The Benefits of Yoga

Many people tend to judge and toss aside the idea of practicing yoga without knowing much about it. However, if people were to know about the benefits that come with this exercise, they may change their minds! Listed below are a few of the benefits associated with yoga…don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!

1. Relieves Stress. The practice of yoga involves meditations of the mind and body. Deep breaths are used to calm, while the different positions offer relaxation through stretching of the muscles throughout the entire body. So if you’re looking for an outlet to get a little stress off of your chest, yoga is a definite possibility.

2. Tones Muscles. A big part of yoga is the unique poses and positions that are used during the practice. With these different movements, you are strengthening muscles throughout the entire body, which will pave the way to perfectly toned muscles!

3. Improves Posture. Poor posture is a challenge that many of us face with no clear direction as to how to go about correcting it. The answer is yoga! The different poses and stretches target different areas of the body, in which case you can target the shoulders, neck, and back to work on improving your poor posture. A few positions that are good for this type of stretching are: child’s pose, warrior pose, and the lizard pose.

4. Relieves Migraines/Headaches. Many people suffer from headaches/migraines on a daily basis, even with the help of over the counter medication. Due to the relaxing nature of yoga, it has been known to relieve and reduce the number of headaches/migraines a person suffers from drastically.

5. Increases Flexibility. The results of practicing yoga are often achieved over a period of time, not immediately. Flexibility doesn’t happen after just one session, but is gained by continually practicing the positions and building onto it by attempting new ones. It is imperative that you stretch before every workout to ensure the best results are being achieved and risk of injuries is minimized. Taking part in a quick yoga session before going for a 3-mile run is a sure way of making sure you are fully stretched out, relaxed, and ready to go!