The many physical and psychological benefits of yoga - a dance of movement and stillness

At the heart of Indian culture lies the ancient practice of Yoga, which has also become synonymous with the country across the world. Yoga is one of India’s greatest exports of cultural skill and knowledge which continues to evolve and grow to such an extent that now you can even as a 12-year-old and they would have some idea of what yoga looks like.

This is testament to how main stream yoga has become over the past 25 years. It is definitely a positive sign that shows how our global attitude to personal health care and wellness has developed to embrace the understanding of maintaining integral health. Integral health means that your body, mind and spirit are being acknowledged and cared for consciously in a holistic way, something that is valuable for a healthy lifestyle.

Regular yoga practice can improve quality of health, because practice naturally becomes a preventative form of therapy as it reduces tension and stress levels, thereby setting off a whole chain of psycho-physiological shifts that affect our internal bio-chemistry. This is known as our own internal pharmacy that generates specific neuro-chemicals and hormones the body requires to function in a balanced way.


There are many physical and psychological benefits to yoga like regulation of blood pressure, whether high or low, and strengthening the heart muscles. Practice improves flexibility of the joints, muscles and soft tissue which consequently improves posture, increases longevity, stimulates cellular regeneration thereby reducing pain and discomfort. Moving through yoga asanas encourages the lymph nodes to release excess fluids and toxicity, strengthening the immune system which is our natural protection against infection and boosting the speed of recovery from all types of ill-health.

On a psychological level you'll find that yoga also improves patience levels, and time seems to move more slowly giving space for reflection and contemplation that is so important for our sanity and subconscious enrichment. Dreaming is an essential part of our mental balance. The affects of negative stress which can manifest as depression, sleeplessness, poor digestion and elimination are also reduced and we find peace and healing happens in unexpected ways.

Savassanna, universally known as Corpse Pose is the position everyone remembers because of its sublime simplicity and the powerful, sometimes transcendent, feelings it instills. Savassanna is a state of deep relaxation, of integration and repose, where re-alignment and repair are able to instill more permanent transformation through the depth of stillness experienced. This practice is an integral part of any yoga sequence because it allows the body-mind a sacred pause to accept, digest and truly experience the higher vibrations of bio-chemical changes occurring. This is Pranic Healing when the pranic channels known as Nadis, are being re-energised which powerfully influences our internal environment.

For Yoga is a dance of movement and stillness, when one element magnifies and defines the other, whereby we are nourished and revived in the consciousness of this all-embracing, deeply intelligent form of body-mind exercise and meditation.