With all the current problems we are facing, it is easy to feel unease and under a big amount of stress, anxiety, or even depression. Everyone copes with it in their own way, but, wouldn’t it be great to find some kind of exercise that helps us achieve that so wanted peace of mind?

Yoga and meditation are considered to help with stress reduction and also influence how we relate to mental and physical health issues .

These techniques can be really helpful, but you might not know exactly what they are. That is why we want to make clear each of them so you can focus on reaching that relaxation state.

So, is yoga or meditation better for your physical and mental health?

What Is Difference between Yoga and Meditation?

Some say it is the same, others think they are totally different.

If you also find yourself questioning if they are similar or unrelated to each other, we bring to your attention the main differences between yoga and meditation.

All You Need to Know About Yoga

Yoga means the union of your soul and the Divine Spirit, in Sanskrit. It is originally from ancient India, and it is divided into three main practices:

1. Asanas (promoting postures)
2. Pranayama (breath work)
3. Dhyana (meditation)

If you have never practiced yoga, you might not know how much exercise you actually do and how tiring it may be.

In fact, it is hard and involves a lot of physical training . You will sweat and your muscles will hurt, as stretch, flexibility, and strength are the basics of yoga practices.

Is yoga a form of meditation? Not really, but yoga is not only stretching and an aim to obtain a better physical form. It also exercises your mind, body, and spirit in unison. It’s a way of life!

It has many benefits, in which we find an improvement in your day-to-day habits, as well as achieving peace of mind, emotional, and mental stability.

Why is Meditation Important?

Meditation is also originated in ancient India from the word Dhyana. It is actually part of yoga, being the higher state of consciousness.

This exercise requires no movements, the individual sits in a peaceful place and tries to focus all their energies on a particular object or any other means that help to concentrate.

The main difference from yoga is that meditation is performed after yoga when your body is filled with vibrations, and it is also part of it. Meditation helps to gain stable conditions on both mind and body. That is why it is executed after a yoga session.

Overall, meditation focuses on the exercise of the mind and how we relate to experiences. But, we can also train the body with body scan meditation. It’s not only mental!

You need to be calm and relaxed, controlling your breathing. Cut distractions to improve concentration. With this, you will be able to experience the world through meditation in a positive way.

Yoga vs Meditation: What Is Better for Your?

Actually, it only depends on what you are looking for in a training session. Both have benefits, and from what we have said before we can see that they are closely related. It mainly depends on your goals.

For example, if you want to work on your anxiety, stress, or any other mental burden, you might find that meditation is more helpful and will give you the solutions you are searching for. You can get results faster!

On the other hand, if you have a hard time concentrating and can’t vision yourself slowing down to meditate, yoga might be the perfect solution. As well as blending mental with physical training. Doing yoga might help you prepare for meditation.

Why Yoga And Meditation Belong Together

Yoga has many benefits that have been based on scientific evidence, some of them are:

• It can help you decrease stress
• Helps improving heart health
• It may reduce depression
• Reduces chronic pain
• Enhances sleep quality
• Improves flexibility, balance, and strength

As you can see, there are many benefits to choosing to do yoga. But is meditation a form of yoga? As said before, meditation is part of yoga, so you might find similar benefits.

Here are some of the many good things that meditating can bring to your life:

• Fight age-related memory loss
• Control anxiety
• Increases your focus and attention
• Helps to fight addictions
• More control of pain
• Can decrease blood pressure

If you are interested in knowing more about all the benefits, here you can find the best practices and their benefits.

To sum up, both practices are very beneficial and it mainly depends on what you want to focus on and on what to improve from your life.

So, why choose one when you can have both?

Combining Yoga and Meditation

Now that you know the benefits and definitions of each practice, you might be thinking that both techniques could be more powerful when combining them. After all, meditation is part of yoga. We would be able to work on developing mindfulness, concentration, and to better understand our bodies.

Both help each other. Meditation helps you relax and be more conscious of your body, so when you do yoga, you can be calm and aware of your every move.

But, you should also be thinking about other factors that might influence apart from yoga and meditation. Following a healthy lifestyle is not only exercising, but you also have to eat healthily. You must be aware that meditation might not solve all your problems, sometimes it is better to search for psychological help.

Now it’s time for you to start searching for the best practices to achieve the perfect balance in your life!