Generally the following happens to take care of health.

• Improves your flexibility
• Perfects your posture
• Prevents cartilage and joint breakdown
• Betters your bone health
• Increases your blood flow

http://purpleblossomyogastudio.com/clients/16293/documents/38_Benefits_of_Yoga.pdf

--- India celebrated June 21, 2015 as International Yoga Day -- 177 countries celebrated ---

Yoga is becoming more and more popular because it’s not only a fantastic meditation practice, but it’s also a great exercise regimen for all ages.

Other than using caution with some positions, there aren’t many disadvantages to Yoga. However, there are plenty of benefits for nearly anyone, regardless of your age. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at some of the pros and cons of Yoga:

Pros and health benefits:

1. Yoga increases strength and flexibility

2. Yoga works on the whole body. 

3. Yoga transforms your flabby muscles.

4. Yoga is a natural detoxification process.

5. Yoga can alleviate pain.

6. Yoga relieves stress.

7. Yoga harmonizes your body and mind as one.

8. Yoga stabilizes emotions.

9. Yoga works well on arthritic areas.

Some cautions:

1. Use caution with Yoga headstands.

Some optometrists have warned that Yoga headstands could lead to glaucoma, but there haven’t been enough studies on this to draw a firm conclusion.

2. Be wary of Dahn Yoga.

Dahn Yoga is a Korean Yoga idea, whch may be nothing more than a sales pitch to get your money by putting the word “Yoga” in there. It seems to include a lot of counting and chanting with no focus on breathing.

3. Use caution with Bikram Yoga.

Bikram Yoga, also known as “Hot Yoga”, is performed in a hot room. Some doctors say this isn’t good for your body, while others say it is. You can avoid this controversy by simply sticking with the basics.

 In summary, practicing yoga with a trained instructor can benefit your mind, body, and inner self. With yoga, you’ll be able to relieve stress, strengthen your muscles, and promote your health and well-being.

http://www.inspiredabundance.com/abundance-of-health/yoga-for-every-age-pros-cons/

http://www.yogajournal.com/article/health/count-yoga-38-ways-yoga-keeps-fit/

I don't practice yoga, but one advantage of it, I think, apart from excerising your body, is that it can also help you exercise your breath and modulate your thoughts, i.e. yoga is also a good method for meditation. 

Thanks  to all colleagues your data were helpful for me you are all send me the needed Knowledgment

Regular  practice of yoga offers numerous health (mind-body-soul) benefits. However, if done incorrectly it can cause health problems. Essence of yoga practice is to become aware of the upward flow of energy along the spine. Each yoga-posture is based on this simple principle. For this, mindful deep breathing is essential. Each posture had been designed by the ancient yogis targeting different parts of our body's internal organs ensuring proper blood flow. In my long experience of regular practice hatha-yoga is the best form of  scientific holistic exercise available to us. But it needs to be learnt from an expert yogi. 

Thank you Tushar Kanti Ray ·your answer was valuable for me

 Meaning of word Yoga is: A method of uniting individual soul (Jiva) with Supreme Soul (Paramatma) or God. There are four such methods or paths. Bhakti Yoga (path of devotion), Karma Yoga (Path of self-less action), Gnyan (or Jnan) Yoga (Path of knowledge) and Raja Yoga (Path of mysticism). The first three yoga has nothing to do with physical exercise or healing. Most of the Raja Yoga also talks about things other than exercise. All the physical exercise make up a small portion of Raja Yoga. If someone wishes to learn more about these four Yoga, I suggest the following book. "The Four Yogas of Swami Vivekananda." But I warn you to the fact that you will not find anything about excercise or healing in this book.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17404594-the-four-yogas-of-swami-vivekananda

Yoga is defined as a practice consisting of three components: gentle stretching; exercises for breath control; and meditation as a mind-body intervention. The version used mainly in the West is hatha yoga, which consists of an integration of asana (postures), pranayama (breathing exercise), and meditation. Although yoga has its origins in Indian culture and religion, it can be practised secularly and continue today. It is science ,which connect the mental and physiological health. 

good definition from you Amitava Acharyya thanks alot

THank you very much Krishnan Umachandran & Subhash C. Kundu ·for these helpful papers 

This article gives top 10 Yoga benefits. Besides our dear RG colleagues, I really wish that our colleagues, who are involved in physical education, get notice of them & include them in the training of students. Physical education is more than football & other famous games.

http://www.artofliving.org/yoga/yoga-benefits/top-ten-yoga-benefits

Yoga is not a religion. The word Yoga means “union”: the integration of mind and body through exercise, meditation and breathing. On the physical level, yoga uses various poses, called “asanas”, these postures keep the spine supple, promote blood flow, build strength and increase flexibility. On a mental level, yoga uses breathing techniques to

quiet, clarify and discipline the mind.

