10 Reasons Yoga is Beneficial to You
The practice of yoga has
become more and more popular in The West over recent years; however it still
has the image of being mostly about popping your leg behind your head, sitting
in the lotus position and all sorts of fancy “show off” poses! The truth is
there are numerous benefits and many more aspects to it than just the physical
practice (which of course is still very important!)
Here is a taste of what
yoga has to offer as a transformative element in everyday life:
1. Relaxation
At its very core, this is
what yoga is all about. The relaxation you can find on the mat soon becomes
present in and through daily life. Letting go of worries, spending quality time
on yourself and, of course, releasing tension in the body, all help to unwind
and soften. In today’s often stressful and fast paced society this is a crucial
benefit in terms of long-term holistic health.
2. Improving the breath
One essential aspect to
yoga is the awareness of the breath. This has many benefits in itself, for
example, developing a long smooth breath calms the nervous system and can help
relieve anxiety issues. It also keeps you safe throughout the physical practice
– if your breath becomes ragged and uneven, you’ve taken the pose too far and
should take a step back. On top of this, using pranayama (breath management)
exercises can help clear the lungs, steady the mind and prevent colds and flus.
3. Awareness of the body
Many people who start yoga
have no idea where their arm or leg is at the beginning! We’ve all been there –
you look up during trikonasana (triangle pose) and your arm is dangling
somewhere instead of shooting straight up to the ceiling as you thought it was!
Over time, the awareness improves significantly. This is a huge benefit to
overall well being as you can relate more to what is going on in your own body,
choose the foods and habits which serve your health and avoid injury in yoga,
but also other activities.
4. Stillness and comfort
Yoga teaches us to have
more stillness in our lives. To be able to sit in a comfortable position for a
length of time is another significant benefit of yoga. At first, this can seem
impossible – especially as many people find their legs and hips too tight. This
is where the physical poses (called “asana”) come in, allowing these muscles to
stretch and relax, the back to strengthen, and sometimes in a more demanding
practice, help you realise the relief of a simple rest with the legs crossed!
Many “advanced” yogis strip their practice back to basics, realising the
importance of a stable, strong seated position, an aligned yet relaxed downward
facing dog pose, or a well balanced tree pose, resting into the stillness.
5. Management of the mind
Being able to sit
comfortably also has the benefit of allowing time for meditation. The common
misconception of this important aspect of yoga is that the aim is to empty the
mind. This is not the case, instead it is about being able to sit with the
thoughts, letting them come and go naturally without giving them any importance
in that moment. The repetition of a mantra (a practice called japa), is also
very useful in managing the mind, as it is a rare occasion when you know which
thought is coming next. If your mind wanders, you bring it back to the mantra.
Doing this, or any form of meditation every day can help let go of
6. Better sleep
A lot of people find their
sleep patterns become more settled, the quality of rest improves becoming
easier to fall asleep and stay asleep due to the connection to a long, deep
breath pattern. The practice of Yoga Nidra (yogic sleep), in which you are led
through a series of visualisations and a systematic relaxation of the body, can
also be very useful in resting the body, mind and emotions.
7. Strength and flexibility
Of course, this is probably
quite obvious! What doesn’t always translate though, is that you don’t have to
have a demanding, pouring-with-sweat kind of practice for this to come true.
Choosing the style that serves you, your body and schedule in the best way is
the most important aspect of introducing yoga into your life. This is how you
develop an enjoyable, regular practice, which will mean the increased strength
can be built slowly and steadily, with improved flexibility coming to you in a
healthy and sustainable way.
8. Keeping your muscles health
Stretching and toning generally means happy
muscles! Often also finding some that you were not aware of in the first place
(yoga can sometimes seem “floaty, easy and something for the girls”, until you
wake up the next day after a strong class, feeling all your muscles!!) Using
the muscles in this lower impact, steady way will also mean that they are more
likely to stay happy and healthy when you go for high impact activities such as
running, helping to prevent injury.
9. Improving circulation and digestion
Yoga helps to keep the body
healthy, inside and out. All of the organs are given a good massage, helping
the blood go where it’s meant to, encouraging balance in the glands, and
helping the systems of the body to work efficiently. This gives what we call a “yoga
glow”! You can also feel this inside and out!
10. General happiness
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