BENEFITS OF YOGA


Give yoga a try and discover what it can do for body & mind.
 

A central premise in yoga is "everything is connected." That's clear when looking at the
health and fitness benefits of yoga that have long been reported by practitioners and
are now being confirmed by scientific research.

• STRESS RELIEF
  Yoga reduces the physical effects of stress on the body. By encouraging relaxation, yoga helps to lower the levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Related benefits include lowering blood pressure and heart rate, improving digestion and boosting the immune system as well as easing symptoms of conditions such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, asthma and insomnia.
   

• PAIN RELIEF
  Yoga can ease pain. Studies have demonstrated that practicing yoga asanas (postures), meditation or a combination of the two, reduced pain for people with conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, auto-immune diseases and hypertension as well as arthritis, back and neck pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, eczema, irritable bowel syndrome and other chronic conditions. Some practitioners report that even emotional pain can be eased through the practice of yoga.
   

• BETTER BREATHING
  Yoga teaches people to take slower, deeper breaths. This helps to improve lung function, trigger the body's relaxation response and increase the amount of oxygen available to the body.
  
   
• FLEXIBILITY
  Yoga helps to improve flexibility and mobility, increasing range of movement and reducing aches and pains. Many people can't touch their toes during their first yoga class. Practitioners begin to use the correct muscles to make the movement and, over time, the ligaments, tendons and muscles gradually lengthen and elasticity is increased. These gradual changes can mean that more and more poses are possible.
  
   
• INCREASED STRENGTH
  Yoga asanas (postures) use every muscle in the body, helping to increase strength literally from head to toe. And, while the postures practiced in yoga strengthen the body, they also provide an additional benefit of helping to relieve muscular tension.
  
   
• WEIGHT MANAGEMENT
  Yoga (even less vigorous styles) can aid weight control efforts by reducing the cortisol levels as well as by burning excess calories and reducing stress. Yoga also encourages healthy eating habits and provides a heightened sense of well being and self esteem.
  
   

• IMPROVED CIRCULATION
  Yoga helps to improve circulation and, as a result of various poses, more efficiently moves oxygenated blood to the body's cells.
   

• CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONING
  Even gentle yoga practice can provide cardiovascular benefits by lowering resting heart rate, increasing endurance and improving oxygen uptake during exercise.
   

• FOCUS ON BEING PRESENT
  Yoga helps us to focus on the present moment. To become more aware and to help create mind-body health. It opens the way to improved coordination, reaction time and memory.
   

• COMPLETE DETOXIFICATION
  By gently stretching muscles and joints as well as massaging the various organs, yoga ensures the optimum blood supply to various parts of the body. This helps in the flushing out of toxins from every nook and cranny as well as providing nourishment up to the last point. This leads to benefits such as delayed ageing, energy and a remarkable zest for life.
  
   

• CONCENTRATION & MOOD
  Harder to pin down and research scientifically, concentration and the ability to focus mentally are common benefits you'll hear yoga students talk about. The same is true with mood. Nearly every yoga student will tell you they feel happier and more contented after class. Recently, researchers have begun exploring the effects of yoga on depression, a benefit that may result from yoga's boosting oxygen levels to the brain. Yoga is even being studied as an adjunct therapy to relieve symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
  
   
• BETTER BODY ALIGNMENT
  With increased flexibility and strength comes better posture. Most standing and sitting poses develop core strength. That's because you're counting on your deep abdominals to support and maintain each pose. With a stronger core, you're more likely to sit and stand "tall." This heightened awareness of the body tells you more quickly when you're slouching or slumping so you can adjust your posture which then will help to relieve back, neck, joint and muscle problems.

"Yoga leads to a body that is easeful, a mind that is peaceful, which results in a life that is useful."
- Paraphrased from Swami Satchidananda, a pioneer in bringing yoga to the United States.


Resources: Yoga Alliance/Yoga Day USA for "10 reasons to practice yoga", Healthandyoga.com, & WebMD.