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Benefits of Yoga
The benefits of Yoga are innumerable, from physical and mental to spiritual. I don’t know if you do Yoga or not, but after this article, I assure you that you will have excellent reasons to try or deepen the practice.
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Sanjeev K Yadav
Source: Yan Krukov/Pexels
In this article, you will discover the benefits of yoga and how it can change your life. I will also tell you how Yoga improves your muscle tone, your self-esteem, and the ability to overcome anxiety and depression.
Are we ready? Enjoy the ride! I know that you are probably running and, perhaps, you will not even be able to read this article until the end.
We are just like you, always in a hurry, people that don’t stop, that don’t have time.
But there is good news. Certain data confirm that in the last year the Yoga boom has continued to grow, and yes, even in our country.
Makes you think, don’t you think?
More people decide to stop.
The desire to devote yourself to a discipline that makes you feel good increases.
Today it is more and more widespread. Perhaps in a certain sense, it is also a bit of a trend, if you do yoga, you are “cool”. But it is welcome to be when the result is good for yourself and your health.
That’s right, the benefits of Yoga are innumerable, from physical and mental to spiritual. I don’t know if you do Yoga or not, but after this article, I assure you that you will have excellent reasons to try or deepen the practice.
“If only people knew how good the body can feel,” said a wise old man
And there is nothing truer! But let’s go specifically.
What does the word Yoga mean?
Yoga means UNION: of Mind, Body, and Spirit.
If the mind is fine, the body is fine, and vice versa. It may seem obvious to you, but it is not.
Yoga is also a spiritual discipline, which concerns our interiority, our essence, and our being.
The practice includes physical exercises (ASANA), breathing exercises (PRANAYAMA), meditation, and many more.
But what are the benefits of Yoga?
What can a practice performed with only a mat give you?
“If you think yoga is all about touching your toes or balancing on your head, it means you are missing out on most of its gifts and beauty.”
Physical Benefits: How Yoga Can Make You Lose Weight, Improve Muscle Tone, and Gain Greater Balance
Let’s see how Yoga can bring great benefits to your body
It makes your bones stronger, without resorting to drugs.
With regular practice, it has been studied and confirmed that it increases bone mass, especially in the vertebrae and femur.
The risk of osteoporosis and injuries is therefore reduced, in the face of better posture.
Improve strength and tone muscles.
Positions and sequences strengthen every single muscle, even the deepest and least known ones.
Most affected are the abdominal and back muscles, which represent the center of your body.
Increases the flexibility of body and mind.
Flexibility is undoubtedly one of the best-known and most proven benefits of yoga. With yoga, you become more flexible.
Not only physically, but also mentally. More flexible towards others, but above all towards yourself.
“Flexibility is not a prerequisite of yoga, it is a benefit.” And that is why you can practice Yoga even if you are not flexible at all.
Increase your balance.
The balance positions are many: standing, on one leg, or on the head.
With practice, stability improves considerably, and your body becomes more balanced and centered in everyday life.
It is precisely for this reason that Yoga can help you improve your balance in other sports as well.
Physical stability is connected and opposed to mental stability.
When all systems, both internal and external, are balanced, the state of health and harmony you get is indescribable.
Yoga improves digestion and makes you lose weight.
Yoga, thanks to its system of techniques, both physical and mental, also helps to rebalance the digestive system.
This is made possible by positions that involve twists, inversions, and the use of the abdominal and back muscles.
Constant practice also helps you achieve your optimal weight and change your eating habits.
Detoxify your body.
Asanas (postures) are always performed in coordination with breathing.
Thanks to this association, the internal organs are massaged and enriched with oxygen.
In turn, oxygen allows the body to eliminate toxins. And when I talk about toxins, I’m not just referring to the physical ones!
Sometimes the mental ones are even worse.
Stress, bad thoughts, and worries are examples of this.
It helps you to beat back pain.
It has been widely demonstrated that one of the greatest benefits of Yoga is that, thanks to constant practice over time, it relieves or defeats back pain.
As? It is thanks to a series of specific positions that you can keep the spine healthy, toning its muscles and improving its elasticity.
