10 Amazing benefits of Yoga, Yoga is now just stretching or doing poses, yoga connects your body, mind and spirit. Are you facing physical and psychological problems in your life and don’t know what to do? then in this blog you will know 10 amazing benefits of yoga which can dramatically change your life.
Yoga has many physical and mental health benefits for every age group. And if you are suffering from any kind of injury or surgery then yoga is the best option you can rely on.
1. Yoga Benefits in Stress and Anxiety
Yoga is a natural stress reliever and yoga has many health benefits. Yoga helps you to relieve stress anxiety and helps you to relax your mind. Yoga focuses on your breath and movement and it calms the nervous system and lowers cortisol (cortisol is a stress hormone).
If you practice yoga poses like deep breathing (pranayama) and relaxation poses (Happy Baby Pose,Cat Pose, Child’s Pose) these poses signal your body to relax. Over time, you will notice many changes, changes like now you can manage anxiety by enjoying the present instead of worrying about the past or future.
Relaxing Yoga Poses
- Child’s Pose (Balasana)
- Thunderbolt Pose (Vajrasana)
- Easy Pose (Sukhasana)
- Seated Forward Bend Pose (Paschimottanasana)
- Wide-Legged Straddle Pose (Upavistha Konasana)
- Legs Up the Wall Pose (Viparita Karani)
- Puppy Pose (Anahatasana)
- Tree Pose (Vrksasana)
Do these Yoga poses if you want a healthy lifestyle
2.Yoga Benefits in Physical Health
Doing yoga regularly improves your heart health, overall body health and boosts the immune system. Yoga is not just a one time thing to do, do yoga regularly and in the long term you will get to know about yoga’s numerous health benefits.
There are many poses like Downward Dog and Sun Salutations which helps you build your physical strength and also get your blood flowing. Studies show that yoga can lower your blood pressure and reduce inflammation. Yoga improves strength, flexibility and balance with time.
Yoga poses to improve your physical health and flexibility
- Dolphin pose :- This yoga pose Focuses on shoulders and upper back and you feel relaxed
- Chair pose :- This pose of yoga focuses on the arms and legs and remove their stiffness
- Plank pose :- Plank is core targeting pose which helps in strengthening the upper body
- Side plank :- Focuses on the core and improves balance
- Bound angle pose :- Effect of this pose is that it stretches the groin knees and adductors
- Extended side angle :- This yoga pose focuses on the whole body and have improves body strength
- Extended triangle pose :- Benefit of this yoga pose is that it focuses on the whole body and improves flexibility
3. Yoga benefits Mental Clarity and Focus
In today’s world where everyone is just worrying about their future and crying over their past. Yoga teaches you to focus on your present. While doing balancing poses like tree poses require intense concentration and focus.
Yoga trains your brain to shut all noises and focus on one task.
Focus is a major issue in today’s generation, we can’t concentrate on one topic even when we want to. Yoga helps in clearing your mind and increasing conteration.
Yoga poses to increase your focus
- Tree pose :- This yoga pose helps you balance and focus
- Reclining bound angle pose :- Benefit of this yoga pose is that it stretches the thighs and hips mobility
- Easy pose :- This yoga pose Activates the body’s relaxation response and deactivates the stress response.
- Supine twist :- Doing this Yoga pose regularly helps in releasing tension in the spine and calm the nervous system
4.Yoga Benefits in Flexibility and Balance
There are many people who avoid yoga because they think they aren’t flexible enough and they can’t do it. But yoga isn’t about being perfect on day one.
At first it may be challenging for you but over time your muscles and joints will start adapting and you will start enjoying the process and experience less stiffness. Doing yoga regularly also reduces the risk of injuries by sudden movements.
Yoga poses for flexibility and balance
- Cat cow pose :- It’s a mixture of 2 poses that stretches your neck and back torso.
- Child’s pose :- This pose stretches your hips, thighs, ankles and spine.
- Chair pose :- This pose targets lower body muscles like glutes and quadriceps.
- Tree pose :- This pose stretches your core and legs, also improves balance.
Big toe pose :- This pose stretches your hamstrings.
5. Yoga Builds Strength and Endurance
Yoga does more than just balance and flexibility. Yoga can also help in building muscles at home and improve strength by using just body weight. Poses like chair pose and planks engage your arms, legs and core and strengthen your muscles, while holding these poses for a longer time will boost your endurance. These exercises don’t include any additional weights, it focuses on controlled movement which protects your joints while building strength.
That’s why Yoga is ideal for all kinds of people.
