Are you interested in a yoga practice? Here are my top 9 favorite health and yoga benefits. Yoga is good for your health in so many different ways. Yoga can also be a low-key movement activity that you can try to do daily or weekly without feeling like its too hard. Yoga can also help you mentally and spiritually.
1. Flexibility
Flexibility is so important as we age. The amount of movement and stretching you do impacts how you are able to move around in your future.
Yoga is shown to improve flexibility even at a beginner level. You can do this in as little as 15 minutes a day. Almost all yoga sessions will increase your flexibility. Remember, we all have a starting point!
2. Sleep
Get better sleep by adding yoga into your routine right before bedtime. Another benefit of doing yoga is improved quality of sleep.
Sleep is something we should all prioritize for both physical and spiritual well-being. You can add yoga into your nightly routine to improve your sleep. You can also add sound baths on your tv or phone as you drift to sleep. Getting the right amount of rest is so important!
3. Stress Relief
Yoga is amazing for stress relief. There are many different categories of yoga that help with stress relief, anxiety, and mental well-being.
If you are feeling stressed, try completing a yoga session titled: restorative, yin yoga or bedtime yoga.
You could also try meditation, breathwork, or listening to a sound bath.
4. Strength
If you develop a yoga practice you will develop strength. The more you practice and the intensity of your session will determine the amount of strength that you can build.
Specific yoga sessions will target strength building in the title of the session. For example, one might be titled, "Yoga for toning abs". You can try ashtanga yoga or vinyasa yoga if you are looking to build strength.
5. Quality of Life
Yoga can improve your quality of life. Quality of life is affected by relationships, health, creativity, learning opportunities and lifestyle needs and wants.
Your quality of life can be improved by doing yoga. You will see health benefits, changes to your creativity and a change in the way you look at life's needs and wants.
Try any type of yoga to start improving your quality of life.
6. Balance
You can improve your balance by doing yoga. We all need balance in our lives, in more ways than one. If you have poor physical balance, you might have a fall resulting in an injury. If your nutritional balance is off, you might be deficient in essential vitamins and minerals. If your mental balance if off, you might be more snappy or quick to react.
Yoga can be a great resource for those who have been injured or have a physical condition requiring help with balance. Adaptive yoga and chair yoga can be used as physical therapy for patients that need extra support.
7. Improve your Posture
Most things we do in today's society encourage us to slouch. Cell phones, working at desks, sitting on a couch watching tv and more. With yoga, you can improve your posture and become more aware of your body's positioning.
Yoga improves your brain functioning in the area that affects posture and body awareness. By releasing tight muscles through yoga, your spine's mobility increases. You also improve overall flexibility and agility.
8. Bone Health
As we age, our bone health could become at risk. Yoga practices often include isometric contractions. This means the length of the muscle doesn't change while it is fully engaged. Isometric exercises have been found to increase bone density.
One study found that even 15 minutes of yoga a day could increase your bone density and health. Try starting with some beginner yoga routines to start improving your bone health.
9. Immunity Booster
Yoga is a great immunity booster when yoga is practiced often. This is tied into the stress relief benefit as well. Yoga can fight inflammation - aiding in boosting immunity.
Practicing yoga is another aspect of your health where you take charge. All the little things you do add up to create the healthy lifestyle that you want. The healthier choices that you make will directly impact your health now but even more in the future and determine how you age.