Not only. It can also help relieve or make other pains or conditions go away. I avoided the meniscus operation only thanks to a lot, a lot of practice, and dedication.
It’s good for your heart.
With Yoga, we learn to breathe correctly, and the breath is the key to our health.
And you? Are you sure you can breathe correctly?
The truth is, over time many of us have forgotten to breathe.
Yoga is a great way to re-educate your breath.
And this can improve the circulation of oxygen in the blood, bringing great benefits to the cardiovascular system.
Strengthens the immune system.
Yoga stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system which, in turn, has a calming action.
This relaxing effect acts directly on the immune system by strengthening it considerably.
As a result, the body fights viruses and bacteria faster, thus also clearing itself of various toxins.
Mental Benefits: How Yoga Can Reduce Anxiety and Depression, Improve Your Sleep, and Boost Your Self-Esteem.
Let’s now see together some of the most famous mental benefits that Yoga can give us.
Yoga reduces anxiety and depression
Through meditation and breathing techniques, yoga helps you find the better concentration.
A greater awareness of the present moment is achieved, and this sharpens our ability to focus and manage stress.
Not only.
The practice reduces muscle tension as well as mental tension.
Which, as you know, are connected.
But we don’t stop there.
Yoga also gives awareness and clarity. A clear and aware mind makes us more capable of learning and storing new information.
Help those suffering from insomnia.
Scientific studies have shown that 20 minutes of yoga a day can improve our sleep.
The relaxation generated by Yoga and its techniques allows us to fall asleep much faster.
It helps you manage your emotions.
With constant practice of Yoga, one becomes more and more aware of “oneself”.
We then learn to look at emotions with the so-called “yogic detachment”.
As well as the ability to observe and accept them without being overwhelmed.
Too often we suffer from the events and people around us.
Thanks to the awareness that is acquired, it is possible to observe these phenomena with the right emotional distance.
It, therefore, becomes easier to make clearer decisions and less conditioned by our emotions.
Benefits of Yoga: how long does it take to manifest itself?
Good. Have you noticed how many times I have written the word “constant practice”?
It is not enough to have read this article or to decide to start a Yoga course.
Discipline is the most important aspect of Yoga.
Just like it is for any other goal we set for ourselves.
Personal growth and yoga
In this particular historical moment of very fast and great changes in many and more and more we perceive that those we considered our certainties and fixed points become more and more uncertain … It is therefore no coincidence that the discipline of yoga today becomes more and more a necessity for many: constant practice helps us to find that center of immutable peace and stability that is in each of us.
Experiencing this leads to living life in a new way and the ability to face changes firmly and calmly, which directly determines the effectiveness and results of our actions.
In this perspective, the techniques of yoga become techniques of personal growth of incredible relevance and effectiveness to evolve internally and concretely in the world with the world.
Since we are talking about inner peace it is right to clarify that yoga is not a religion and as such, it cannot be opposed to any religion. The element of yoga spirituality is understood in a broad sense. Yoga is a set of techniques that help, among other benefits, to rediscover a deep contact with oneself and one’s spirituality, whatever it may be.
Furthermore, the practice is good for the back, improves breathing, and circulation, drains, tones, and elasticizes the muscles, improves posture… brings you back in contact with the depth of yourself and the wonderful life that we are, here, and now; this is personal growth.
Since the aim is not to offer simple information but concrete tools for transformation and growth, if you have read this far, offer yourself the opportunity to practice and experiment directly by checking yourself!
Nobody can do it for you, so you decide to give yourself this gift: you, only 10 minutes a day for at least three weeks dedicated to this practice. Do not be satisfied with more or less agreeing on what you have read, and do not be satisfied with accumulating more information … GO PRACTICE YOGA NOW!!
As you can tell, yoga is a beautiful path and I assure you that, once you start it, you will never be able to do without it.
Namaste
About the Author
Sanjeev Yadav, M.A. Yoga, P.G. Psych., DNHE
Mr. Sanjeev is a yoga professional specializing in applied yoga, psychology, and human excellence with over more than 8 years of experience as a health and life coach, well-being trainer, and psycho-yogic counselor. He is completing his Ph.D. dissertation in Yoga.
