What are the most benefits of Yoga?

In the last blog we gave you more information about the different yoga styles!
Today we are going to tackle the many benefits of yoga.
We bet that after reading this you will definitely join a class someday.

IMPROVES FLEXIBILITY, STRENGTH ATTITUDE:

Daily yoga practice will help stretch and strengthen your muscles. Popular poses like the plank work to strengthen your arms, legs, shoulders and abs. You don’t have to be super flexible to practice yoga, the beauty of yoga is that it can be practiced at all levels. Practicing poses like the Downward Facing Dog Warrior for a few minutes a day will really make a difference in your flexibility whether you’re already quite crooked or not.

BETTER ALL-ROUND FITNESS:

Yoga gives you everything a gym can do, but in a peaceful, safe and more holistic way. Combines aspects of cardio, functional and strength training in one.

WEIGHT LOSS:

A daily gentle yoga practice will fuel the metabolic system and help burn fat, leading to weight loss. Daily yoga can also help restore the hormonal balance in your body, normalize your body. Levels of cortisol, the hormone released in response to stress and low blood glucose, are lowered, leading to less overeating. Strengthens the general mind-body connection and helps you deal with unpleasant emotions rather than foraging for food to suppress those feelings.

INCREASE YOUR ENERGY:

Just a few minutes of yoga every day will provide that much needed energy boost in our busy lives and will keep us fresh for longer Yoga, with its unique synergy of body and breath work, is perfect when your reserves are running low.
Daily yoga practice will awaken the main energy centers (called chakras) in our body. Great poses for extra energy are those that extend the spine, such as the tree pose, allowing energy to circulate throughout the whole body, and poses that open the chest, like the cobra pose, encouraging the intake of more breath.

REDUCE STRESS:

Many workplaces now offer yoga classes for lunch because yoga has been shown to be an amazing stress buster. Any yoga practice, even a short daily one, should consist of three elements; poses, breathing and meditation. Studies have shown that people who regularly practice all three elements are better able to regulate their heart rate variability (HRV). This generally means that their heart rate is lower, allowing the body to respond to stress in a more flexible way.

BREATH IT BETTER:

Breathing deeply and calmly is an essential part of any yoga practice. Yogic breathing techniques (called pranayama) focus on trying to slow down the breath and breathe fully from the pit of your stomach to the top of your lungs. They also have some great side effects, including increased lung capacity and increased tidal volume (the total amount of air your lungs can hold at any one time).

BE HAPPIER:

Makes you emotionally stronger and happier person.Practicing regular yoga and meditation results in higher serotonin levels (the happiness hormone). Just 15 minutes of yoga a day can change your brain chemistry and improve your mood.

BECOME MORE AWARENESS:

Yoga and mindfulness go hand in hand. When practicing yoga, you will shift your awareness to the sensations, thoughts and emotions associated with a particular pose. That awareness will bring the mind back to the present moment—the main goal of mindfulness—where it can remain happy and focused.

Practicing mindfulness has lasting physical and psychological benefits that are very much in line with the benefits of yoga. You will feel more calm and relaxed, with less stress and anxiety. You experience a higher level of energy and enthusiasm and more self-confidence and self-acceptance.

CONCENTRATION IMPROVES:

Yoga poses and meditation require you to focus on your breathing. This process of observing your breath calms your mind and makes you more mentally relaxed. As a result of this mental stability, you will be able to remember and retain more. Meditating for just a few minutes in the morning can result in better concentration throughout the day.

The process of observing your breath calms your mind and makes you more mentally relaxed.

By reducing mental stress and physical tension, we can remember more easily and have more organized thoughts. Improved cognitive function occurs when we are able to clear and renew our minds. From a place of peace and tranquility we can use our mental facilities more efficiently. In general, by reducing mental stress and physical tension through daily yoga, you can sharpen your thinking and have more organized thoughts.

LIVE LONGER:

As you now know, daily yoga will help you improve your fitness, regulate your heart rate, lower your stress levels and make you a happier person. All those elements can add valuable years to your life.

Yoga is also known to lower the risk of heart disease, and it reduces the rate of your breathing which is directly linked to longer life. Recent studies have shown that the meditation element of yoga can slow down the process of aging by protecting the telomeres (caps) at the end of our chromosomes.

So, enough reasons to be exploring some yoga no?

Sunny greeting,

HDS