Yoga has been in existence in the world for a long time. It has been used by generations to seek physical as well as mental well-being. However, with the advent of modernization and western society set in, the wellness and the use of yoga as a form of practice faded. It is only recently, that people have started to look back at this age-old forgotten gem. Today the Indian Government is putting high emphasis on improving the yoga sector.
The Physical Benefits of Yoga
The art and discipline of yoga are known to be a river full of benefits. This discipline needs to be taken up and exercised over time. Once you begin to commit to the discipline it won’t be long before you realize its mutual benefits. Yoga has immense physical benefits. These benefits include maintaining a healthy body.
Through the use of various asanas of yoga, you can achieve flexibility of the body like never before. Yoga can help you reduce that tummy problem and help you reduce weight like never before. The physical benefits of yoga include the reduction of weights, increasing physical stamina, and even reduce the signs of physical aging.
What is Gym and what are its uses?
The word Gym can be defined as a place, space, or club where individuals and groups can visit to achieve physical fitness. People go to the gym to exercise their body and physical self through the use of machines, through weights usage, and various other things. Gyms have been very famous and people have been visiting them regularly.
The benefits of a gym are almost similar to that of yoga. People can go to the gym and hope to lose their body weight, improve their stamina levels and even gain body weight and muscle. Even though the benefits of a gym are immense it is sometimes seen that the gym may not be working for every individual and yoga can be a better option.
Benefits of Yoga over Gym
There have been various arguments that have been raised recently that say that Yoga is better than Gym. Although on paper the benefits of gym and yoga are very similar and may often be used interchangeably, they have their differences. In this article, we will be discussing the benefits of yoga over the gym. Some of the reasons we think that Yoga is better than Gym is as follows:
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The Scope of Yoga is wider than that of Gym:
The scope and functionality of Yoga are often seen to be much wider than that of the Gym. While the gym and the activities related to going to a gym are mainly focused on the physical self, yoga also takes care of the spiritual self. Through the art of yoga, an individual can take care of his body, mind, and even his spirit.
There are various asanas in yoga-like the pranayama or meditation that helps to heal the mind and spirit. You can also try the 200 hour yoga teacher training in Rishikesh that will help you realize the wide scope of yoga. Thus much more can be achieved through the practice of yoga than through the gym. Nowadays due to pandemics many yoga schools and yoga studios are offering yoga courses online and the best one is opting for is the beginner level online 200 hour yoga teacher training course.
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The benefits of Yoga are both internal as well as external:
As explained above gym helps an individual to achieve physical well-being. Through the use of a gym an individual can ensure physical fitness through hard labor. However, the gym does very little to improve internal well-being. This is however not the case with yoga.
Through yoga, people have known to cure many internal systems as well apart of physical benefits. Yoga is known to help improve the circulatory system of the body, help with digestion and even improve the heart. While through gym one can only hope to achieve muscle strength.
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Yoga has long term and more efficient benefits:
Yoga is useful to relieve stress and calm the mind: Yoga can be broadly defined as the oneness of mind and spirit. It is the art and tool of calming the mind and working on the factors that cause stress. It helps the individual to focus on their internal self and thus is impactful in reducing stress.
Some of the yoga asanas linked with meditation like the savasana work on calming the mind and taking control of self. Unlike gym-goers who exercise often frantically and experience stress and shortness of breath, yoga practitioners can learn to be calm and stress-free.
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Yoga helps to improve concentration:
Concentration is the way of focusing on something willfully and over a long period. One of the most important benefits of yoga that differentiates it from that of the gym is that yoga helps individuals to concentrate. Although some people argue that going to the gym often helps them to concentrate and channel their focus, it is seen that the focus is only short-lived. They tend to lose their concentration when they leave the gym. But this is not the case with yoga.
Through yoga, one can achieve long-lasting concentration. Furthermore, they can gain the benefits of concentrating even when they are not on their yoga mats. This means that yoga helps to concentrate over a long time than that of the gym.
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Yoga is less harsh to the body than Gym:
The practice of going to the gym is a very intensive process. It focuses on achieving its goals through hard manual labor. This includes heavy weight lifting, intensive running, cycling exercise, leg exercise, etc. This type of work is very intensive and often does more harm than good.
However, yoga is the opposite of that. It is very kind to the body. Some of the practices of yoga-like the 300 hour yoga teacher training in Rishikesh, asanas like Ashtanga help to release heat from the muscles and in turn help improve the body in a very kind manner. This means that the individual can enjoy the benefits of a healthy body and mind without necessarily stressing the body and treating it harshly. If you want to try the online course then an advanced online 300 hour yoga teacher training course is the one for you.
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There is no age bar for the practice of Yoga:
One of the important benefits of yoga is that there is no age bar for practicing it. This may not always be the case for a gym person. It is often seen that young people go to the gym. Even though there are no hard and fast rules that say that people above a certain age group cannot visit the gym, it is not that commonly seen. This is because the intensity of the gym may not suit a person in his middle or old age.
However, this is not the case with yoga. Anybody can do yoga irrespective of the age they belong to. Since yoga is less intensive and more calming all you need to start doing yoga is the intent of mind and a yoga mat.
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Yoga helps to reduce several bodily pains and aches:
One of the added benefits of yoga is that it helps relieve body aches and pains. Unlike the gym that actually may cause those pains yoga helps to heal them. Muscle pains and fatigue is a common after-effect of a person going to the gym. Intense workouts may lead them to have serious body pains and joint aches.
Yoga on the other hand helps to reduce pains. The asanas that are involved in yoga help to release energy and improve blood circulation in the body. This helps the internals to receive more oxygen through the blood. And this in turn helps to reduce pains and aches.
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The effects of Yoga are long-lasting:
The after-effects and the advantages of yoga stay with the person for a long time. It is often referred that yoga stays inside like a rock. Going to the gym will only be beneficial till you keep going regularly. Since the transformation achieved through a gym is external, it fades away faster.
However, once a person has received the benefits of yoga they will remain with him for a long time. This is because yoga works on the body and mind from within. The true benefits of yoga manifest in an individual over some time. Unlike in a gym where results are usually faster, in the process of yoga, the effects settle in slowly and steadily. This also helps them to have a lasting impact on the individual. Thus the benefits of yoga will stay with you for a longer time.
Is Yoga better than Gym?
From the above argument, we can see that the benefits of yoga outnumber that of the gym. When seen from an outside perspective, hardly any differences can be found between the benefits of yoga and the gym. But on looking closely it can be seen that yoga is very different from that of the gym. The gym is much more focused on the physical and is based on intensive pressures. Whereas, yoga is mostly focused on the internal as well as the physical and is much kinder and stress-free. Even though there can always be personal preferences, but yoga is much better than the gym.
More: 10 Important Things To Consider Before Becoming A Yoga Teacher
