Practicing yoga can have many health benefits for your body and soul. According to many yogis, yoga can change and transform your life while improving your strength, inner peace, balance and flexibility. According to Schlamadinger McGrath, the founder of YogaSource in California “On an energetic level, yoga teaches you how to cope better with stress by cultivating a sense of ease in both active or passive poses. On a psychological level, yoga helps to cultivate mindfulness by shifting your awareness to the sensations, thoughts, and emotions that accompany a given pose or exercise."
1. Yoga can improve your immune system and overall health:
Practicing yoga can improve your overall health by strengthening the connection of mind, body and soul. Keep in mind that your body’s immune system is the greatest weapon you have against many chronic diseases. Yoga can improve the blood circulation and boost the immune system by protecting the body against the damage of free radicals and toxins.
2. Yoga can improve your flexibility, strength, and balance:
Yoga can improve your posture, strength, balance and flexibility. Practicing yoga will tone and strengthen your muscles. When we have stronger muscles, we are less likely to get injured or feel tired. Strong muscles can protect us against chronic conditions such as back pains or joint problems.
3. Yoga is great for cardio health:
Practicing yoga is very beneficial for improving cardiovascular diseases and lowering the blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The deep breathing exercise in yoga can help to lower blood pressure and calm the nervous system by suppressing the stress hormone. Practicing yoga can also boost the level of red blood cells that deliver oxygen to the tissues. Yoga can prevent the risk of blood-clotting and lower chances of strokes or heart attacks.
4. Yoga can improve mood and lower depression and anxiety:
Practicing yoga can improve the immune system by lowering fatigue, pain, anxiety and stress. According to researchers, practicing yoga can help to lower depression by increasing serotonin levels and lowering the stress hormone known as cortisol.
5. Yoga is great for diabetics:
Practicing yoga can lower blood sugar levels and regulate the level of insulin in the body. Yoga has many health benefits for diabetics. In fact, practicing yoga can lower the level of cortisol and adrenaline, improve weight loss, and regulate the insulin level in the body. Yoga can also prevent other problems that diabetics face such as kidney failure, heart attack or blindness.
6. Yoga can help to boost your metabolism and improve weight loss:
Practicing yoga strengthens your bones and muscles and can help to tone your body by improving your metabolism. Yoga lowers the level of cortisol and adrenaline and helps to normalize the body’s hormonal system. The stress hormone is known make your body retain fat and practicing yoga helps you relax and lose weight.
7. Yoga can lower pains, in particular chronic back pains:
Practicing yoga is great for lowering chronic pains, including backache or neck problems. Yoga can be very beneficial for people who suffer from chronic pains, fibromyalgia or arthritis. According to researchers, practicing yoga or routine stretching is very beneficial for back pain and joint problems.
8. Yoga can help asthma and respiratory problems:
According to researchers, people who practice yoga on a regular basis show less symptoms of breathing problems or asthma compared to others. Yoga postures can improve the oxygen levels in the body and the deep breathing exercise in yoga can help to even cure asthma or respiratory problems. Keep in mind that practicing yoga helps to increase red blood cells levels that deliver oxygen to tissues in the body.
9. Yoga helps the nervous system and prevents digestive issues:
Yoga improves relaxation and improves the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) that help you cope with stresses of daily life. The relaxation effect of yoga can help to prevent the Inflammatory Bowel Disease and digestive issues.
10. Yoga will increase your peace of mind and self-esteem:
Practicing yoga can help to lower stress and anxiety by improving your inner peace and self esteem. Yoga will teach you gratitude, forgiveness, and empathy and keeps you grounded while helping you to be more spiritually connected to your inner-self and nature.