Benefits of Meditation

1.Better focus and concentration                                                                           Mindfulness meditation helps you focus on the present, which can improve your concentration on other tasks in daily life.

2. Improve self-esteem and self-awareness                                                          Mindfulness meditation encourages you to slow down, allows for deeper self reflection, and can help you discover positive attributes about yourself. 

3. Reduce stress                                                                                                       Mindfulness meditation can also lower the levels of cortisol  the stress hormone which helps you feel more relaxed.

4. Manage anxiety or depression                                                                            Mindfulness meditation helps train your mind to focus on the present, making you less likely to ruminate on anxious thoughts that can fuel depression. 

5. Fight addiction                                                                                                 Meditation can alter the brain receptors associated with drug and alcohol addiction, which may reduce cravings for these substances, Davidson says. Additionally, mindfulness meditation can increase your awareness of cravings and allow you to better manage them.

6. Control pain                                                                                                                     Many doctors recommend mindful meditation practices as part of a comprehensive pain management plan, 

7. Make you more kind or loving                                                                                       Loving kindness meditation can foster compassion for yourself and others. It strengthens circuits in the brain that pick up on other people's emotions, promotes altruistic behavior, and decreases the implicit or unconscious bias responsible for perpetuating harmful stereotypes.

10 Health Benefits Of Yoga

Yoga is a spiritual, mental and physical practice that has been around since ages. With time, people have discovered a number of health benefits associated with yoga. Yoga does more than burning calories and strengthening muscles, it is a workout which involves both body and mind.

This International Yoga Day start a good habit and promise yourself the following health benefits:

• Improves posture

Working for long hours on a desk could not only hurt your spine but also make you feel tired at the end of the day. Practicing certain yoga asanas could help you in improving your posture and also prevent pain in your neck and lower back.

• Increases flexibility

When was the last time you wished you could easily touch your toes which bending forward? Well, practicing yoga could help you in that. Yoga can not only help you in increasing your flexibility but also let you perform complex asanas.

• Builds muscle strength

Yoga could help in strengthening weak muscles of the body. It helps in toning which prevents frequent straining of the muscles.

• Boosts metabolism

Yoga helps in retaining the vitality in your body along with keeping it fit. It motivates you towards healthy eating and improves the metabolic system of the body.

• Helps in lowering blood sugar

Yoga not only helps in lowering blood sugar but also lowers bad cholesterol and boosts good cholesterol. It encourages weight loss and improves the body’s sensitivity to insulin.

• Increases blood flow

The relaxation exercises in yoga regulates blood to all parts of your body. Exercises such as handstand, helps venous blood from the lower part of the body to flow back to your heart, where it can be pumped back to the lungs to be oxygenated.

• Keep diseases at bay

Yoga exercises have a beneficial effect on the immune system. It not only helps in destroying various viruses we catch during season change, but also boosts our immunity to fight off diseases.

• Increases self-esteem

Practicing yoga would help you explore a different side of yourself. It would make you feel good about yourself and helps you take a positive approach in life.

• Improves lung function

A lot of breathing exercises are said to improve lung function. Doing such exercises in a long run could cure respiratory problems. It also increases the capacity of your lungs.

• Helps you sleep better

Yoga helps in reducing stress and creates a routine which in turn makes a regular sleeping pattern. A relaxed body gets a deeper and more peaceful sleep.