So, there is lot of conflicts between Yoga and Gym however there is no contrast between the two except that both is done by the body hence we assume both are physical activities. But Yoga is more internal activity and gym exercises are external activities. Yoga is a ‘Work In’ culture as yog word derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Yuj’ means Unity or Union. Union of body mind and breath. When these three amalgamate within our embodiment some highest paramount alteration happens within us which leads to pratyahara, dharna,dhyana, samathi, the last four limbs of ashtanga and a path for antranga sadhana (internal practice) which turned our senses of perception inwards and we will be able to look inside us. But Gym culture works only with our superficial muscles and it leads to more chaos in our mind. There is no awareness of internal activities and we drift apart and become alien with our own embodiment.
Apart from that there is major physical harm we create through gym exercises like
Muscles Shrinkage
Lifting weight leads to shrinkage of the muscles. To get the 17 inches biceps the body has to build muscle in the bicep area by pulling muscles from surrounding areas. This leads to non-uniform body build up. This leads to the blood not being circulated properly across the muscle area leading to cramp in the muscles. This also leads to thickening of the heart muscles leading to stroke. Bodybuilders are prone to heart attacks in the Middle Ages due to the thickening of the heart. But on other hand, Yoga gives circumferential uniformity to the muscles, making them strong but supple.
Flexibility
With Gym exercises the muscles get harder and joints become less lubricated. It makes the body and muscles more rigid and less flexible. A good physique and flexible body aids agility. An Agile body leads to agile mind (quick in thinking). Its very important to work on the mind at a very young age. An agile mind fights depression and dejection better and you are able to face life challenges in a better manner. It’s yoga that works on the mind… never a gym exercise.
Joints and Bones
An adult human body has 206 bones and 360 joints. In the gym you exercise 4-5 bones structure and 2-3 joints. Like lifting dumbbells ~2 joints exercise. In Yoga when you do asana you exercise at least 10-15 joints in the body. Like virbhadharasan-2 ~12 joints exercised.
And also, the re-formation of the bones happens only through yoga when the compressional load come over bones.
And there are other benefits of yoga on your physiological and mental sheath of the body.
Pranayama (regulation of life force energy-prana)
There is a verse in Hatha Yoga Pradipika “chale vatam chale chittam” means where the prana (vishva chitanya shakti) moves the chitta (consciousness) moves. With the help of pranayama, we consciously slow down the breath and make it rhythmic, which leads to cessation of our thoughts and achieve tranquility of the mind.
With the help of deep breathing and retention of the breath one can calm the nervous system and energies the nerves. Which helps in hypertension, improves digestion, boost immune system, strengthen the respiratory system, relieves chronic stress, reduce insomnia, can help in post-traumatic stress disorder, improves para-sympathetic nervous system, calms the flight and fright response system and reduce stress hormones.
Yoga – a holistic approach
Yoga when approach and do religiously, it not only provides health and strength to your skeleton and muscular system but also works on your entire internal system like respiratory system, lymphatic system, circulatory system, reproductive system, endocrine system, glandular system, nervous system but also work over your tendencies which are karmic. When the body, mind and breath work in association in any asana it createsharmony among all the systems.The yoga asanas work internally along with the breath physiology to carve and sculpt the mindset.
Therefore, yoga and gym exercise are two different entities. Yoga is an ancient discipline which works not only holistic but also wholistic to all the body system. Associated body, associated breath and associated mind in asana practice brings the fruits of yoga.
Why do Body Builders suffer from Heart Attacks?
The heart’s main function is to pump blood, where the body demands it.
Body builders have much more muscle mass than the usual. More muscle mass means heavier, more intense workouts, both of which mean more demand of blood. To fulfill the demand the heart starts working abnormally and often, the heart muscle grows, without compensating for its function. When the heart works abnormally for long periods of time, it fails at one point and leads to heart attack. Excessive use of building the muscles in gym is bad for the heart and overall health of the physiological body.
