Top 10 Physical Benefits of a Yoga Fitness Program

 

Yoga started in India and is a very old mental, physical and spiritual fitness program. It was originally created as a spiritual enlightenment path; but today, the physical features in the way of managing stress and the gentle exercise have become popular. Even though there are various types of yoga, each one basically depends on organized poses that are practiced with breathing awareness. All over the world, yoga has gotten to be more famous. Why? Because many more people are discovering that there are many physical benefits of yoga.

Increases Strength

The poses in yoga command that you sustain your body weight in different ways and it assists in strengthening various parts of your body. For instance, the Downward Facing Dog pose uses your arms to support your body and the Tree pose balances all your weight on one foot. Some of the exercises concentrate on moving from pose to pose rather than movements within a pose; this helps build muscle endurance and strength.

Posture Improvement

There are many poses that require you to either sit or stand which helps you to have better posture. Yoga makes you more aware of your body because it schools you in how to keep your body in a healthy position. The enhanced awareness lets you know when you’re slumping or bending so that you can correct your posture.

Better Flexibility

Yoga not only helps with strengthening the muscles, but it’s beneficial for every soft tissue in your body. This increases flexibility in your hips, back, hamstrings and shoulders.

Improves Breathing

Breathing exercises focus on bringing more oxygen into the bloodstream and brain. There are many types of breathing exercises that assist in calming the central nervous system and clearing the nasal passages. These exercises can have mental benefits as well.

Removes Toxins from the Body

Your organs will get a light massage as you perform the breathing exercises and poses which will increase the blood flow throughout your body. The expanded blood flow completely washes the body and eliminates all the toxins. As an added benefit, it gives you more energy and postpones the aging process.

Helps You Maintain or Lose Weight

While practicing yoga, your metabolism will become balanced and more efficient which will help control your hunger and keep you at a healthy weight. Also, stretching the muscles lengthwise will aid in reducing the fat that can develop around the muscles.

Decreases Pain

It is thought that yoga reduces many types of pain. Yoga assists the brain with ejecting natural pain killers throughout the body and regulating the gate-controlling mechanism that’s in your spinal cord. So, yoga is quite effective for people who suffer from neck pain, back pain, joint pain, shoulder pain, arthritis, as well as other pain.

Keeping Your Heart Healthy

It’s well-known that yoga exercises help lower cholesterol and blood pressure; researchers have found that performing yoga three times a week not only lowers blood pressure but also lowers the risk of heart disease. A study that was done at Yale University School of Medicine shows that the participants that practiced yoga for six sessions had a seventeen percent improvement of blood vessel function.

Cures Insomnia

Performing yoga regularly was proven effective for people who have a difficult time falling asleep or suffer from insomnia. There was a small study conducted at Harvard Medical School’s Brigham and Women’s on yoga instructors. The study’s results showed their sleep patterns had significantly improved.

Protects Against Different Diseases

Yoga, while having great benefits to the heart, also aids in fighting off diseases such as: digestive disorders, asthma, diabetes, varicose veins, osteoporosis, carpel tunnel syndrome, Alzheimer’s, cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, migraines, muscular dystrophy, chronic bronchitis, scoliosis and many others.

When it comes to performing yoga exercises, you need to be aware that the end results won’t happen overnight; it could take days, weeks or possibly longer. But the results will definitely be there! Likewise, when you start to build a harmonious state with your internal self, you’ll have full knowledge of one-self.