Yoga is an ancient practice that can bring your mind and body together. Many people today wonder what are the benefits of yoga practice. This practice includes breathing exercises, regular meditation and poses that constructed to reinforce mind and body relaxation and reduce your stress levels.
Not all of the said benefits are backed by science. Thankfully, there are some benefits of yoga backed with science connected to the health problems of modern society. Such problems are sleep difficulties, low body balance, high stress levels, heart problems and more.
Below are the key benefits of yoga:
1.Great stress-reliever
2.Benefits your sleep
3.Increases your balance and flexibility
4.Increases your overall strength
5.Improves cardiovascular health
6.Helps you lose weight
7.Increases your self-esteem
8.Benefits your posture
9.Benefits your bone health
10.Lowers your cortisol levels
11.You will become more mindful by practicing yoga
12.Increases your energy levels
13.Helps you breathe better
14.Protects your spine from damage
15.Increases your blood flow
16.Drops your blood pressure
17.It is a great foundation for a healthy lifestyle
18.Lowers your blood sugar levels
19.Relaxes your whole body
20.Maintains your nervous system
21.Boosts the functionality of your immune system
22.Eases your pain
23.Provides you inner strength
24.Builds your self-awareness
25.Can ease multiple sclerosis
26.Stretches your memory muscles
27.Help prevent Alzheimer's disease
28.Can help treat depression
29.Reduces anxiety
30.Helps with productivity!
In the next paragraphs, we will detail the most important yoga benefits for you, so sit back and enjoy it!
#1: Great for Stress Relief
Yoga is well-known for its exceptional ability to lower down the stress levels and stimulate relaxation. Many studies show that regular yoga exercise is connected with the improvement of an objective measure of stress level in the body. That includes reduced cortisol levels in the morning when you wake up; and in the evening, when you go to sleep. Yoga exercise will greatly benefit your long term mental health because of that.
#2: Yoga Benefits Your Sleep
Yoga exercise induces high relaxation of your mind and body. This relaxation can be very beneficial for sleep. Studies show that gentle yoga exercise before sleep is a great lifestyle change recommendation for people with insomnia. Other than that, yoga exercise can be an awesome training routine before going to sleep.
It is still unknown how it works, but yoga exercise has shown that it increases the secretion of melatonin, which is a sleep regulation hormone. That is the main reason why yoga exercise is a great routine for people with sleep problems, but even just those who would value some better sleep.
#3: Yoga Benefits Your Overall Balance and Flexibility
This is one of the most indisputable benefits of yoga practice. Many people resort to yoga to improve their body balance and flexibility. There is substantial research that proves the validity of this yoga practice benefit. The research indicates that yoga exercise can optimize your body performance thanks to the use of specific poses or asanas that specifically target balance and flexibility.
Of course, at the beginning of the practice, you probably won't be able to touch your toes. But, over time, you will notice drastic changes to your posture and flexibility. We recommend that you practice yoga at least 15 - 30 minutes every day if you are willing to enhance your overall balance and flexibility.
#4: Yoga Can Increase Your Overall Strength
Other than improving the overall balance and flexibility of your body, yoga practice improves your general strength. There are specific yoga poses that target strength increase and building muscles. For example, performing 20+ cycles of sun salutation poses that are usually envisioned for a warm-up, can increase your upper body strength, endurance and help with weight loss.
The combination of increased flexibility and strength of the body can help you with arthritis and back pain dramatically. We recommend combining yoga with regular exercise for optimal body strength gain results.
#5: Yoga Improves Heart Health
The health of the heart is an essential factor for our overall health. Many studies show that yoga exercise helps improve heart health and reduce the risk of heart disease. High blood pressure is most often the main cause of heart health problems, which include the infamous heart attacks and strokes. One study shows that practicing yoga for over five years can lower the general blood pressure levels and heart pulse rates. This practice also increases your exercise capacity and overall quality of life, if you manage to get it in your daily routine.
Essentially, yoga practice will ease the workload on your heart, which is good for the long-term.
Yoga practice includes breathing exercises, meditation, and physical activity. These three practices individually can help decrease cardiovascular disease risk factors dramatically. It's no wonder that yoga improves your overall heart health, as it combines all three of these.
#6: Yoga Helps You Lose Weight
This practice can help you with your diet plans both on the physical and mental levels. Yoga will get you to move and burn calories, while the mental component of yoga practice may give you extra encouragement to stick to your weight loss plans!
#7: Yoga Increases Your Self-Esteem
Lots of people today suffer from low self-esteem. That is so because people look at their everyday problems negatively and turn to negative habits (like smoking, drinking, overeating and more) to hopefully make it easier for them. This approach results in poor general well-being. But, when you practice yoga, you will take a positive approach to your problems. Yoga teachings say that every one of us is a manifestation of the Divine. That means that everyone is worthwhile and not less worth than someone else.
If you approach yoga as a method of self-improvement; regularly doing self-examinations and trying to improve yourself on a daily basis, you will reap the benefits.
#8: Yoga Improves Your Posture
Your head is pretty heavy and if you don't position it in the right way - balancing it over an erect spine; you will strain your back and neck muscles. Now, lots of people do that, and this is one of the main reasons why lots of us suffer from fatigue, back and neck pain, and problems with other muscle joints. Perfecting yoga postures will help you balance your body in a better way, thus improving your posture.
#9: Yoga Improves Bone Health
It is well-known that bodyweight workouts increase the strength of your bones and helps prevent osteoporosis. Your arm bones are especially prone to osteoporosis, and some postures like Downward and Upward Facing Dog help strengthen arm bones. Also, as yoga lowers cortisol levels too, it can keep decent calcium levels in your bones.
#10: Yoga Lowers Your Cortisol Levels
Yes, you heard that right, yoga lowers cortisol! Specifically, this practice regulates your adrenal glands. While a healthy dose of cortisol is good for your focus, and for your immune system in times of need; chronical high levels can alter your brain negatively. High cortisol levels are also linked with depression, osteoporosis, and higher blood pressure; all being silent killers.
#11: You will become more mindful
#12: Increases your energy levels
#13: Helps you breathe better
#15: Protects your spine from damage
#16: Drops your blood pressure
#17: It is a great foundation for a healthy lifestyle
#18: Lowers your blood sugar levels
#19: Relaxes your whole body
#20: Maintains your nervous system
#21: Boost the functionality of your immune system
#22: Eases your pain
#23: Provides you inner strength
#24: Builds your self-awareness
#25: Can ease multiple sclerosis
#26: Stretches your memory muscles
#27: Help prevent Alzheimer's disease
#28: Can help treat depression
#29: Reduces anxiety
#30: Helps with productivity
Now that you know what are the benefits of yoga for your mental and physical well-being, do you think it is time to start with the practice? If you decide to start with this amazing practice, we can design yoga mats, yoga straps and other yoga equipment for you, all free of charge!
Have any other questions or concerns about the benefits of yoga for your mind and body? Feel free to reach us out through email or live chat.
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