I think Yoga is union of not only mind and body, but of our soul also. As the soul controls the mind, attitude and instincts of us.

Please go through the url

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001706X13000569

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4278136/

Thanks Guruprasad the second article added new knowledge for me thank you again i took these data

Hello Fatima,

Yoga has also been researched in application to psychological benefits. The following recent study focuses on benefits of (hatha) yoga in conjunction with psychotherapy for anxiety disorders:

Johnna Medina, Lindsey Hopkins, Mark Powers, Scarlett O. Baird & Jasper Smits (2015): The Effects of a Hatha Yoga Intervention on Facets of Distress Tolerance, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, DOI: 10.1080/16506073.2015.1028433

As you may know, and as several others have suggested, "yoga" -- while most commonly associated in the West with the asanas and physical exercises of hatha yoga -- is also a term used to indicate contemplative union and integration, in such domains as:

* karma yoga -- the practice of selfless action

* bhakti yoga -- the practice of spiritual devotion

* jnana yoga -- the practice of analytic insight, and

* raja yoga -- the practice of meditation

Thanks David for this discussion about yoga forms I added them to my research

Thanks David for this discussion about yoga forms I added them to my research

Dear Krishnan, they are interesting benefits for yoga thanks

Dear Fatima,

in my opinion, Yoga brings balance and it helps a lot to good health!

Vanessa

Thanks Vanessa for your participation

When a person decides to engage in a yoga workout, many times it is at home with a DVD, no instructor, and very little knowledge of the basics behind the yoga philosophy.  This can be quite dangerous and result in serious injury. 

Yoga does not mean some or more postures only and doing it against the normal body flexibility. Yoga balances catabolic and anabolic processes of the body and therefore needs meditation. Children below 12 years of age should not follow hard postures of the Yoga. Yoga is a philosophy therefore there are different words like 'karm-yog', 'dnyan-yog', 'Bhakti-yog' as described in 'Gita' (practices of yoga might be older than Vedic era in India).

Dear Fatima,

you could refer to the link http://caeyc.org/main/caeyc/proposals-2011/pdfs/KellyPinzak.pdf

 Also, the current evidence on Yoga suggests that it is definitely beneficial in most non-communicable diseases. It could be used in multiple ways - 

1. For primary prevention

2. Management of diseases

3. Rehab strategy 

4. As complementary to conventional medicine

If you are looking for a scientific explanation than philosophical on how yoga can affect health, kindly refer to plenty of systematic reviews that are available on yoga.

I have shared a few of them below:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2176136/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3555015/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3608162/

Yoga has the innate capacity to cure different diseases. Specific yoga trigger the particular organ in the body enabling the ease of different disease symptoms. Yoga is extremely useful in prevention and management of lifestyle disorders. Please take a look at the following references.

Article Effects of Yoga on Mental and Physical Health: A Short Summa...

Article Positive health through Yoga

Article Role of yoga in health and disease.

Article Significance of yoga in modern life

Article Role of yoga in prevention and management of lifestyle disorders

Article Yoga – The Non-Pharmaceutical Approach For Lifestyle Disorders

Article Therapeutic Role of Yoga in Type 2 Diabetes

Article Yoga practices for prevention and management of lifestyle disorders

Article Role of Yoga in Cardiac Disease and Rehabilitation

Yoga can also lower blood pressure and reduce insomnia.” Other physical benefits of yoga include: increased flexibility. increased muscle strength and tone.

It improve human health.

Many thanks Dr. Arvind Singh for the links.

Please also take a look at the following PDF attachments.

We used yoga for lymphoedema treatment. Please go through the following references.