When I first started doing yoga, I never realized how powerful and amazing it could be. At first, I felt as if I were out of place and bumbling. Over time, I started to notice changes in my body and mind. Eventually, I found that poses I used to struggle to maintain I was able to slip into with ease.
Yoga is a series of stretches and poses that you do with breathing techniques. Some yoga styles are intense and vigorous. Others are relaxing and meditative. No matter which type you choose, yoga is a fantastic way to stretch and strengthen your body, focus your mind, and relax your spirit.
So here are the top 10 reasons I Â practice yoga and why you should probably start too:
- Yoga is a stress reliever.
Yoga reduces the physical effects of stress on the body. By encouraging relaxation, yoga helps to lower the levels of the stress hormone cortisol. The slow, rhythmic movements and the deep breathing release toxins and make you stress-free.
- It can sharpen your mind.
Yoga helps us to focus on the present, to become more aware and to help create mind body health. It opens the way to improved concentration, coordination, reaction time and memory. Yoga, in particular, may also help boost brain function and improve reaction time post-workout.
- Weight Loss
Yoga 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.
- It’s a great workout.
Since yoga is gentle almost anyone can do it, regardless of your age or fitness level. Yoga is good for people who haven’t been active in a while. It’s good for people who have certain health conditions like arthritis or osteoporosis. But yoga is also great if you’re already fit and want a challenging workout. It is said that a 45-minute yoga session is equivalent to two hours in the gym. You end up burning more in much less time.
- You become stronger
Yoga engages so many muscle groups, from your core to your arms. It’s a fantastic way to swap your weights every once and a while for something different. It’s also is an incredible way to strengthen your mind leading to an overall stronger you.Â
- 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. Gradually they begin to use the correct muscles. Over time, the ligaments, tendons and muscles lengthen, increasing elasticity, making more poses possible.
- Better sex
Yoga strengthens your concentration skills which will help you focus your mind and better channel your sexual energy, this can lead to increased sexual endurance and increased sexual desire activity in men and women. All those relaxations and breathing techniques from yoga class will help with better, longer sex. And since you will be more flexible, you can probably try some of those Kamasutra poses.
- Improve your posture
Yoga is effective at helping you develop some premium, proper posture, since a lot of the breathing and seated positions require a straight back for proper effect. Yoga also helps to improve body alignment resulting in better posture and helping to relieve back, neck, joint and muscle problems.
- You get to know more about your body
Yoga can help you make time to look inside your being. Many of the benefits of yoga stem from the ability to unplug and focus on what’s going on in your body and in your life right now. It can help you reflect and think. You learn to observe and evaluate yourself and your thoughts.
- It’s good for your health
There are different organs that get squeezed and that improves their functioning and rejuvenates them with vitality. Related benefits to yoga 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. Risks of heart diseases can be lowered, and bones can be strengthened if yoga is practiced regularly.
I encourage each of you to practice yoga, wherever you may be physically and mentally, and set yourself up to experience all the benefits listed here in addition to many more.
