Yoga is accessible –– you can do it anywhere –– and it’s cost efficient. Whether you’re new to yoga or have been practicing for years, there’s no denying its many benefits. The centuries-old practice involves physical poses, breathing techniques, and meditation. It promotes physical, mental, and emotional health.
Benefits of Yoga:
1. Aids weight loss
Studies suggest that yoga can help you maintain or achieve a healthy weight in various ways. For example, yoga may aid in weight loss and management by helping you burn calories with physical poses. And it may promote healthier eating by increasing mindfulness.
2. Fosters better sleep
If you have trouble sleeping, yoga can be a relaxing way to end your day. In a national survey, more than 55% of people who did yoga reported better sleep. One small study showed that older individuals who did certain styles and poses –– like Hatha yoga –– reported better sleep quality.
3. Builds full-body strength
Building strength doesn’t have to be done solely through gym workouts or strength training sessions. In fact, using your own body weight as resistance is a form of resistance training and can be a great (and free) way to build strength across your entire body.
For example, Chaturanga (a key flowing transition in Yoga) builds strength in your upper body and core whilst Warrior poses works your lower body (hamstrings, quads and glutes).
Pick stronger styles like Vinyasa, Hatha, Power and Rocket to build muscular endurance and strength – just make sure to skew it to your level. Most teachers will give modification advice to make the poses easier, so listen out.
4. Helps to reduce stress and build stress resilience
It’s hard not to feel more than slightly wired with emails and social updates erupting out of your inbox. That’s where yoga comes in. Shown by academic experts to “reverse” the DNA reactions that cause stress, yoga also lowers levels of inflammatory compounds (cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the blood.
Stress makes us tense physically and mentally. Our flight or fight response activates, we get adrenaline rushes and our body releases cortisol which increases our heart rate and sends the blood to the muscles,’ describes long standing Yoga instructor. ‘Yoga helps us tune in with our rest and digest nervous system response, instead. Our body starts its recovery, restore and repair functions.
5. Regulates your nervous system response
Did you know there are two parts to your nervous system? Expert on this industry explains how Yoga works with both of them:
Yoga helps balance the autonomic nervous system. This system controls our heart, breath and, in fact, all functions that keep us alive and healthy. Yoga is found to help regulate the two parts of this system: the sympathetic (which helps energize the body) and parasympathetic (which helps heal the body).’
6. Reduces depression and anxiety
When added to traditional forms of mental health care, yoga may also help with symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Yoga trains us to better control our emotional responses and reactions to external stressors, most of which are out of your control. The average healthy young adult, for instance, has over 6,000 thoughts a day. “At the very least, yoga gives you a break from these daily thoughts, putting you back in control for a short time.”
7. Improves focus, memory, and cognition
In yoga classes, instructors will tell you to inhale and exhale during the poses. This breath control helps increase oxygen throughout your body, including your brain, Parker says. As a result, you may have better focus.
Regular yoga practice promotes mindfulness through meditation. Mindfulness refers to being aware of the present moment without any judgment. It allows you to focus on your body, thoughts, emotions, and environment. A small study found that mindful meditation is associated with better focus and less distraction. Mindfulness has also been linked to better cognitive flexibility, or your brain’s ability to adapt to new situations and alternate between tasks.
8. Increases flexibility
Increased flexibility is one of the benefits most associated with yoga, and it comes with other payoffs. When you increase your muscle flexibility, you can also improve your range of motion, making it easier to perform certain moves. This, in turn, could enhance your physical performance and reduce your risk of injury during yoga and other activities.
9. Boosts heart health
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death for adults in many countries. So anything that can improve heart health is a winner. In a study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, researchers found some promising evidence that yoga may help boost cardio-metabolic health. Benefits of better cardio-metabolic health include improved body mass index, blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and heart rate.
10. Eases chronic pain
Practicing yoga may ease various types of chronic or ongoing pain, including low back pain. In one very small study, people with chronic pain and depression practiced yoga as part of a stress-reduction course. Almost 90% said the program helped them find better ways to cope with their pain.
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