Give up smoking, roll out your yoga mat! 17 August
Smoking is one of the most dangerous bad habits of our times. One smoker dies approximately every six seconds. It is 5 million deaths a year. Russia counts about 47 millions of smokers; smoke 60% of men and 20% of women.
Most of smokers are deeply hoping to give up smoking, but are afraid or are not able to cope with withdrawals. Can yoga help such people? Sure! First of all, special breathing techniques help to increase the level of oxygen in the blood which is vitally important for proper functioning of every cell in our body. Oxygen helps to rejuvenate the bodily tissues and provides them with energy. The body of a smoker is full of toxins; the level of carbon dioxide significantly exceeds the norm. Deep breathing brings the level of carbon dioxide back to norm.
In addition, yoga teaches to listen to your body, to treat its desires with reason and distance. A famous philosopher A. Gurdzhiev compared a man with a rig. The driver is our mind, it sets the direction. The horse is our emotions, the driving force of all our actions. The wagon is the body, the abode of the mind. If one wants to give up smoking, but cannot because of the fear of negative emotions, a strange thing happens – the driver respectfully changes places with the horse! An even stranger situation is the following: someone wants to give up smoking, but without smoking starts to have terrible headaches and decides to try again in the future. In this case the drive behaves in a more crazy way – he puts on a snaffle and gallops side by side with the horse to please the wagon. Yoga puts everything in their right places – the driver drives the horse, and the horse in its turn pulls the wagon.
Also, someone trying to give up smoking is experiencing a great stress. As you know, at the moment of stress adrenal glands start to produce cortisol. This may lead to a serious depression, nervous break-downs and apathy. Yoga has a calming effect on the mind and lowers the level of cortisol. In addition, during the practice of yoga, the body produces serotonin (popularly called the hormone of happiness). Neurophysiologist Richard Davidson has studied 52 people at the age of 57-60 years and has come to a conclusion that positive thoughts, pleasant memories, as well as meditation and yoga activate the left side of the prefrontal cerebral cortex which is responsible for production of the hormone of happiness and directly influences our mood.
Yoga is a good habit. To stop someone thinking all the time about a dear cigarette, it is necessary to divert his thoughts by something interesting, exciting. Yoga provides great opportunities both for physical and spiritual development. Instead of inhaling smoke, a person practicing yoga deeply and consciously inhales fresh air and enjoys this process. A smoke gives a minute energy boost and takes away a month of life. Yoga gives you constant vivacity and prolongs your life. It’s up to you to decide what you choose.
Author: Oxana Asabina