BALANCE OF LIFESTYLE CAN BE PRODUCE THOUGH THE PRACTICE OF YOGA

 Sumanpal Bhikkhu

Yoga and Exercise are two very vast fields with expanding knowledge at present. But when they are combined together in respect of their relative importance in human life, the discussion, analysis and interpretation become more intuitive, more critical.

At the outset we are to understand very clearly the basic nature of Yoga and Exercise and 'What', 'Why' and 'How' of both of them. We are to discuss critically the similarities and differences among them in respect of their procedure to perform and beneficial effects in human life.

The English word 'meditation' is derived from the Latin word "meditatio' which means “to think, contemplate devise, ponder, and meditate. The greatest help to spiritual life is meditation. In meditation we divest ourselves of all material conditions and feel our divine nature. We do not depend upon any external help in meditation. Meditation is universal. It transcends all division like religion, country and culture. It is a gift given to mankind to access the infinite spirit not limited by any identity. It is the only tool that can aid a person to return to innocence. Our modern life style has high exposure to anger, hate, fear and other negative emotion. Meditation helps an individual overcome these emotions to facilitate a calm peaceful mind and healthy and stress free body. Meditation promotes relaxation, develops self-control, self-confidence, positive attitude and socialability and reduces stress as well as anxiety.

Today yoga being an academic as well as professional subject of varied interests, has gained worldwide popularity, Recent research trends have shown that it can serve as an applied science in a number of fields such as education, physical education and sports, health and family welfare, medical field and also one of the valuable means for the development of human resources for better performance and productivity of life. It has generally been believed that yoga is a spiritual science having emancipation as its goals and hence cannot be treated only as a therapy (Sachan et al.,2015).

Due to gradual enhancement of population, pollution and demands of personal need of the individuals, people are facing so many psycho-physiological problems in their daily life, mainly mental stress, anxiety, hypertension, obesity and problems of cardio-respiratory system too. Mainly air pollution gradually deteriorates the ventilatory efficiency of our lungs which reducing our functional capacity. This deteriorating ventilatory function of lungs may lead to chronic respiratory diseases like bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis and bronchiectasis. Breathing exercises improve the functions of respiratory apparatus and improve lung functions. Pranayama, the controlled and conscious breathing exercise not only improves the psycho-physiological functions, but also improves the general well being of the individuals. It helps maintain a better homeostasis and prevents body from degeneration and dysfunctions.

Human beings have the opportunity to fight against different types of challenges in their life by using their brain- the thinking tank. Today's sedentary life style brings a lot of life threatening diseases which was not a matter of headache in ancient world. Civilization brings a lot of facilities in our life but snatched the most precious time for our health and the spontaneous participation in physical activities from our life. As a result hypo kinetic diseases are widely recognized as one of the leading causes of death and disability. So it is the high time to alert our society by providing adequate information to aware themselves and fight against the diseases due to inadequate movement or physical exercise.

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

- Benjamin Franklin

It is totally a person's own area of interest when he goes to bed, what type of food he eats or when he rises in the morning. Everyone has right to lead his life according to his own philosophy. But there are some other factors to be 'healthy'. Active lifestyle, in addition to other reasons, may play an important role not only to be healthy, but wealthy and wise also.

Lifestyle is 'the way in which a person lives'. It is someone's way of living. It is a particular way of living: the way a person lives or a group of people live. A way of living of individuals, families (households), and societies which they manifest in coping with their physical, psychological, social, and economic environments on a day -to-day basis.

A healthy lifestyle is a way of living that lowers the risk of being seriously ill or dying early. Not all diseases are preventable, but a large proportion of deaths, particularly those from coronary heart disease and lung cancer, can be avoided. Here it is said that so many non-communicable diseases like obesity, osteoarthritis, diabetes, hypertension etc. can be resisted just only through lifestyle modification, if here are no other causes.

A healthy lifestyle is one which helps to keep and improve people's health and well-being. Many governments and non-governmental organizations have made big efforts in healthy lifestyle and health promotion. ... The ways to being healthy include healthy eating, physical activities, weight management, and stress management.

Health is not simply an absence of illness. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being. Health is not simply defined as just the absence of disease. Healthy Living is the steps, actions and strategies to gain optimum health. It is the responsibility and choice regarding food habits, physical activity, mental fitness and spiritual wellness.

Food habits play an important role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. We should be aware of in taking huge -High carbohydrates Excess food Tea, coffee Meat, egg, ghee, sweets, spicy food Cold drinks, alcohol consumption etc.

To maintain active lifestyle, one should prefer swattvic type of food, such as, most vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains and other foods which are easy to digest instead of rajasic and tamasic foods.

Lifestyle         Balance,          also known as work-life balance, is a term that refers to a lifestyle in home, family and personal pursuits. Having a balanced lifestyle is considered essential for optimum levels of physical and mental health.  It helps in developing healthy body and sound mind. It helps to cope up stress, relaxes mood and generates sound sleep. It promotes health and prevents illness.

Healthy living is the practice of health enhancing behaviours, or put simply, living in healthy ways. It implies the physical, mental and spiritual capacity to make healthy choices.

In healthy living, we can incorporate -Recreational opportunities (parks, fitness centres etc.) close to the home or workplace, walking trails and bike lanes for transportation also encourage a more active lifestyle. Active living is a combination of physical activity and recreation activities aimed at the general public to encourage a healthier lifestyle.

Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community. The positive dimension of mental health is stressed in WHO's definition of health. “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

Wellness is the state of being in good health. It has some dimensions, such as - occupational, emotional, spiritual, environmental, financial, physical, social, and intellectual. It is the optimal state of health of an individual and groups. According to WHO, there are two focal concerns: the realisation of the fullest potential of an individual physically, psychology, socially, spiritually and economically; and the fulfilment of one's role expectations in the family, community, place of worship, and work place and other settings.

Wellness reflects how one feels about life as well as one's ability to function effectively. Positive total outlook on life is essential to wellness and each of the wellness dimensions. A well - person is satisfied in his/her work, is spiritually fulfilled, enjoys leisure time, is physically fit, is socially involved, and has a positive emotional-mental outlook. This person is happy and fulfilled. Many experts believe that a positive total outlook is a key to wellness.