For thousands of years, yoga has been known as a Hindu practice that paid tribute to their many gods. However, cultures around the world have recently discovered the numerous health benefits of practicing yoga.
Yoga is the perfect exercise for promoting flexibility, lubricating joints, and building lean muscle. However, along with the physical benefits, it can also lower stress, increase brain/body connectivity, and help reduce PTSD.
Keep reading for our list of top physical and mental health benefits of practicing yoga.
Helps Promote Healing
Due to the ever-growing list of demands in our busy modern world, the average person spends most of their day in fight-or-flight mode. Everything from work to traffic to poor diet can cause an imbalance in your body’s different systems.
- Sympathetic Nervous System
This system within our bodies is designed to be on alert and observe the world around us. Via our 5 senses, our body monitors our surroundings for danger and is always responding to tastes, touches, and sounds. If this system is never given a chance to rest, it can wear out your adrenal glands and create a hormone imbalance.
- Parasympathetic Nervous System
The parasympathetic nervous system is our body’s way of repairing whatever has been broken down by stress. Once your body leaves fight-or-flight mode, this system can begin to heal physical injuries and balance out stress hormones.
One could say that the sympathetic nervous system faces outward, while the parasympathetic nervous system faces inward. If you spend too long with your sympathetic nervous system activated, your body will never have time to heal from the daily stressors and trauma it endures.
However, Yoga can help create a calm and quiet environment in which your body can leave fight-or-flight and begin the healing process.
An Easy Way to Socialize
Everyday stressors can be harsh enough without having to focus on building a social life. However, humans will always crave community, and many admit that going to a fitness class is far more motivating than taking an online class.
Yoga, therefore, is the perfect way to meet new people in person in a calm, low-pressure environment. As the exercises are done by everyone separately, there is no pressure to interact or make conversation while stretching. A short hello before or after class is all it takes to begin building new friendships.
However, if you already have a friend who you enjoy practicing with, here are some bff yoga poses you can use to make the experience even more fun!
Can Improve Brain Chemistry
Most physical activities can lower your stress levels in some way, but Yoga, in particular, can lower depression and anxiety more effectively than cardio or weightlifting. Since the mind and body and both relaxed and in synch, the parasympathetic nervous system has a chance to kick in.
The slow, calm, low-impact nature of Yoga causes the brain to release chemicals like gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and endorphins. In the short term, these chemicals can lower depression and anxiety.
Long-term, it can actually slow mental aging and prevent memory loss and dementia. Studies have shown daily Yoga sessions to have more mental benefits than even listening to music or reading.
Guaranteed to Increase Flexibility
If you live a sedentary lifestyle or only use a small range of motion when exercising, your joints may not be getting the lubrication they need. Over time, this can lead to injury and even cartilage loss.
No matter what level of fitness you’re at, Yoga has poses that can help you reach your health and flexibility goals. Many of them are designed to improve posture and increase your range of motion over time. Performed regularly, they can lubricate your joints and increase blood flow to your brain as well as your muscles.
Promotes Better Sleep
So far, you’ve learned about the benefits of Yoga for relaxation. However, some Yoga routines are harder than others. Some are basic and don’t require much strain, while others are more advanced and designed to build strength and balance.
These harder routines will definitely build up a sweat. The beauty of Yoga is that you can freely choose what type of workout you need for that day. A more intense routine will tire you out and improve sleep quality. Better sleep over time can:
- increase brain function
- promote weight loss
- and help you manage stress throughout your day
Helps Reduce Inflammation
Modern medicine has linked chronic inflammation to a host of diseases, such as autoimmune, cancer, and arthritis. This inflammation can be caused by diet, stress, stiff joints, and much more. However, adding Yoga to your daily routine can drastically decrease inflammation and lower your risk of some chronic diseases.
As you go through your yoga routine, your body is lubricating your joints, sending blood to those hard-to-reach joints and tissues, and regulating your nervous system. All of these actions together have been shown to leave the body less inflamed and able to heal itself more effectively.
Maintain Healthy Heart and Lungs
Cardio is very important for keeping blood pressure and cholesterol low, but it won’t do the trick on its own. Studies have shown that cardio combined with techniques like Yoga is the ideal combination.
The combination of strength training, stretching, and controlled breathing can lower your blood pressure, as well as triglycerides and cholesterol levels. All these things together can drastically lower your risk of heart attack or stroke.
Controlled breathing can also improve lung function over time. As you practice Yoga and focus on controlling your breath, both your lung capacity and strength will increase over time. This will increase your endurance and brain function over time.
Yoga is For Everyone
The best time to start improving your health was 20 years ago, but the 2nd best is today! Yoga is an excellent exercise for all ages and body types, and the mental and physical benefits leave little room for doubt. Thanks to the internet, learning Yoga has never been easier, and it will send you on a journey of relaxation and rediscovery.
