Finding a workout that feels like a perfect match for you might be difficult with so many different sorts available—especially if you’re just starting. But yoga, an age-old Indian philosophy-based discipline, mixes physical activity with mindfulness to promote a balanced, healthy lifestyle.
There are so many excellent reasons to develop a yoga practice, but before getting started, it’s useful to know what yoga is and how to get started as a beginner. So that you can begin today to benefit from all of the physical, mental, and spiritual advantages of this age-old practice.
Yoga Strengthens Your Bones and Muscles
We begin to lose muscle mass beyond the age of 30, which may cause us to be less mobile. A consistent yoga practice can result in muscles that are stronger. We know we are gaining strength when we perform push-ups and planks. The yoga equivalent is the Chaturanga. The Warrior pose helps strengthen our quadriceps and arms while also maintaining balance.
Research seems to agree. Yoga may boost bone density, according to a study reported in Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation that involved 200 women practicing 12 different positions for 12 minutes each day over the course of two years.
Yoga Support Healthy Posture
In a world where many of us are hunched over a desk, pounding away at a computer, or craning our necks to gaze at an iPhone, it’s no wonder how posture is out of whack. Yoga can help you straighten out your spine, which helps alleviate neck pain and enhance digestion, energy levels, and digestion. In order to strengthen overstretched muscles in the neck and shoulders, focusing on poses like the downward-facing dog, dolphin, wheel, and forearm stand can help to improve posture and lengthen the spine.
Chronic Pain May be Reduced by Yoga
According to the CDC, there are 50 million people who experience chronic pain. It is thought that yoga may be effective at relieving it. Yoga not only increases range of motion and flexibility but also lowers inflammation, which can heighten pain.
According to a review article in Pain Research and Management, even short-term yoga practice can significantly improve chronic back pain. Yoga may lessen neck discomfort and enhance pain-related function associated with disability as well.
Yoga May Decrease Anxiety and Stress
Yoga uses numerous stress-reducing strategies, such as mindfulness, exercise, and breathing, to help you feel more zen, which is why finishing your class in Savasana (Corpse Pose) helps you feel more tranquil.
According to research in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, pregnant Hatha yoga practitioners had lower levels of cortisol, higher levels of pain tolerance and resilience, lower levels of anxiety, and better moods. It appears that Child’s pose and Bridge pose can both help us achieve tranquility by triggering the parasympathetic nerve system, also known as our rest-and-digest response.
https://journals.lww.com/topicsingeriatricrehabilitation/fulltext/2016/04000/twelve_minute_daily_yoga_regimen_reverses.3.aspx
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4003457/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/prm/2013/105919/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/13-benefits-of-yoga
