Yoga is one of the most enduring forms of exercises. Even though its origins lie in the 3rd century BCE, yoga continues to be a popular activity across the globe for good reason! Yoga can be beneficial to your mind, body, and spirit, when practiced regularly.
Benefits of Yoga:
- Increases flexibility
- Improves sleep
- Leads to fewer aches and pains
- Reduces stress levels
- Improves balance
- Increases self confidence
- Strengthens muscles
- Reduces chances of heart disease
- Eases asthma symptoms
- Improves fertility
Why should everyone do it?
As if that list of benefits wasn’t enough, yoga is also something everyone should do because it is very adaptable. Anyone can do it—anywhere, anytime! If you’re not sure if yoga is a good fit for you, consider the following ways yoga can work for any lifestyle.
Works at any physical fitness level: Working out can be hard on the body, but yoga is one of those activities that accommodates the weak and faint of heart. There are many beginner-level classes and even classes geared towards pregnant women and the elderly. On the flip side, yoga can also offer a new physical challenge for the toughest gym rat out there.
Can be done indoors or outdoors: Some people enjoy working out in an air-conditioned gym, but others love being able to breathe fresh air and be surrounded by nature while they work their muscles. With yoga, you can practice virtually anywhere: the beach, your bedroom, your workplace, underwater, the mountains!
Flexible for busy schedules: If you can only fit in a few minutes scattered throughout your day, then you can find shorter yoga routines and patterns to practice whenever you can. Unlike most forms of exercise, yoga can be as quick or as long as you like. If you can’t make it to an entire class, consider smaller bursts throughout the day by practicing child’s pose, cobra pose or even deep breathing exercises.
Many variations of yoga: Running, biking, weightlifting and all other forms of exercise can sometimes become repetitive and mundane. When your time at the gym starts to feel boring, most people quit. With yoga, there is no way to become bored because there are so many variations to try. Just to name a few, there is: acroyoga, hot yoga, power yoga, tantrum yoga, and wheelchair yoga. There are also teachers who specialize in yoga for specific sports training (ex. yoga for runners, yoga for boxers, etc.).
Hundreds of poses: Yoga offers endless opportunities because there are literally hundreds of poses that offer health benefits to various body parts and functions. You can find poses that specifically help you deal with stress, hormonal changes, back problems, etc. The list goes on forever.
If you have questions about yoga or would like some tips on what type of yoga would be best for your specific needs, feel free to ask about it during your next visit.