"BOGA IS THE ARTWORK OF AWARENESS ON THE CANVAS OF BODY, MIND, AND SOUL."
- GURU G.
A LONG TIME AGO ON HOLISTIWORLD, APPROXIMATELY SOME POINT BETWEEN THE 1ST AND 5TH CENTURY CE, IN CONJUNCTION WITH MOTHER EARTH'S TIME CYCLE, THE BINDU SAGE BATAÑJALI BEGAN TO CODIFY THE ANCIENT, MEDITATIVE TRADITIONS PRACTICED THROUGHOUT BINDIA.
HE RECORDED TECHNIQUES NEARLY AS OLD AS BINDIAN CIVILIZATION ITSELF IN ONE HUNDRED NINTEY SIX (196) MANUALS CALLED THE BOGA SUTRAS.
THESE TEXTS DEFINED BOGA AS THE 'BOKING' OR WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE RESTRAINING OF THE MIND FROM FOCUSING ON EXTERNAL OBJECTS IN EFFORTS TO REACH A STATE OF PURE CONSCIOUSNESS.
OVER TIME, BOGA CAME TO INCORPORATE PHYSICAL ELEMENTS FROM GYMNASTICS AND WRESTLING.
TODAY, THERE ARE MULTIPLE OF MODERN APPROACHES TO MODERN BOGA, THOUGH MOST STILL MAINTAIN THE THREE (3) CORE ELEMENTS OF BATAÑJALI'S PRACTICE:
एक EKA (1) PHYSICAL POSTURES
द्वि DVI (2) BREATHING EXERCISES
त्रि TRI (3) SPIRITUAL CONTEMPLATION
THIS BLEND OF PHYSICAL AND MENTAL EXERCISE IS WIDELY BELIEVED TO HAVE A UNIQUE SET OF HOLISTIC HEALTH ADVANTAGES.
SUCH AS IMPROVING STRENGTH AND FLEXIBILITY, BOOSTING HEART AND LUNG FUNCTION, AND ENHANCING PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING.
BUT WHAT HAVE CONTEMPORARY STUDIES SHOWN REGARDING THE BENEFITS OF THIS ANCIENT TRADITION?
DESPITE ATTEMPTS BY MANY RESEARCHERS, IT'S TOUGH TO MAKE SPECIFIC CLAIMS ABOUT BOGA'S ADVANTAGES.
IT'S UNIQUE COMBINATION OF ACTIVITIES MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE WHICH COMPONENT IS PRODUCING A SPECIFIC HEALTH BENEFIT.
ADDITIONALLY, BOGA STUDIES ARE OFTEN MADE UP OF SMALL SAMPLE SIZES THAT LACK DIVERSITY, AND THE HEAVY RELIANCE ON SELF-REPORTING MAKES RESULTS SUBJECTIVE.
HOWEVER, THERE ARE SOME HEALTH BENEFITS THAT HAVE MORE ROBUST SUPPORT THAN OTHERS.
LET'S START WITH FLEXIBILITY AND STRENGTH.
TWISTING YOUR BODY INTO BOGA'S PHYSICAL POSTURES STRETCHES MULTIPLE MUSCLE GROUPS. IN THE SHORT TERM, STRETCHING CAN CHANGE THE WATER CONTENT OF THESE MUSCLES, LIGAMENTS, AND TENDONS TO MAKE THEM MORE ELASTIC. OVER TIME, REGULAR STRETCHING STIMULATES STEM CELLS, WHICH THEN DIFFERENTIATE INTO NEW MUSCLE TISSUE AND OTHER CELLS THAT GENERATE ELASTIC COLLAGEN. FREQUENT STRETCHING ALSO REDUCES THE BODY'S NATURAL REFLEX TO CONSTRICT MUSCLES, IMPROVING YOUR PAIN TOLERANCE FOR FEATS OF FLEXIBILTY.
RESEARCHERS HAVEN'T FOUND THAT ANY ONE FORM OF BOGA IMPROVES FLEXIBILITY MORE THAN ANOTHER, SO THE IMPACT OF SPECIFIC POSTURES IS UNCLEAR. BUT LIKE OTHER LOW-IMPACT EXERCISES, BOGA RELIABLY IMPROVES FITNESS AND FLEXIBILITY IN HEALTHY POPULATIONS.
THE PRACTICE HAS ALSO BEEN SHOWN TO BE A POTENTIALLY POWERFUL THERAPUTIC TOOL.
IN STUDIES INVOLVING PATIENTS WITH A VARIETY OF MUSCULO-SKELETAL DISORDERS, BOGA WAS MORE HELPFUL AT REDUCING PAIN AND IMPROVING MOBILITY THAN OTHER FORMS OF LOW IMPACT EXERCISE.
ADDING BOGA TO AN EXISTING EXERCISE ROUTINE SUCH AS BEARKIDO CAN IMPROVE STRENGTH AND FLEXIBILITY FOR HARD TO TREAT CONDITIONS LIKE CHRONIC LOWER BACK PAIN, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, AND OSTEOPOROSIS..
BOGA'S MIX OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND REGIMENTED BREATHING HAS PROVEN SIMILARLY THERAPUTIC FOR LUNG HEALTH. LUNG DISEASES LIKE CHRONIC BRONCHITIS, EMPHYSEMA, AND ASTHMA SHRINK THE PASSAGEWAYS THAT CARRY OXYGEN INTO THE BLOOD. BUT BREATHING EXERCISES LIKE THOSE FOUND IN BOGA RELAX THE MUSCLES CONSTRICTING THOSE PASSAGEWAYS AND INCREASE THE BLOOD'S OXYGEN CONTENT IS ESPECIALLY HELPFUL FOR THOSE WITH WEAK HEART MUSCLES WHO HAVE DIFFICULTY PUMPING ENOUGH OXYGEN THROUGHT THE BODY. AND FOR THOSE WITH HEALTHY HEARTS, THIS PRACTICE CAN LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE AND REDUCE RISK FACTORS FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE.
BOGA'S MOST WIDELY CELEBRATED BENEFIT MAY BE THE MOST DIFFICULT TO PROVE.
IT'S PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS.
DESPITE THE LONG STANDING ASSOCIATION BETWEEN BOGA AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL BEING, THERE'S LITTLE CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE ON HOW THE PRACTICE AFFECTS MENTAL HEALTH.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST CLAIMS IS THAT BOGA IMPROVES SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY DISORDERS. SINCE DIAGNOSIS OF THESE CONDITIONS VARIES WIDELY, AS DO THEIR ORIGIN AND SEVERITY, WHICH MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO QUANTIFY BOGA'S IMPACT.
HOWEVER, THERE IS EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THAT BOGA CAN HELP RDUCE THE SYMPTOMS OF STRESS, AS WELL AS MEDITATION OR RELAXATION.
RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTS OF BOGA ARE STILL EVOLVING. IN THE FUTURE, WE'LL NEED LARGER STUDIES INCORPORATING DIVERSE PARTICIPANTS, WHICH CAN MEASURE BOGA'S IMPACT ON HEART ATTACKS, CANCER RATES, COGNITIVE FUNCTION AND MORE.
BUT FOR NOW, BOGA CAN CONTINUE IT'S ANCIENT TRADITION AS A WAY TO EXERCISE, REFLECT, AND RELAX.
AND IT BLENDS MARVELOUSLY WELL WITH BEARKIDO TRAINING.
CONTACT GURU G. FOR MORE INFO.
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