Water is the ultimate source of life, and nothing can survive without it. Like air is essential to breathe, there is equal importance of water in a yogi’s life. Yoga is a form of physical activity; hence it requires you to continuously hydrate and make up for all the body’s fluids lost by sweating.
The human body constitutes of two-third of water (about 75% of the body’s weight). It is a prime nutrient in carrying out the vital functions of the body. The water present in your body is mostly found in cells and blood vessels. The body can survive for many weeks without food, but can only last a few days without water.
Ayurveda suggests drinking about 7-8 glasses of water to stay hydrated and maintain optimal health conditions. Yoga benefits the body in many ways, but without water and other nutrients, your body will not develop correctly, and you will only end up feeling weak. By drinking sufficient quantities of water, you can ensure that your body maintains good health.
Water is one of the five elements in Ayurvedic philosophy, an essential component of all things alive. Without it, plants would wither away and we would not survive. Furthermore, good health is only conceivable if water flows and runs into our veins as blood. According to Ayurveda, water is the globally recognized symbol for the human soul, also representing the sacral chakra, the area of the body that is responsible for generating life.
Here, are some of the benefits that state the importance of water in a yogi’s life, and what it can offer to the human body, which might make you reconsider your lack of liquid intake, if you have not formed the habit yet.
Learn The Importance of Water in a Yogi’s Life
1. Hydrates your skin and makes it supple
Not many theories believe that water can hydrate skin. Well, water alone is not enough to treat dry skin, that’s true. But, it still is an essential component. While creams, face washes, and yoga practice do their part on the outside, water does its magic on the inside.
There is great importance of water in a yogi’s life when it comes to skincare, it unclogs the blocked pores and gets rid of harmful wastes from your body accumulated because of eating junk food and breathing polluted air.
Related Article : Yoga For Glowing Skin – Learn Poses To Get Better Skin Naturally
2. Helps You Control your Diet
Have you come across the feeling that you are still hungry even after a good meal? Well, that feeling is common for all. You might think that you are still hungry, but the truth is that your body is signaling you to hydrate. The human mind is not programmed to differentiate between hunger and thirst. Hence, you end up eating more than your share for the day and end up gaining weight.
Next time this happens, try drinking water first. If your body relaxes after that, you will know what it meant. Furthermore, you can also drink three glasses of water before starting your meal to control the amount of food you eat.
3. Helps in increasing the functions of heart
Your heart is constantly working 24 hours a day and 365 days in a year. It pumps around 2000 gallons of blood a day.
When you dehydrate, the muscles of your heart get strained too, hence making it work harder because of the decreased volume of blood passing through. Other than that, the sodium levels in your blood increase, which makes it difficult for blood to circulate through the body.
Keep yourself well hydrated to increase the functionality of your heart.
4. Promotes weightloss
People of different weights and heights require different amounts of water to lose weight. However, the normal amount of water a person should drink must be between half to one ounce for each pound that you weigh.
When we talk about weight loss, the importance of water in a yogi’s life comes in as a metabolism booster and appetite suppressant. It also helps your body from retaining water, which can stop the bloating that you experience every time towards the end of the day.
Try chilling your drinking water in the fridge, as studies have revealed that this method speeds your metabolism and burns more calories due to the effort that the body puts trying to warm it up.
5. Boosts immunity
Water is a natural immunity booster. You can call water ‘a magic potion’ especially when it comes to improving your health and well-being. Water delivers oxygen to your bloodstream while removing toxins that can be harmful to the body’s functioning in the long run. Drinking more water prevents toxins from piling up inside your immune system.
6. Boosts brain’s function
Like every cell in the body, the brain too requires water at an adequate level, to function properly. When the brain dehydrates, you might face memory problems, mental tiredness, and even confusion, because of shrinking grey matter. Drinking adequate amounts of water will also ensure that the level of blood flow and oxygen supply to the brain is stable.
7. Alleviates energy levels
Why purchase energy drinks available in the market, when you have water available everywhere to replenish you? Water is a great energy booster. People everywhere are fatigued and are blaming all the symptoms of hunger. Well, it’s true, hunger makes us moody, tired, and gives us headaches. But, so does dehydration.
So, the next time you feel any of these symptoms just grab a bottle of water and gulp it down. You will be energized, and best of all, you will know whether you were really hungry.
8. Great antioxidant
This is one of the greatest importance of water in a yogi’s life. Water is a natural cleanser. While beauty products are necessary for cleaning the exterior of your body, water does the same work internally.
It removes toxins from the liver, via urination, which is responsible for most chronic diseases when piled up for a long time. It improves your bowels, thus preventing constipation, which results when contents of colon becomes dry and gets stuck.
9. Saves lives and money
Talking about the importance of water, it saves lives. You can understand the feeling if you would have been roaming in the desert without water. Water is everywhere and can be easily found, (at least for now) to drink.
Furthermore, it is also cheaper than aerated or flavored drinks. Furthermore, if you carry your own bottle of water, it is absolutely free. So, go ahead and drink water.Don’t forget to carry your own bottle to yoga class, to keep yourself hydrated.
Tips to Stay Hydrate Before, During, and After Doing Yoga
Below are 4 important tips on water and yoga that every practitioner should follow.
1. Do not drink water during yoga class
People often wonder “can we drink water during yoga?” The first and foremost tip for the importance of water in a yogi’s life is not to drink water during a yoga session. You might ask why? The reasons being:
- It can be a distraction especially because you might want to rush to the bathroom in between sessions.
- Water cools down the body, thus diminishing the Pranic fire.
- It interferes with the flow of Prana
The right thing to do is to drink water half an hour before or after class to replenish all the moisture lost during the practice. The only time you can drink water during a yoga class is if you are practicing Bikram yoga or Ashtanga yoga.
2. Hydrate with foods
You can get creative with your source of liquids. You only need to keep healthy. Many fruits have a high water content like for instance, watermelon, orange, apple, and grapes.
Save yourself from bad health and toxins piling up in your body by buying such fruits next time you are feeling dehydrated. It will be a change of taste for your buds and maintain your calorie in check.
3. Flavor your liquids
Add some lemon to your water and make lemonade on a warm and sunny day. It will ensure that you do not lose your motivation to hydrate yourself, especially when you are just forming the habit. You can also create a smoothie from fruits with high water content and add it to make a healthy breakfast, thus also keeping you pepped up for the day.
4. Avoid aerated drinks
Speaking about the importance of water in a yogi’s life, you must remember that aerated drinks have less of water and more of air and sugar. You are only inviting more toxins and calories to your body by consuming these products. Always remember aerated drinks can never substitute water and its benefits.
Conclusion
The importance of water in a yogi’s life does not just end here. There are numerous other ways that water plays in everyday activities. It plays a vital role in shaping not just the exterior body but internally as well. Just as lubricant is necessary for the smooth functioning of a car’s engine, the same can be said about water for the human body’s mechanism.
Not sure whether you are dehydrated? Check for visible signs like chapped lips and dark urine.
Drink plenty water to keep your overall body health in check.
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