mjnaushad...best answer to mr. sirius
ok sirius here is something interesting read it feel free to disagree.
Prayers, apart from nourishing your soul, are also good for health!
A Malaysian study suggests that prostration in praying is benefic for ones health.
Salah (the Islamic prayer), is an exercise which is good for hearth and spine. It also enhances memory and concentration abilities.
The Islamic prayer consists of the following steps:
1. standing with hands on top of each other at chest level
2. bowing down with hands resting on knees
3. standing up from bowing with hands by the side
4. going in prostration (sajjda) once
5. lifting face up from prostration but sitting on the ground
6. doing a second prostration (Sajjda) and then getting up
These psysical movements that a Muslim does during prayer strenghten the joints and muscles and stimulate blood circulation. Consequently, they also prevent the stagnation of bloog in the veins of the legs (which may lead to coagulation and other problems).
Sajdah is a unique position or stance in the regular prayers, which a Muslim is supposed to offer at least five times a day.
Although the basic purpose of obligatory prayers isnt to provide an exercise for people, it is being increasingly recognized that it has plenty of medical advantages.
Sajdah is a unique position as this is the only position in which brain (or head) becomes lower than the heart and hence for the first time the blood gushes towards the brain with full force whereas in all other positions (even when lying) brain is above the heart when it has to work against gravity to send blood to the brain.
In the position of Sajdah due to the increased blood supply the brain receive more nourishment and it has good effect upon memory, vision, hearing, concentration, psyche and all other cognitive abilities. People who offer their prayers regularly have more will power and can cope with the difficulties of life in a much better manner. They have fewer incidences of headaches, psychological problems and other defects of cognitive function.
Prostration in prayer
Not only the Muslim prayers have such benefic prayer movements. References to kneeling and prostration to express ones humbleness before the Almighty abound in the Bible and are practiced by such notables as Abraham, Moses and Aaron, Joshua, Elijah, Solomon and Jesus.
Prostration in prayer is still practiced by some members of the Russian Orthodox Church and some Catholics still maintain kneeling in prayer. In contrast, Baptists and other Christian denominations have abandoned kneeling, and the Jewish liturgy has eliminated it altogether. The only exception perhaps is the Samaritan Jew, whose prayer is similar to the Muslims prayer, but for the language.
While getting up from Sajdah the perennial muscles are one of those muscles which have to pull the trunk back to sitting position and they contract actively.
Similarly while standing up from Sajdah the perennial muscles are again actively mobilized and this gives much strength to the muscles important for manpower.
The unique position of Sajdah also has positive effects upon the back muscles as while going into Sajdah and getting up from it the back muscle contract actively and they become stronger. Probably it is because of this reason that a person who is regular in prayers will uncommonly get backache.
Although prayer in religion is not meant to be an exercise, there are lots of medical advantages associated with it. Still, the best thing a prayer can offer is peace of mind.