Jun 20, Kathmandu: Mind, body, heart, and soul which have the key to becoming a healthy and happy human being lies in maintaining the well-being of these four components, no matter what your age.  International Yoga Day is celebrated on June 21, every year and it is the best occasion to include Yoga in our day-to-day life.

Yoga helps to maintain a healthy and fit life, but in order to achieve that, one needs to perform it with consistency, at least 1 hour of deep meditation per day can create a lot of change in the body. As you age, it is natural that your body and mind experience a certain degree of physical changes that can lead to fatigue.

Your joints begin to get rusty, your reflexes slow down, the body starts losing its elasticity, the muscles get weaker, and the mind, too, shows signs of exhaustion. However, given the aforementioned facts, it is important that you pay extra attention to your physical and mental well-being. One form of exercise that manages to let you do this is yoga.

Yoga plays a very important role in the physical and mental growth of the body, but due to irregular sleeping schedules and misbalanced Work-life, individuals don't get much time to practice yoga or to focus on their body and doing regular desk jobs for more than 8 hours per day can result to backaches, shoulder and neck pains and a stiff body which can lead to serious health issues in future.

So here are the Top 5 Asanas that an individual can perform at their workplace to relieve their stress reduce body aches and energize their body for a fit and a healthy lifestyle:  Here’s looking at five easy yoga postures that you should incorporate into your daily morning routine.

1. Tadasana

The ‘mountain pose’ is one of the easiest asanas in yoga and is considered particularly beneficial for those who are 60 years and above in age. Essentially meant to correct bad posture by working your abs, back, legs and core, this pose helps you:

• Improve your blood circulation
• Relieve stress
• Work on your stability and mobility
• Enhance the functioning of the digestive system
• Improve your posture when you stand or sit

2. Uttanasana

The classic inversion pose is an excellent way to deal with (or avoid) back-related problems. By standing in an inverted position, the asana stretches out your hamstrings, calves, lower back and puts pressure on your ankles, hips and abdomen. Uttanasana is known to:

• Relieve chronic back pain
• Aid blood circulation
• Lower stress levels
• Strengthen your hamstrings
• Make you more flexible

3. Baddha Konasana

The butterfly pose, as we all know it, is a great way to engage your groin area, which is usually a stiff and ignored part of the body. Ideally meant to be done early in the morning on an empty stomach, the Baddha Konasana helps:

• Stimulate your urinary bladder
• Manage kidney problems
• Improve the functioning of your digestive system
• Deal with the menopause process
• Relieve fatigue

4. Bhujangasana

A pose that resembles the rising head of a cobra, Bhujangasana is best known for its ability to engage the lower back, shoulders and chest. Individuals with spine injuries, back problems or lower back pain should ideally practice this asana every single morning. Bhujangasana helps you:

• Deal with lower back stiffness
• Address spinal pain
• Relieve pressure from the shoulders and chest
• Stretch and engage the abdomen
• Improve flexibility
• Get rid of hunching problems

5. Shavasana

Amongst the most popular and easiest of yogic asanas is the Shavasana. Meant to be done at the end of every yoga session (or workout), this posture involves lying down on your back and breathing uniformly, while relaxing every muscle in your body. Shavasana helps:

• Cure insomnia (a common problem during old age)
• Deal with constipation
• Improve concentration levels
• Ease stress and anxiety
• Improve mental health
• Rejuvenate your body

While there are several other asanas in yoga that can improve your overall health or target specific groups of muscles and joints in your body, the ones mentioned above are ideally recommended for seniors. Some other popular yoga postures include the likes of Vajrasana, Virabhadrasana, Trikonasana, Vrikshasana, Paschimottanasana, Balasana, Ardha Pavanamuktasana and Setu Bandhasana.

It is important that you only practice those asanas that you are comfortable with. If you find it difficult to carry out any such exercises at home, it is best that you visit a doctor and discuss what set of poses and asanas is ideal for your body.

Yoga is effective and all it takes is 30 to 60 minutes every morning for you to kick-start your day on a healthy note. Live strong, live long!