9 Physical Benefits Of Yoga

One week off from my Friday post and come back this week with something that I think everyone should read. Some people have a misconception of what yoga is. Today, I want to share the 9 physical benefits of yoga. It’s far beyond just stretching. When yoga is done properly you can see benefits that effect your entire body including your mental health.

1. Better PosturE

One of my favorite benefits of a proper yoga practice is better posture. There are a ton of yoga poses that you can use throughout your day to better your posture or counter your daily desk job sitting on your computer.

2. Balance

Yoga helps to connect you to your core and can help improve your balance. Make sure that you are connecting to your feet and allowing that connection and engagement to go all the way through your legs to your pelvic floor. I will be back with more on this in a future post, but your balance is directly related to your care and your ability to connect through all four corners of your feet.

3. Improved Flexibility

This is the fact that most people focus on when talking about a yoga practice. Of course one of the many benefits of yoga is improved flexibility. However, for some with hyper mobility they need the return and control in their practice vs. the length and flexibility.

4. Improved Strength

Yoga can be used to improve your strength and bone density. Static held poses like chair, warrior and many others can build strength in the legs. Chatarunga, plank and prone poses can help strength the core, back and upper body. There are so many variations and poses that you can add to your yoga practice to help build strength in the body.

5. Cardiovascular Health

Yoga is not just a physical practice. You are bringing awareness to not only your body, but your breath. This controlled breathing and breath work can improve your cardiovascular health. It can help reduce stress and improve blood pressure. According to Dr. Helene Glassberg, cardiologist at the Penn Heart and Vascular Center. “Yoga, like other forms of exercise, can improve your cholesterol and blood sugar levels by improving metabolism, and can lower blood pressure by improving artery relaxation.” *

6. Improved Mental Health

Yoga has the ability to counter stress and anxiety, because of this yoga can help to improve your mental health. Learning effective ways to control your breathing and/or finding ways to incorporate meditation in to your daily routine are tools that will help you calm your mind and possibly give you more clarity and ability to focus.

7. improved Sleep

Physical exercise including a yoga practice can help to improve your sleep. Moving your body can release endorphins that can support the sleep wake cycle. Exercise and yoga can also burn excess energy making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep at the end of your day.

8. Yoga Can Reduce back Pain

If you incorporate yoga poses to help strengthen your core including your back and hips you can help to reduce back pain. Yoga has a strong focus on connecting to your breath and your core which can help ease back pain.

9. Yoga May REduce Inflammation

Inflammation is your bodies response to harmful stimuli. This can be allergen, food, chemicals, and stress. One of the many physical benefits of yoga that really can make a difference in your overall health is yoga’s ability to assist in reducing inflammation. It’s benefits on stress response, balancing mood and

Looking to learn more about yoga? Check out these 5 Interesting Facts About Yoga.