The first yoga practices in history dates back to almost 5.000 years ago. According to many historians and yoga experts, yoga originated in India first. As a principle, yoga approaches human beings in a holistic way. Thus, it affects the body, the soul, and the mind positively at the same time. In this article, you will find everything about the benefits of yoga.
Good for Elasticity
One of the most important benefits of yoga for your physical health is its positive effects on elasticity. Although it is not possible to see some incredible outcomes like touching your toes after the first week of yoga, it is still one of the best ways of improving your body elasticity.
Stress and anxiety harm our physical health as well as our mental health. People who are exposed to high levels of stress and anxiety experience muscle problems more than the people who keep away from stress. If you are one of those people who are exposed to stress in their daily lives, what you need is yoga, according to Emila Perz, who is a yoga therapist and instructor in Los Angeles. There are several yoga poses which improve muscle power, elasticity, and collagen tissues. Moreover, some yoga poses are also helpful for improving the posture.
Yoga Could Help You Lose Weight
Yoga is also popular for its effects on weight loss. There are millions of people who practice yoga intensively to lose weight. You could be one of them, and this is completely normal. However, you need to learn free things about the relationship between yoga and losing weight. You could continue to practice yoga intensively. However, many yoga experts say that the most effective yoga techniques for losing weight are Ashtanga, Bikram and Iyengar yoga.
Additionally, a research which was conducted by American Journal of Managed Care signifies that restorative yoga is very effective for reaching subcutaneous fat. The goal of restorative yoga is to make you relaxed by keeping your body in specific positions for a long time. In the research, overweight women were divided into two groups. One of the groups attended restorative yoga classes for 48 weeks and the group continued stretching exercises for 48 weeks. Yoga group did not practice any heavy exercise. Both groups focused on relaxation and reducing the stress level. Participants focused on breathing; they practiced some yoga poses for a long time. The background music was always a meditative one. The result was surprising. The yoga group lost more subcutaneous fat than the stretching group in the first six months. Moreover, they stayed fit for a longer period. This research shows that there are still ways for you to lose weight even if you are not motivated to exercise.
Improves Muscles
You may love yoga, running or other kinds of sports at the same time. Perz states that a regular yoga exercise helps you to perform better in all activities. According to Perz, repeated movements give energy and harmony to our bodies. In this way, we can use our muscles better. When you have other exercises in your schedule, 10 minutes of repetitive movements could be the thing you need most, Perz says.
Reduces Chronic Pain
Chronic pain may lower the quality of life severely. According to research, chronic pain is one of the causes of depression. However, researches also state that yoga is really effective against some kinds of chronic pain, such as chronic back pain.
A study published in Annals of Internal Medicine shows that people with chronic back pain get better after three months of yoga classes. Moreover, many of them wanted to stop taking painkillers.
It Helps You to Have a Better Mental Health
Yoga exercises are effective against symptoms of depression like all types of exercise. A study published on Frontiers in Psychiatry has shown that yoga may help people to overcome some symptoms of schizophrenia, insomnia, depression, and other mental problems. Perz states that; there are many people who started to practice yoga for their mental health. Both instructors and students talked about the healing effects of yoga when they asked ‘’why did you start yoga?’’, she states.
MD. Robin Perzin, who is the founder of Parsley Health stated that ‘’there are several poses in Yoga which may help you to overcome depression. Camel pose, pigeon pose and legs up the wall are best poses which makes you find a new path.’’
Improves Creativity
If you are trying to complete your presentation, you will give next week, or trying to overcome writer’s block, perhaps the time for yoga has come. There are several researches showing the positive correlation between meditation, mantra, breathing techniques which are the bases of yoga and alpha brain waves. These techniques would give you better creativity by improving your linking skills.
Provides a Positive Attitude
Repetitive thoughts and compulsive behaviors affect your mood and self-esteem. Therefore, you need a free place that you do not judge yourself. Yoga is the perfect opportunity to do that!
Perz says that "you can realize your negative set of thoughts when you attend classes by focusing the present time and setting your intentions." When you realize your negative behaviors, you can overcome them by practicing breathing exercises. It is one of the best ways of reducing psychological stress.
Reduces the Risk of Cardiac Diseases
According to the research of American Heart Association, cardiac arrest, high blood pressure and diabetes is more common than ever in young people, especially young women. However, there are some activities we can do to prevent these diseases, and yoga is one of them!
According to a study which was published in European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, yoga is good for our health as much as traditional exercises such as brisk walking. Different types of yoga, and people who have different health conditions were analyzed in the study. In general, blood pressure of practitioners decreased in 5 points and LDL cholesterol levels decreased in 12 points. Regardless of its type, yoga is definitely good for your health.
Reduces the Symptoms of Asthma
The main method of treatment for asthma or another disease is of course the treatment which is prescribed by your doctor. However, yoga would be a perfect aftercare to reduce the symptoms. A study which was published in BMC Pulmonary Medicine has shown that yoga reduced the symptoms of asthma in 57 adults who added yoga to their 8-week treatment programs. Moreover, they needed less medications after they started yoga classes. Pranayama could be a good exercise for breathing.
Less Stress, Better Sleep
If you are one of those people who could not fall asleep easily, yoga may help you.
According to a national survey which was conducted by NCCIH, yoga improved the sleep quality in more than 55% of the participants. Moreover 85% of participants told that they feel less stressful after they started yoga. Marlynn Wei, who is a psychiatrist in New York states that, breathing exercises in Yoga could help you to reduce stress, and feel relaxed.
P.S. If you have already practice yoga, please share your thoughts with us. Leave a comment and let us know.
