A Pilot Investigation of Effect of Yoga on Health-Related Fitness

Yoga has been designed by our ancestors to strengthen, cleanse, and balance the body and mind. The breathing focuses the mind and soothes the nervous system in linking or unifying thought and movement that further develops an awareness of the fundamental connection between intention, action, and consequence. The philosophy of yoga is sometimes pictured as a tree with eight branches. These eight limbs are: yama (moral behavior), niyama (healthy habit), asana (posture), pranayama (breathing exercises), prathyahara (sense withdrawal), dharana (concentration), dhyana (contemplation), and samadhi (higher consciousness). There are several schools of yoga practice, such as hatha yoga, karma yoga, bhakti yoga, and raja yoga. These schools vary in the proportions of the exercises of the eight limbs. However, they are all similar in working towards the goal of self-realization. With the evident information available, the present investigator sought to specially design a standard Yoga Exercise Module and to determine the effect of selected yogic training programme on Physical Fitness.

Autorentext

O Dr. Jaysing M. Hotkar trabalha no BPCA's College of Physical Education, Wadala, Mumbai-31. Conduziu vários trabalhos de investigação em Aptidão Física, Saúde, Yoga, Aptidão Motora. Está a trabalhar arduamente especialmente na concepção de um Módulo de Exercícios de Yoga padrão e para determinar o efeito de um programa de treino de yoga seleccionado na Aptidão Física.