Yoga and meditation are two powerful ancient Indian practices that allow inner peace to your mind, body, and soul. The practice includes meditation, breathing exercises, and stretches that decrease stress, relaxation, and rejuvenation. Yoga is an approach that can help a person of any age group, whether you are a teenager or an adult. The benefits of yoga and meditation are not hidden from anyone, that’s why people are now leaning more towards it.
Schools, colleges, and offices are now introducing yoga and meditation to reduce stress and develop mental peace. If we talk about a teenage student’s life, they have so much anxiety and mental pressure from studies, exams, tests, and assignments. At the same time, adolescence is a critical time for developing mental health, including healthy responses to stress. So it becomes more necessary to deal with mental issues correctly. And that’s why the education system is becoming adaptive in offering yoga and meditation classes to students. Several kinds of school-based stress management and wellness programs have been developed to encourage healthy strategies among students.
Meditation and yoga can improve concentration and focus among students, and both of these forms can include a focus on breathing techniques. Both involve long, deep, and slow breaths and the coordination of mental concentration with structured activities such as yoga poses, chanting and more. However, meditation is not only helpful in resolving issues in academic lives but also their social lives. In this piece of writing, we will intensely discuss the importance and benefit of yoga and meditation for students. So continue reading till the end.
Importance of Yoga and Meditation:
Yoga and meditation are of great importance for a healthy mind, body, and soul, and practising it can improve both physical and mental health. In contrast, meditation can provide peace of mind and control over the body. All these activities have been shown to help increase the body’s relaxation technique and reduce the hormone production that leads to anxiety. Below we have discussed the importance of yoga and meditation, which can help a student in many ways-
- Flexibility-
The benefit of practising yoga is that it provides you with a flexible body. Stretching your muscles through yoga poses releases the lactic acid that builds up in the muscles. The acid, with time, can cause pain, stiffness, tension, and fatigue that can be painful. Students who participate actively in sports or yoga can decrease the risk of injury. Stretching increases the joint lubricants and softens the tissues, and when you practise yoga asana, your ligament and tendons also get stretched, increasing your flexibility.
- Stress reduction-
The main concern of performing meditation is that it offers peace of mind; yoga also gives you inner peace that will ultimately reduce anxiety. A student’s life is stressful, and yoga focuses on providing mental peace. Yoga techniques draw attention away from busy and hectic schedules and provide calming effects to the body. Similarly, meditation focuses on inner peace that leads to decreased stress levels. After performing both the techniques, you will feel relaxed and happier as you relive your mental pressure.
- Increased concentration and sharpness-
Meditation and yoga can improve a student’s concentration and increase the brain’s sharpness. Yoga helps in increasing concentration with the help of the gazing technique. Yoga and most forms of meditation include an increased focus on the lungs and coordination of mental concentration. Some structured activities like breathing patterns and chanting help provide peace of mind, further supporting brain sharpness and increased concentration.
Benefits of Yoga and Meditation:
If a person practices yoga and meditation, it can give better results that can benefit the students and other people. Yoga and meditation have a biochemical effect on the human body that resembles the benefits of antidepressants and anti-anxiety and thus can help to release mental health. Moreover, they both can decrease the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Below we have mentioned some benefits of yoga and meditation for students-
- Yoga and meditation help to improve concentration.
- It balances the body’s blood pressure.
- It reduces absenteeism and slowness.
- Both meditation and yoga improve sleep patterns.
- It helps to sharpen the brain and improve calmness.
- Yoga and meditation enhance self-confidence.
- Both provide relief from headaches and other issues.
How to Include Yoga and Meditation in Your Routine?
The best part of performing yoga and meditation is that you don’t need to do any preparation in advance. You can perform these techniques either in the morning or in the evening. Even if you feel tired between your studies and need a short break to refresh yourself, you can take a yoga break for 10 minutes. However, to include yoga and meditation as a beginner, you need to follow the below steps-
- Before starting, it is better to do some stretching to warm up your body.
- Initially, you can perform yoga for 30-45 minutes to get used to it.
- You can seek help from a certified trainer or join a yoga class.
- Practising yoga in the presence of a trainer is highly recommended so you will not harm yourself.
- You will also need to remember that the most crucial aspect of yoga is continuity, so you must be consistent with your yoga routine.
- If possible, add yoga to your morning routine for maximum benefit.
- You can start with some easy asanas like Suryanamaskar. To do Suryanamaskar below we have mentioned a step-by-step guide.
- The prayer pose- the first pose of Suryanamaskar can be proficient by standing upright and placing your feet close to each other. Now breath deeply and relax your shoulders. While inhaling, raise your arms from the sides, and as you exhale, join your palms in front of your chest.
- The raised arm pose- join your palms and take a deep breath. Now lift your arms, slightly bending backward. You can push the pelvis forward and stretch back to lengthen your spine. Keep the arms close to the ears and stretch the whole body up from the heels.
- The standing forward bend pose- exhale and bend forward to touch your toes with your fingers. Initially, you can bend your knees. Try to touch the floor, pressing into your heels. Inhale while coming back.
- The lung pose- After returning from the above pose, bend your knees and rest your palms on the floor in line with your feet. Now, inhale and bring your knee towards the right side of your chest while stretching the left leg backward. Balance the body and raise your head facing forward.
- The plank pose- from the above pose, inhale and bring your right leg back, next to your left leg. Keep your hands under your shoulders, keeping the body parallel to the ground. Your whole body should be in a straight line.
- The eight-limbed pose- exhale and bring your knees down to the floor to perform this pose. Rest the chin on the floor and raise your hips slightly above the ground. Your hands, knees, chest and chin should touch the ground while your posterior should be suspended in the air. Breathe and hold the position as you are comfortable.
- The cobra pose- slide forward and rest your legs and abdomen flat on the ground. Now place your palms close to your chest and while inhaling, apply the pressure on the hand and gently raise your upper body, pelvic area touching the ground. Keep your shoulders away from ears and feet tucked in, and look forward. Your head and torso should simulate a cobra with a raised hood.
- The downward-facing dog position- lie down, releasing your chest from the above pose, your back facing the roof. Exhale and lift your hips to form a ‘V’. Now, straighten your elbows and knees while trying to keep your heels on the ground. With every inhale and exhale, go deep into the stretch and look towards your navel.
- The high lunge pose- returning from the above position, bring your right foot forward. Keep your left leg stretched behind your feet on the mat and now look forward. Gently push your hips towards the floor.
- The standing forward bend- inhale and bring your left foot forward, next to your right foot. Bend your torso while keeping the position of your hands intact; now, slowly exhale and touch the ground with your fingers.
- The raised arms pose- inhale while lifting your upper body, join the palms and raise your hands upward. Now bend backward and stretch your spine.
- The prayer pose- repeating the first pose now, you might have understood that we have made a circle of 12 poses. As mentioned in the first pose, exhale and stand straight, relaxing your body. Lower the arms in front of your chest.
To Conclude:
Yoga and meditation are ancient Indian approaches to find inner peace and stay mentally fit. For students, it is recommended so that they can reduce their everyday stress. Education systems also include yoga techniques as a syllabus to help students reduce mental stress. Adding simple yoga poses to your daily routine can relax your mind and body. In this article, we have explained how yoga and meditation can help students to get away from mental stress and concentrate on their studies.
Author Bio:
Robert Macro is a professional and knowledgeable author who prioritizes students and their related issues and tries to resolve them. Moreover, he is also associated with assignments help lite platforms that guide and support the students in completing their assignments.