Yoga and meditation have been used interchangeably by many folks for years and have become trendy these days despite the fact that they do not necessarily mean the same thing. In fact, the meanings of both yoga and meditation are not the same. In this article, these words will be explained in detail as well as the benefits they offer to humanity.The word ‘yoga’ is derived from Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language and it means ‘union.’ It signifies the connection between the spirit and the soul. In fact, ‘yoga’ refers to the state of the union as well as the means to make such a union happen. The bible of yoga which contains the ‘Eight Limbs of Yoga’ was formulated by an ancient sage who hailed from India. A yogi, therefore, is a person who has permanently accomplished the distinguished state of a spiritual union after going through the each of the stages of yoga.Meditation, on the other hand, is a word that was derived from one of the Limbs of yoga. It is a state of consciousness or awareness. Meditation can also be said to be a form of spiritual position or condition that a practicing yogi attains successfully by turning his attention inward and blocking his senses as well as other distractions. Thus, the yogi rises above the restless mind to get in touch with his inner self. To be precise, one can’t meditate; however, the only way to create the state of meditation is by practicing specific aspects of yoga. A yogi, to attain the state of meditation, relaxes his body, calms his mind, and maintains proper breathing techniques to control the life force. The tradition of yoga is designed to help you control the life force. This Hindu spiritual practice incorporates breathing techniques which leads to a simple form of meditation while physically bringing both the mind and body, thus creating harmony. Yoga and meditation go hand in hand and also provide numerous health as well as physiological benefits or effects on the body. The following are a few reasons why you should practice yoga and meditation: i. Both yoga and meditation improve health. By pressurizing your internal organs gently, you will enable them to function as they should. Yoga postures facilitate the smooth functioning of your digestive system and help to prevent problems like indigestion, constipation, and acidity which are conditions that are relatively common and have the potential of leading to more severe complications later on. These techniques also help to lower your blood pressure, thus improving your health significantly.ii. Yoga and meditation have also been proven to help people lose excess weight. Over the last century, our food sources and lifestyles have changed drastically. The jobs of nowadays have made us more deskbound than usual, leading to one of the most significant health problems known as obesity. By practicing yoga and meditation, not only will you lose weight but you will also be able to use your mental strength to control how you eat, resulting in permanent and healthy weight loss.iii. Yoga and meditation engender inner peace in the core of your being, thereby making you a happy and contented person. To sum it up, yoga and meditation are not the same; the former is a subset of the latter and the benefits associated with these ancient Hindu practices cannot be quantified.

There is no doubt that life is all about balance, but daily responsibilities at home and work have beclouded this vital principle. By spending excessive amounts of energy on only one area of your life, other areas or aspects may begin to deteriorate. This is why it is highly crucial that you find balance in your life to attain happiness and inner peace.If you are not living a balanced life as a result of spending too much time at work, thereby leaving less time for hobbies or relaxation, etc. – it could lead to anxiety and stress which could also affect your mental health in general. In such cases, burnouts are inevitable, and you could unexpectedly find yourself laid up for bed rest without planning for it.When you maintain a balanced lifestyle, your performance or efficiency at your workplace will remain at its peak while your relationships and health continue to improve. Other reasons for finding balance in your life are outlined in the next few paragraphs:i. Every job has its attendant stress or hassles, but you should not allow your work to lead you to burn out. When you begin to feel overwhelmed and incompetent when it comes to meeting the demands of your job, then you are on the highway to Burnout Avenue. Burnouts have profound and adverse effects in every area of one’s life. You need to find the right balance between work and other aspects of your life by ensuring that anything work-related remains in your office and not brought home with you. You should never allow your duties or work infiltrate your home life in any way.ii. When you find balance in your life, especially between your work and home, you will have greater control over where you focus lies. This is because whenever you leave your workplace, all your attention will be focused on your home or social life, thus giving your relationships the needed care they require. Spending quality time with your family or friends at home will be valuable, and thoughts of work will be kept at bay. Likewise, when you are at your workplace, all thoughts of home life will not be entertained as you put greater focus on your duties or the tasks at hand. Thus, you will become more efficient at handling your work while being there for your family.iii. Stress can bring about different symptoms which can affect your wellbeing and overall health. Health issues such as severe digestive or respiratory problems could arise without warning, thereby endangering your life. This is why you need to create time to eat well, perform exercises, and to relax.To create balance in your life, you need to do the following:Organize your clutter – You can do this by prioritizing tasks and writing what needs to be organized. Once written, they will serve as your daily target, and you will be able to meet them efficiently.Delegate tasks – Delegating tasks to the right people will reduce your time and cut down the energy you use in carrying out your responsibilities. This will be easier if you are not a perfectionist.Manage time – You need to learn how to efficiently manage your time so that you will be able to achieve a lot in little time. This will free up more time for you to do other things or face other aspects of your life.As you can see, finding balance in your life is quite rewarding. If you’re yet to find balance in your life, it’s not too late to begin the process of finding balance in your life. I’ve also given some tips that would help you create balance with ease.

The human body's immune is in-charge of fighting off organisms that are a threat to your health such as bacteria and viruses that cause sicknesses like a cold or flu. However, there is a problem – the immune system can get limited at certain points in time due to various reasons. Let's say, you consume alcohol a lot or you are a smoker, your immune system is exposed to being compromised and thereby not performing its function which leads to bacteria and viruses having a field day in the body.The functioning of your immune system depends on the food you consume as well as nutritional supplements and a few other ways.Here are a few tips to maintain a healthy immune system:DietYour immune system can benefit from you consuming foods that have natural antioxidants like blueberries. Also, other foods like spinach, garlic, oranges, green tea, bread, cereals are also good to help boost the function of the immune system. Foods that are fatty, especially the ones with polyunsaturated fats should be avoided.ExerciseAt least, moderate exercise is a very good way to keep your immune system functioning properly, even if it's just walking once in a day. Exercise allows proper circulation which helps in removing any toxins present in the organs and muscles; the immune system gets strengthened through this.3. Sleep: Proper sleep is very good to keep the immune system running. Lack of sleep increases stress hormones, which could compromise the immune system.HydrationTaking 10-12 glasses of water is of great benefit to the immune system to retain moisture in the body. The mucous membranes of the mouth and nasal passages are required to remain hydrated so the immune system would be able to fight off organisms that pose danger to one's health. Another function of water is that it flushes toxins out of organs such as the kidneys and liver, as well as aid oxidation in the bloodstream for the promotion of better health.Reduce alcoholYes, a lot of men might find this difficult to believe but it's the plain truth. Although, alcohol has its own benefits but when it becomes too much, it could pose a problem. The immune system could become weak if there is too much alcohol in the body. It would weaken the white blood cells which have the responsibility of fighting off germs and other organisms that causes illness.Nutritional supplementsScientists have done a lot of research over the years in creating supplements which play a very significant role to keep you healthy. Supplements contain vitamins and minerals which are very essential to the body and thereby boosting the work of the immune system.It is advised that people with weak immune systems take nutritional supplements to get them back on track, thus, supplements are very important. The human body undergoes various challenges on a daily basis but supplements have been seen to be very effective in supporting the functioning of the immune system.