- Dolphin pose :- Focuses on shoulders and upper back
- Chair pose :- This pose focuses on the arms and legs
- Plank :- This yoga pose strengthens the upper part of our body
- Side plank :- Focuses on the core and improves balance
- Extended side angle :- Focuses on the whole body
- Extended triangle pose :- Focuses on the whole body
6.Yoga Supports Better Posture
Always sitting on the chair weakens back muscles and puts pressure on the spine. Yoga can help you by strengthening and stretching your muscles which will lead to good posture. Poses like cat-cow stretch and strengthen the spine on the other hand poses like mountain pose helps you to stand straight with confidence. Yoga changes your personality entirely.You need to do yoga regularly for better posture because Better posture reduces back pain and it also boosts confidence and energy levels.
How to fix your posture beside yoga
-Always sit or stand straight
-While sitting make sure your back is completely supported
-While sitting hips should be parallel to the floor
-Set reminders to check your posture every hour and make sure your posture is correct
7.Yoga Aids in Weight Management
Yoga isn’t a high calorie burning activity but yoga does help in losing weight indirectly. Some other types of yoga like Power yoga increase your heart rate and burn calories during the exercise. Doing yoga not only burns calories but also helps in building lean muscles. One more advantage of yoga is that it reduces stress and also helps in mood boosting.
8.Yoga Promotes Better Sleep Quality
Are you struggling with insomnia or are you having restless nights? Yoga can help you sleep peacefully at night Doing these Yoga relaxation techniques will prepare your body for deep sleep.
Legs-up-the-wall :- Doing this exercise will help calm the nervous system. Over time doing yoga regularly will help you sleep faster and you will wake up feeling refreshed.
Tips for better sleep :- Stop scrolling on your phone before going to bed and do some gentle stretches.
9. Yoga Boosts Emotional Well-Being
While doing yoga we learn to concentrate all of our focus at one point which helps in relaxing and it also stops unwanted thoughts that disturb our mind. Yoga includes breathing techniques like Alternate Nostril Breathing, which helps in balancing the nervous system.
Yoga helps in releasing the tension stored in the chest and makes you feel good all day.
Yoga asanas and how to perform them
- Balasana
To perform Balasana, sit back on your heels, extend your arms forward and stretch forward as much as you can while resting your forehead on the mat and breathe deeply
- Bhujangasana
To perform Bhujangasana lie flat on the mat and place your hands under your shoulders. Push your upper body off the mat and move your elbows closer to your body. Hold a few breaths in this pose.
- Uttanasana
To do Uttanasana, stand on your feets, hips-width apart. Bend forward touching your forehead to knees, it should look like you are hugging your legs. You can bend your knees a little if necessary to avoid lower back pain. Hold here for several deep breaths.
10.Yoga Deepens Spiritual Connection
Yoga dont ask you to follow any specific religion to concentrate or relax. Yoga helps you to connect with yourself and with nature. Meditation create space for yourself, helping you to understand yourself and find purpose of your life
While meditating set a simple intention like ‘i am brave’ ‘i am strong’ it will help you feel good
Tips for yoga journey success
- Set simple goals at start like practicing for 10 min instead of setting a goal for 1 hour
- If any pose is causing you pain then don’t do it because discomfort is normal, pain isn’t.
- Never compare yourself with others
- Always do warm-up before doing Yoga
Conclusion
Yoga is a simple exercise and has many benefits, you don’t need any equipment, fancy studio or setup or horse of free time to perform yoga. Doing yoga for just 10-20 min is more than enough to keep your body healthy and in shape. The key is to take small but consistent steps to get a healthy body with a great mood. Try doing yoga and you will know why you need to do yoga.
FAQs
1. What happens if you do yoga daily?
-If you practice yoga daily, you can expect to experience significant improvements in your flexibility, strength, balance, and overall well-being, with potential benefits like reduced stress, better sleep, increased mental clarity
2. Is 20 minutes of yoga a day enough?
-Yes, even 20 minutes of yoga a day can be beneficial for your health and well-being, improving flexibility, muscle tone, mental focus, and stress levels, especially when practiced consistently.
3. Is gym or yoga better?
-It dependes on your goal, if you want to build muscle and maximize calorie burning quickly, the gym is typically better, while yoga is more beneficial for improving flexibility, reducing stress, and achieving a holistic approach to well-being
4. What are the side effects of yoga?
-There are not any side effects but at start you will experiencce muscle soreness, sprains or strains, pain in specific areas like the back or neck, fatigue, and discomfort if poses are not performed correctly, happens to beginners
Source :- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga
