The benefits of yoga will help you achieve good health. Yoga is a group of physical, mental and spiritual practices. The term Yoga includes the physical practice of postures called Asanas. It’s not just for people who can touch their toes or who wanted to meditate.
However, yoga is a great way to increase the flexibility and strength of your body or sometimes yoga is very helpful for relaxation also. Even western science also provides some clues about how yoga works to improves joint pains.
If you are a very passionate yoga fan, then you must have just noticed some yoga benefits like after yoga you are feeling more relaxed or sleeps better. Practicing yoga results in many mental and physical health benefits.
Benefits of Yoga
I myself have experienced benefits of yoga in a real way. During 2013, I was suffering from breathing problems. Then one of my friends suggested me that yoga is very helpful in healing breathing problem.
So, I started with some breathing pranayamas like Bharastika and Anulom Vilom. And I figured out that with the passage of time my breathing problems are reduced.
My experience inspired me to explain how yoga is beneficial for physical and mental health. So, in this article, we take a look at the various health benefits of yoga.
Also Read: 15 Best YouTube Channels To Learn Yoga Online For Beginners
1. Improves Flexibility
Flexibility is one of the most well-known health benefits of yoga. Keeping your muscles and joints limber to avoid injuries and for decreasing the pain and tension throughout the body.
Many peoples suffering from arthritis and any kind of joint pains or back and neck pains got relief with some simple yoga asanas like Balasana, Padangusthasana, Adho Mukha Svanasana, Uttana Shishosana.
2. Increase Muscle Strength and Tone
A balanced yoga practice will strengthen your muscles. Also, yoga provides strength to your internal physiological systems such as the circulatory system, respiratory system, digestive system, and nervous system.
Some yoga asanas effective for muscle tone includes Vrikshasana, Virabhadrasana, Trikonasana, Sethu Bandhasana, and Bhujangasana.
3. Weight Reduction
Regular yoga can influence weight loss. Also, before we target to weight loss, it is important to understand the various factors that contribute to weight gain.
Apart from bad dietary habits, inefficient functioning of various body parts also leads to an increase in weight. Various yoga asanas help in improving the metabolic functions of body parts.
Some simple yoga asanas help in weight reduction includes Surya Namaskar, Veerabhadrasana or The Warrior pose, Trikonasana and Purvottanasana.
4. Stress Reduction
When it comes to stress and anxiety, yoga is really magical. I have personally experienced drastic changes in my life after practicing yoga daily.
Yoga basically comes with three aspects mind, body, and soul. So, regardless of stress, whether it’s a temporary or constant feeling yoga can manage it.
Some simple asanas to control your stress are Pranayama, Savasana, Sukhasana, Uttanasana, Prasarita Padottanasana, Vajrasana, and Halasana.
5. Improved Cardiovascular Health
For pumping blood throughout the body tissue with a sufficient amount of oxygen and other nutrients, therefore the health of your heart muscles is an essential component to maintain your overall health.
All types of yoga asanas improve cardiovascular activity. The yoga asanas strengthen your heart muscle, which pumps blood with more efficiency and with a greater amount of oxygen.
Improved cardiovascular health can greatly reduce the risk of heart diseases.
6. Improved Respiratory Health
Pranayama yoga involves breathing practice that focuses on controlling the breath through breathing exercises. Most of the yoga incorporate these breathing exercises and helps in improv breathing.
Also breathing exercise improve your lung strength and keeps your lungs and heart healthy.
7. Boost Immune System
Deep relaxation strengthens the body immune system and allowing it to fight against off bacteria and viruses quickly. Regular yoga asanas will increase your body’s ability to release toxins from the body and results in the strengthening of your immune system.
There are specific yoga asanas that strengthen and supports your immune system like Tadasana, Matsyasana, Vrikshasana, Bhujangasana, and Utkatasana.
8. Improved Athletic Performance
Yoga enhances sports skills by improving core strength and flexibility. Also, yoga can improve overall performance, from endurance to power to speed, while also promoting overall health and wellness.
Athletic style of yoga includes Ashtanga, Vinyasa and Bikram can improve your stamina.
9. Enhance Digestion
Yoga asanas are the combination of physical exercise and stress reduction technique, which help to balance the functionality of your entire digestive system.
Also, while burning calories yoga asanas help to improve gastrointestinal functions. In addition, Yoga asanas encourage healthy eating habits.
10. Relief From Pain
Yoga asanas can help people with migraine, low back pain, and arthritis. Some studies have shown that yoga was quite effective for lower back pain.
Marichyasana, Child’s pose, Downward facing pose, Sphinx pose, Reclined supine twist and reclined pigeon pose is the list of asanas which give relief from back pain.
11. Increased Bone Density
Yoga improves bone density, which helps to prevent bone loss and osteoporosis. By reducing stress levels, yoga also controls the release of the stress hormone, which is responsible for leaching of calcium from the bones and leads to osteoporosis.
Also, the yoga asanas help in proper alignment and balance, this leads to better skeletal alignment.
12. Reduce Blood Pressure
If you are suffering from high blood pressure, then yoga practice is a very beneficial therapy for lowering high blood pressure.
As I have discussed earlier, yoga asanas settle both mind and body or we can say yoga is an effective tool for reducing stress, which is a major cause for hypertension.
Sarvangasana and Sirsasana are the two yoga asanas which increase the blood pressure in the head most while Pranayama asana is extremely beneficial for lowering down high blood pressure.
13. Lowers Blood Sugar
Yoga lowers blood sugar and bad cholesterol and boosts up good cholesterol in your body. Yoga reduces blood sugar by lowering cortisol and adrenaline levels, also improving sensitivity to the effects of insulin.
As yoga reduces your blood sugar, it will reduce the risk of diabetic complications such as kidney failure, blindness, and heart attack.
Vrikshasana, Dhanurasana or Bow pose, Halasana or plough pose and Ardha Matsyendrasana or half twist pose are the key yoga postures for lowering blood pressure.
14. Helps You Focus
Yoga asanas can improve your concentration power. Basically, yoga is all about breathing in fresh air and becoming fully focus on your mind and body.
Peoples who practice meditation have better power to solve their problems and are less distracted by different thoughts.
Nadi Shodhan Pranayama, Bhramari Pranayama, Kapal Bhati Pranayama, Bhastrika Pranayama, and Brahma Mudra are some common yoga asana, which helps you to focus better and improves your concentration power.
15. Helps You Sleep Deeper
The National Sleep Foundation estimates that an adult person requires seven to nine hours of sleep but about 40 percent of the population takes less than 7 hours of sleep.
If you don’t take good sleep at night, there are chances that you might be aging faster. So, if you are unable to get enough good sleep, try yoga asanas they might help.
Hastapadasana, Shishuasana, Baddhakonasana, and Marjariasana are the yoga asanas which can help you to relax and allow you to enjoy a peaceful sleep.
Final Words About Benefits of Yoga
15 Yoga benefits seem like a whole lot, but believe me, these are only a few. Yoga transforms your life and broadens your horizons in ways you can never imagine. It is absolutely worth trying.
If you are regularly doing yoga and have felt its benefits on your self then do share your yoga benefits experience with our readers. Sharing your personal experience will help our readers.
If you know any other benefits then do share with by leaving a comment on this article and we will update it into the article.
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