The Benefits of
Yoga
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.
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.
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.
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.
BETTER
BODY ALIGNMENT. Yoga helps to improve body alignment,
resulting in better posture and helping to relieve back, neck, joint and
muscle problems.
FOCUS
ON THE PRESENT. 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 coordination, reaction time and memory.
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