The Health Benefits To Yoga That Most People Don’t Know About

What is yoga?

The origins of yoga root back to India thousands of years ago. The term yoga means “union with the divine” and is a practice that focuses on connecting one’s mental, physical, and emotional health and wellness. The health benefits to yoga are endless, and in recent years the western world has largely adopted yoga as a practice.

In the western world, yoga has now become a multi-billion dollar industry, and for good reason. The health benefits of yoga are plenty, and include reducing your risk of injury by improving flexibility, reducing stress, and increasing your mind-body connection. Yoga can be a powerful tool to change your life if you add it to your daily routine. 

Many have used yoga to help improve their mental health, mindfulness, and reduce overall stress. Stress is the number one cause of many chronic illnesses and adopting yoga in your daily routine can help you live a longer and healthier life. Research shows yoga for people of color has been especially beneficial, as people of color tend to be more predisposed to chronic stress.

If you’re someone who suffers with:

• Poor blood circulation
• High blood pressure
• Chronic pain
• Difficulty breathing
• Headaches due to factors such as tension or stress
• Depression
• Anxiety

Then yoga can be very beneficial for your overall well being. The physical and mental benefits of yoga are designed to target these chronic illnesses and more. 

Here are some of the health benefits of yoga that will encourage you to incorporate it into your exercise routine:

Health Benefits to Yoga:

1. Reduces Stress

One of the main reasons most people turn to exercise is to reduce stress. It’s important to understand how yoga helps mental health and the overall stress your body is under. 

Stress is the number one cause of many different illnesses. Yoga focuses on clearing your mental and physical stress, so you can show up as a more grounded individual in your life. Yoga has also been shown to improve your brain function overtime. 

When you practice yoga, you’re using a natural way to sharpen your mind and help you deal with stress. Yoga for people of color is extra important, because people of color are statistically shown to be more prone to chronic stress. By practicing yoga, people of color are focusing on their wellness and self care. Learn more about how to develop a self care plan that works for you and your lifestyle.  

2. Builds Strength and Stamina

Although yoga is great for your mental health, the health benefits of yoga also include your physical health. Overtime practicing yoga increases your flexibility, endurance, and strength. There are many different forms of yoga one can practice, and some focus more on strength building.

If you’re interested in switching up your strength routine, try incorporating Ashtanga yoga—which is purely focused on building your endurance and strength. There are different forms of yoga you can try to see which you like more, and which target the outcomes you’re trying to achieve. The practice is versatile and can be a great replacement for your traditional cardio, strength, and endurance workouts. 

3. Improves your Sleep

Nowadays it seems like so many people deal with insomnia. The causes of insomnia are far and wide, but many blame the increased use of social media and technology to be a leading cause. Oftentimes too much scrolling through social media can cause increased anxiety in individuals.

A big way in which yoga helps mental health is its ability to help you fall asleep. Yoga helps relieve the tension and strain in the muscles, including the mind. Doing yoga shortly before you’re winding down for the night, can be a great addition to your nighttime routine. It will help you have a more relaxed and restful sleep.

4. Improves concentration, balance, and stability 

In the age of technology everything about our lives moves so fast. In a matter of seconds we can scroll through social media, and see dozens of different posts trying to grab our attention. With the constant distractions all around us it can be so hard to concentrate, and view the world with a balanced perspective. 

When so many things are trying to fight for our attention, it’s so easy to get distracted. Yoga focuses on building your mental agility, and establishing mindfulness techniques. When we are more mindful of our surroundings we approach life with a more level-headed and balanced approach. One of the main health benefits to yoga is its ability to keep you focused on what truly matters in your life.

5. Eases overall pain and promotes better self care

When you’re not active and you don’t properly stretch your body, it’s very easy to suffer from chronic pain. Especially as you get older, it’s extremely important to keep practicing flexibility and maintaining an active lifestyle.

Many Yoga practices, such as Bikram Yoga And Restorative Yoga are focused on increasing flexibility and promoting mindfulness. By focusing on strengthening your flexibility and improving your mindfulness the likelihood of suffering from chronic pain is reduced. Promoting mindfulness also helps improve your self care routine and ensure that you are showing up as your best self in your life.

A big part of self care is also developing your body awareness. Yoga requires you to focus on building connections with specific muscles in your body, and helps make you aware of different strengths and weaknesses in your body. Building this awareness helps you learn which areas of your body you need to work on developing more. 

Here are a few ways yoga can improve your quality of life. If you or a loved one is struggling with their mental or physical health, please reach out to a physician for help. Connect2Heal is here to help provide you with quality care you can trust. Take ownership of your health, and start living your best life.