• How Can Yoga Play a Part in a Holistic Approach to Health?

    How Can Yoga Play a Part in a Holistic Approach to Health?

    Yoga Prahran is so much more than just a physical set of exercises. It is a holistic science embodying the interconnectedness of life – a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline originating in ancient India, which connects physical health with mental equilibrium and emotional tranquillity.

    The real meaning of yoga is “union”—union of mind, of the emotions, and of the body. It goes far beyond the poses you do on the matt. It seeks to build a lifestyle that values health, calmness, harmony and positive thinking, and it is one of the most effective therapies for those seeking a holistic approach to health and wellness. 

    The reason Yoga Prahran and holistic health and wellness are so interconnected, is because Yoga Prahran is a practice that promotes self-awareness and breath control, while controlling the afflictions of the mind. Yoga is actually a holistic system within itself, where the mind and the body act in unison and get completely rejuvenated, as physical postures, breathing exercises and meditation help in the overall well-being of an individual. 

    The yoga poses we do in class, also known as Asanas, definitely contribute to this alignment and deeper sense of connection. The focus on the body, the stretching, and the long periods of calm focus, all serve to reduce stress and enhance health, while helping to balance the enzymes, hormones, mitochondrial and adrenal activity. 

    These are all bodily functions which slow down as we age, and regular yoga Prahran practice can bring us back to a state where these functions are maintained at an optimum level, thus improving overall health and wellbeing. 

    Why take a holistic approach to health?

    The general consensus among society is that overall wellness solely revolves around physical health. Although physical health is very important, mental health is equally as important, which is a part of our bodily health system that is often missed out on, or not practiced routinely enough.

    Holistic wellness is significant because it bridges the gap between physical health and mental health. This means that it focuses on not only the physical aspects of health, but the health of the mind as well, and reaffirms that one cannot exist without the other. 

    Incorporating a holistic practice such as Yoga Prahran into your lifestyle, is adopting a 360 degree view of health, in the way that it covers all areas – mental health, physical health, emotional health, psychological health and spiritual health, and the ways in which they all correlate with one another.

    This approach to wellness focuses on finding a long-term lifestyle, which promotes not only happiness, but physical well-being. It acknowledges that there are so many factors that can lead to the break down or sickness of the human body, including stress, depression, addiction, exhaustion and low self-esteem. Without the balance between mental and physical states there is no way the body can run at its full potential. 

    This is precisely why it’s so important to incorporate holistic wellness practices such as Yoga Prahran into your lifestyle, as it ensures that all facets of your body are maintained at an optimum level, leading to a higher level of functionality and an all-round happier, more balanced you. 

    Some of the ways yoga contributes to holistic health: 

    • Yoga emphasis deep and relaxed breathing which prevents respiratory ailments and ensures that your breathing is always working at its optimal level. 
    • Regular yoga can increase the size of the hippocampus, a part of the brain responsible for controlling memory. This also benefits the connections between nerve cells in the brain, helping prevent the onset of disease.
    • Yoga promotes healthy aging as it improves balance, body awareness and concentration, thus reducing the risk of falls and fractures that can come with old age. 
    • Every asana we do in Yoga Prahran is executed with a lot of self-awareness and breath control. Such mindful practices improve focus and concentration outside of yoga, in day-to-day activities. 
    • Yoga stimulates the nervous system and helps to expand the chest cavity, which strengthens your lungs and allows the lungs space to function fully. 
    • Yoga corrects bad posture which improves spinal health, reducing the risk of back pain, sciatica and a herniated disc. 
    • Yoga helps to keep your brain healthy by influencing emotional regulation at a psychological level, regulating the production of cortisol (the stress hormone), and increasing your brain’s grey matter, which is linked to improved cognitive functioning.
    • Yoga can modulate the stress response systems in the body by lowering breathing and heart rate, decreasing blood pressure, increasing blood flow to the intestines and vital organs, and easing respiration. This elicits a relaxation response, not just in class, but well after you leave as well, achieving tranquillity of the mind and generating an overall sense of balanced well-being.
    • Like most forms of exercise, yoga can boost your body’s production of the two hormones essential to cultivating happiness – Oxytocin and Endorphins. 

    How Kaya Health Club aims to promote and offer holistic health and wellness services to all of our clients: 

    Kaya Health Clubs offer a range of holistic health and fitness classes, that can be anywhere from restorative and therapeutic, to healing, relaxing or sweat-building. We specialise in Pilates reformer, Yoga, Barre Classes and fitness, however we also offer other holistic health services such as personal training, nutritional consultations, clinical Pilates and remedial massage. 

    We partner with other holistic businesses such as Tommy Ruff, who deliver fresh, seasonally available and sustainable seafood, and Matcha Maiden, a business which offers rich antioxidants in powder form, that can assist with energy, focus, metabolism, immunity and overall wellbeing. 

    Partnering with other holistic businesses ensures that we are constantly offering services to our clients that will enhance their physical and mental well-being, and help them achieve a more balanced sense of self. Kaya also offers a range of different yoga classes, which complement our other holistic services to help our clients to achieve a deeper sense of inner peace, health and wellbeing.

    About the Author


    Demi fell in love with yoga when she travelled to India when she was 20 years old. She loved the feeling of bliss she experienced both during and after class, and how that feeling would stay with her throughout her day. It was also in India, that Demi learned how much she loved to write about her travels. She believes that stories have power. They delight, enchant, touch, teach, recall, inspire, motivate, challenge. They help us understand. They imprint a picture in our minds. This led her to her job as a Content Writer. She loves helping businesses tell stories. Especially when the stories involve educating readers on the endless benefits of yoga and Pilates- two of her most loved fitness regimes
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