
your thoughts more organized once you get rid of stress,
anxiety, and negative thinking.

 Reaching a place of quiet

peacefulness is the key to
healthy memory function.
Precautions While Doing Yoga
 Injuries may occur from doing yoga in a harmful way. For
example ;

- While doing poses and breathing techniques in wrong manner.

- Doing yoga right after eating.
- Competing with someone.
The International Day of Yoga
 The International Day of Yoga has been celebrated annually
on 21 June since 2015, following its inception in the United
Nations General Assembly in 2014.
 Baba Ramdev
 He is an Indian yoga guru known for his work in Ayurveda,
Business, Politics and Agriculture.

 He co-founded the Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. with his colleague

Acharya Balkrishna.
Swami Vivekananda
 Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) was the
foremost disciple of Sri Ramakrishna and a
world spokesperson for Vedanta.

 He felt it was best to teach universal

principles rather than personalities, so we
find little mention of Ramakrishna in
the Complete Works.

 Swami Vivekananda represented Hinduism at

Vivekananda meditating
the first World Parliament of Religions in
posture in London
Chicago in 1893 where he was an instant December 1896.
success. He was a man with a great spiritual
presence and tremendous intellect.
 Vivekananda & Meditation
 Meditation played a very important role in the life and teachings
of Swami Vivekananda.

 He was interested in meditation from his childhood. His master

Ramakrishna found him a dhyana-siddha (expert in meditation).

 In December 1892, Vivekananda went to Kanyakumari and

meditated for three days on a large rock and took the resolution
to dedicate his life to serve humanity. The event is known as the
Kanyakumari resolve of 1892.

 In his book Raja Yoga and lectures, he widely discussed

meditation, its purpose and procedure.
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN