Difference between Yoga asana and other Physical exercises

                  Being stated as the third limb of Ashtanga Yoga compiled by Maharishi Pathanjali, Yoga Asanas play an important role in balancing different systems of the body such as the skeletal system, nervous system, muscular system, digestive system etc. However unlike other physical exercises, practices associated with breathing techniques in Yoga Asanas help to attain balance between your mind, body and emotions. The whole process of Yoga Asanas focus on non-violent, slow and non-competitive movements. Yoga Asanas are categorised as forward bending, backward bending, stretching,lateral bending, twisting and inverted postures. So these asanas affect all your systems and improve functioning of every organ both internally and externally.

                   All other physical exercises such as training in gymnasium, athletics, gymnastics, swimming, circus etc mainly focus on longevity, fitness, stamina, muscle building etc.These practices only focus on certain parts of the body and these are not full body exercises. Some of these exercises such as gymnastics, circus and gym, require external equipment or support for its practice. But Yoga Asanas can be done without any support or external equipment or machines.

                Workouts in a gymnasium bring good health and fitness. It also helps to develop good muscles and improves body aesthetics but not the posture.Here the movements are very intense and vigorous and requires a lot of effort for building body muscles. Lifting more weights also leads to diseases such as cardiac diseases, slip disc, piles, etc. These practices have no mental involvement because usually in gymnasiums, people watch TVs, mobile phones and listen to music during workout so body awareness is not there. Excess muscle build up decreases the range of motion for the body.Overtraining in gymnasium also increases cardiovascular stress and later simple workouts become effortful.

               An athlete or sportsperson needs physical exercises for improving skills or performing in a competition.Here the movements are very fast and requires and requires more oxygen, nutrients and water to the cells.Lactic acid is produced in your muscles and builds up during fast and intense workouts. It can lead to painful, sore muscles. This lactic acid build up due to exercise is usually temporary and not cause for a lot of concern, but it can affect your workouts by causing pain and discomfort.  These practices have no influences on mind and personality. These competitive practices really make a person more intolerant and aggressive.

      Athletics, circus and such performance oriented practices are also trained vigorous and violent. These practices are also very risky to perform and lead to serious injuries. Since there is no breath control and due to a competitive mindset, it doesn’t give a positive influence on personality and the mind.

              Ancient text Hatha Yoga Pradipika written by sage Swatmarama says that asanas help one to attain good health, body and most importantly leads the aspirant to attain steadiness, perfect health and lightness of body (sthairyam,arogyam,anga laghavam). Another text Gheranda Samhitha says that asana helps to attain firmness to the body(dradham). 

                In the case of Yoga Asanas, the practices are slow and non violent. Which helps to calm your mind. It also maintains anabolic and catabolic ratio of metabolism of the body to normal level.so after practicing Yoga Asanas one may feel more energetic than before. When we vigorously do other physical practices, it requires a lot of energy. Since each cell requires a lot of oxygen and energy, the body has to work more for bringing oxygen and nutrients to the cells and leads to tiredness. When the energy level decreases, there is a need to intake more food and hence there is an enhancement of the appetite within the body. So we increase the intake of food and it leads to digestive disorders, diabetes, blood pressure etc.Considering the body as a machine it has a lot of limitations. As a result the body loses its balance and management on its own systems and leads to diseases. 

               Non Yogic exercises increase the amount of carbon monoxide and other toxins which are harmful to our system. There is no breathing rhythm in non yogic exercises. But breath and mind are well connected to each other. Yogic practices have a good breathing rhythm and holding the Yoga Asana in its final position for a long time helps the practitioner to go beyond the limitations of the body. The steadiness thus acquired helps the aspirants for practicing other techniques like pranayama, dharana, dhyana and samadhi which are spiritual in nature.