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8 Practices You Can Do To Live A Healthy Yoga Lifestyle
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Yoga Lifestyle: Incorporate Yoga Fundamentals Into Your Daily Life
The yoga lifestyle meaning is more than just a set of postures (asanas) or breathing exercises (pranayama), it is a way of living.
The benefits of Yoga are phenomenal. Right from improving your physical fitness to increasing mindfulness, Yoga can do wonders. It is for this same reason that it is now being practiced by millions of people around the world. Though it has become popular, there are a large number of people who are still reluctant to take up Yoga.
They cite irrational reasons like it’s against their religion, they are not flexible to do yoga, or that they do not have time If you are of the same view then let me just tell you one thing -“If you have a body and you are breathing, you can easily do Yoga!” It is a 5,000 years old tradition that has been practiced in the Indian subcontinent since its inception. In the last 100 years, it has spread all around the globe.
Yoga is not a once-in-a-while thing, but rather a practice that needs to be done daily. A yoga lifestyle is all about living with the teachings of the tradition every moment. Doing asanas and pranayamas results in a lot of benefits. But there are many other factors also that you can do to live a healthy yoga lifestyle.
8 Healthy Yogic Lifestyle Practices
1. Give Attention To Your Breath
Breathing is possibly the most important involuntary action that humans perform. On average humans inhale and exhale 20 times in a minute. But have you ever paid attention to it?
Breathing is responsible for removing 90% of the toxins that accumulate in the body. It is important to give attention to how you are breathing.
Sometimes during the day, just bring your attention to the process of breath coming in and going out of the body. You’ll see how the mind gently relaxes. Even during your asanas, your attention should be completely aligned with your breath.
2. Yoga And Food Habits
Food is one of the primary sources of energy. So should we eat more to get more energy? Absolutely not! The kind and the amount of food that we eat plays a vital role in shaping the state of our minds and the agility of our bodies.
Yoga classifies food into 3 categories – Tamasic (stale and heavy), Rajasic (sour and spicy), and Sattvic (balanced diet). Tamasic food (meat and stale food) makes the mind and body dull and lethargic.
Rajasic food (chocolates, fried food, spicy, etc.) has a stimulating effect on the mind and body. Sattvic food on the other hand (milk, honey, fruits, and vegetables) brings clarity to the mind and strength to the body.
Having a Sattvic diet is one of the important precursors to having an ideal yoga lifestyle.
3. Yoga Detox
The kind of diet that we nowadays consume increases the acidity level in our body. Breathing exercises and yoga postures help to cleanse the body of these acidic elements. But there are other things as well that you can do to make cleansing more effective.
Having a glass of cucumber and lemon water in the mornings (empty stomach) can help you reduce the acidity level of your body. This helps you to detoxify the body and stay fresh from both the outside and within.
You will feel rejuvenated and your skin would also start glowing and feeling fresh.
4. Yoga Practice And Mindfulness
Another important aspect of living a yogic lifestyle is observing the state of your mind. Often in our busy schedule, we tend to neglect the state of our mind. Just a few minutes of introspection can help elevate your whole conscience.
Thinking before speaking or doing any action is also important. Often we spend hours chatting with our friends or watching movies/series on online streaming sites. She needs to be cautious about our actions, limit the use of gadgets, and cut down on unnecessary conversations.
This will make use more efficient and productive. Another important thing is to bring your mind to the present moment. Often our mind keeps oscillating between the future and the past but the reality is right here at this moment. So make a continuous attempt to keep your mind steady and in the present moment.
5. How Yoga Can Improve Your Sleep Quality
Sleep is one of the natural ways in which the body heals itself. Most of the damaged tissues are repaired while one is sleeping. It is important to have at least 6-8 hours of sleep. Everyone’s body is organized differently and you should be able to figure out the right amount of sleep your body needs.
Going to sleep at a regular time daily is also very important. Modern gadgets and social media applications have made our sleep schedule go haywire. You can also lie down sometimes on your back and perform Yoga Nidra, an effortless Yoga posture to bring deep relaxation.
6. Read Spiritual Books
If you want to unravel the deeper secrets of the yoga lifestyle, it is essential to read some spiritual books. Ancient texts like Narada Bhakti Sutras, Patanjali Yoga Sutras, and Yoga Vasishta have elucidated in detail the subtle aspects of a yogic lifestyle.
Though they were spoken and written thousands of years ago, the content that is mentioned is still relevant in today’s modern time Patanjali Yoga Sutras, for example, talk about the obstructions that one might face on the path of yoga and how to overcome them. It is one of the most primitive and revered texts on the Yoga Lifestyle.
7. Meet People Who Practice Yoga Regularly
If you want to know something better, meet a person who knows it best. There are thousands of people who have been practicing Yoga for years now. Through their practices, they have learned about wisdom that is not easy to comprehend otherwise.
You must make an effort to meet them and understand their insights on Yoga. It will help you develop a better understanding of Yoga and motivate you to go deeper.
8. Set Your Goals In Life
Yoga brings about a lot of clarity and confidence in the one who practices it regularly. You should aim to write down your goals and review the weekly/monthly progress.
Anything that we do in life should bring us closer to our ultimate goals. Living with a disciplined yoga lifestyle brings forth a zeal to work with unmatched enthusiasm. This facilitates in achieving our goals and bringing perfection in all the dimensions of life. Read also our article about the meaning behind 5 yoga symbols
