Often people confuse between yoga and meditation. It is due to the plenty of similarities between these two. I was one of those people who could not differentiate between yoga vs meditation. This article is to help you understand their benefits, similarities, and definitions.
For yogis, meditation is something they practice regularly. It is everything about peace of mind and concentration. Yoga, on the other hand, involves mental and physical peace. You practice different exercises to relax the soul through yoga.
Before understanding the difference between yoga vs meditation, here is a detailed definition of these two practices.
What Is Yoga?
Yoga is the practice to remove hurdles and troubles from life. It is a way of life meaning ‘union’ in pure Sanskrit. This terminology connects an individual with their spiritual goals.
You can practice yoga to experience a peaceful living. It includes stretching your body, relaxing your mind, and tapering yourself to nature. Because it is originated in India, the different limbs of yoga are named in Sanskrit.
Each pose of yoga offers a health benefit to yogis. Experts consider the forward bending and back supporting as a relaxing pose. Moving on, arm balancing and sun salutations pair up in the activation pose.
Experts find it difficult to explain yoga in words. It is why they consider it as a way of life. To conclude, you can find yoga as a holistic approach for the mind, health, and body.
Its eight limbs by name are,
- Yama – Self conduct
- Niyama – Social conduct
- Asana – Physical strength
- Pranayama – Breath control
- Pratyahara – Restraining senses
- Dharana – Concentration
- Dhyana – Meditation
- Samadhi – Intense concentration
These can be explained in depth to anyone seeking yoga. Overall, yoga practices relieve your physical and emotional nervousness.
What Is Meditation?
As mentioned above, meditation, ‘Dhyana’ is the seventh limb of yoga. It is an approach through which you can keep the mind steady and relaxed. One who masters meditation reaches a higher level of stability and consciousness.
You can understand yoga as the art of focusing on different senses and objects. While dhyana is a limb of yoga, most yogis practice it after yoga.
It is because the postures of yoga intensify multiple vibrations in your body. And to overcome these, meditation is practiced.
To understand further, take a look at the difference between yoga and meditation.
Yoga Vs Meditation – The Difference
No doubt, yoga and mediation are about peace of mind. But, at the end of the day, both practices provide some differences too. You can give attention to some prominent ones for details.
Final result
The biggest difference between yoga and meditation is their final result. After practicing yoga, you can achieve not only mental peace but physical stability too. In contrast, mediation only brings your brain to rest.
Practices
The most prominent difference between yoga and meditation is its performance. You meditate without moving any part of your body. It is all about staying in a single position and concentrating on everything around you.
An individual can exercise their mind by meditating. It also helps you connect with your surroundings while resting your body.
On the other hand, yoga is the complete involvement of your mental and physical self. It is practiced for internal plus external strength. You can find plenty of exercises, postures, and breathing patterns in yoga.
At a basic rate, plenty of practitioners find yoga as a big challenge. To breathe in different patterns at a single position is tedious. Once you understand how to maintain the balance between these two, things start getting easy. Also, shifting positions in yoga can lead to heavy sweating.
Moving on, yoga also leads to multiple health benefits. It boosts cardiovascular health, flexibility, weight loss, and muscle strength.
Limitations
Yoga and meditation are also different in terms of restrictions. These two practices are healthy for everyone. However, for some people, these may be unhealthy.
For instance, yoga has plenty of asanas that you cannot practice on an empty stomach. Likewise, some postures of yoga can be risky during different ailments. Another precaution of yoga is to prevent intaking anything before or after 30 minutes.
Moving on, meditation also comes with some restrictions. Though it is all about the mental stability of an individual, some people may still be unable to meditate.
Most often, individuals undergoing psychological or physical issues find it difficult to meditate. Interestingly, these people find yoga easier and better.
Yoga and Meditation – The Benefits
The results of yoga and meditation are positive by the end of the day. Regardless of their restrictions and differences, the benefits of these two are worth reading.
From strengthening your posture to boosting mental peace, I have listed down the most common benefits of yoga and meditation.
- Strengthening of your muscles, joints, and bones.
- Better flexibility in the spinal cord.
- Cure from the severeness of arthritis.
- Relief from migraines and headaches.
- Recommended therapy to get over hangovers.
- Boosting of cardiovascular health.
- Relief from severe congestion and asthma.
- Enhancement of metabolism rate and digestion.
- Remedy for a peaceful slumber.
- Improvement in spiritual health.
When to Practice Yoga and Meditation?
Do not skip the logical and necessary part while differentiating yoga and meditation. Make sure you know when to add these two practices to your routine.
Often people find meditation difficult at the start. Thus, experts recommend practicing it for shorter periods every day. Soon as you are stable enough, increasing from ten to fifteen minutes can be a strategy.
Likewise, yoga is a tough practice for beginners. Some postures and patterns can be challenging and hurting. Thus, it is highly recommended that you start with simple yoga.
Another way to perform these two is altogether. Experts often practice yoga and meditation at a time for mindfulness and strength.
The Bottom Line
In a nutshell, yoga and meditation have an intense connection with each other. Regardless of their differences and similarities, both cater to spiritual needs.
Thus, if you are looking to eliminate fuss from your life, practice both. Understand the dos and don’ts of these two and start living a healthy life!
