Benefits
Science has indicated and proven that this ancient practice can both prevent disease and injury and help recover from it. What’s more? There are so many benefits of yoga that can amaze and surprise. Read on for just a few:
Yoga for Flexibility
The first and most obvious of the benefits. Start exactly where you are, stick with it, and watch postures (asanas) become possible with increased flexibility. It’s very possible for aches and pains to disappear and overall physical posture to improve over time.
Strengthen Your Body, Mind, and Spirit
Yoga’s focus on strength training is an incredible benefit to your body. The postures are meant to strengthen your body from the inside-out: so you don’t just look great, you feel great too.
Each of the yoga poses is built to reinforce the muscles around the spine, the very center of your body, which is the core from which everything else operates. When the core is working properly, posture is improved, thus alleviating back, shoulder and neck pain. Bringing your strength and flexibility into balance is the key to a healthy body.
Better Posture
By correctly aligning your head over your body, you begin to reduce your tendencies of poor posture caused by hours behind the wheel, or in front of a computer screen. When you’re stronger and more flexible, your posture improves. You’ll soon be sitting up straighter and standing taller, allowing you to take deeper breaths and move more easefully through life!
Breathe with Ease
Paying attention to your breathing helps you relax. Specific breathing techniques in the various styles of yoga help increase focus and concentration, leading to a calm mind, invigorated body, and overall better health.
Less Stress, More Calm
Just breathing consciously is a meditation technique… A moving meditation, if you will. You might notice an overall sense of calm and peace after your yoga practice.
Good for your Heart (in many ways!)
Yoga has been known to lower blood pressure, slow the heart rate, and has been linked to lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels as well as better immune system function. The benefits are beyond the physical! It has also been attributed to increased urges of heart service:
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
~Gandhi