From relieving stress to boosting your brain power, here’s how yoga can improve not just your strength but your well-being, too.
For 5,000 years, hardcore yoga practitioners have been touting yoga’s mental and physical powers. Luckily, you don’t have to be an expert to reap the benefits- adding just a few poses to your daily routine can help your health in all kinds of unexpected ways.
On a physical level, yoga helps improve flexibility, strength, balance, and endurance. On an energetic level, yoga teaches you how to cope better with stress by cultivating a sense of ease in both active and passive poses. On a psychological level, yoga helps to cultivate mindfulness by shifting your awareness to the sensations, thoughts, and emotions that accompany a given pose or exercise.
Research continues to unearth even more health-boosting benefits of various types of yoga- and here are 5 of them.
Emotional Health Boost
All exercise has been shown to help people with depression to feel better, and yoga is no exception. Studies suggest that yoga could benefit those living with depression, schizophrenia, other psychiatric conditions, and sleep problems.
Practicing in a group setting, such as a yoga class, stimulates the production of oxytocin, the love and bonding hormone. Practicing mindfulness through yoga and meditation also results in higher serotonin levels(the happiness hormone), and long-term practitioners have shown more mass in the ares of the brain associated with contentment.
Back Pain Treatment
Multiple studies have found yoga to be a more effective treatment for chronic back pain than usual care. In a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, people living with chronic lower back pain reported better back function, though similar levels of pain, after a few months pf practicing yoga.
In another study of 80 individuals with chronic lower back pain, the group that participated in just one week of yoga showed less disability and greater flexibility than patients who completed other physical exercises. Even if you don’t have chronic pain, yoga’s stretching exercises can improve your spinal flexibility.
Hangover Relief
After a night of drinking, yoga may be the last thing on your mind, but it’s exactly what you should do.
Yoga is a great way to detox your entire system. It also helps with metabolism. The poses 'shoulder stand’, ‘plow’, and ‘fish’ work on the thyroid gland and improve metabolism, thus getting rid of a hangover faster. Reversing blood flow and bringing more blood to the brain creates balance in the body. It helps you burn fat, and the increased blood flow from yoga might even help blast cellulite away!
Arthritis Fighter
When it comes to the benefits of different types of yoga, a study indicated that iyengar yoga, known for it’s use of props like belts, blocks, and other positioning aids, might help people with rheumatoid arthritis. This pilot study of eight people with RA showed that a six-week yoga program improved pain, pain disability, mental health, depression, vitality, and self efficacy. Other types of yoga might help arthritis symptoms, too. Arthritis loves gentle movement and heat, so styles like bikram or gentle yoga can be very beneficial.
Insomnia Buster
According to a recent study that looked at several complementary and alternative medicine strategies for treating insomnia, yoga was one of the most effective approaches for getting a good night’s sleep.
When experiencing insomnia, practice relaxing asanas or postures, such as forward fold (uttanasana) or lying on your back with your feet up the wall. This will help with circulation as well as calming your body and, most importantly, your mind.
