As well as increasing your flexibility and strength, yoga has so many benefits that you’d be crazy not to be practising it regularly!
Here’s a simple list of the many benefits, but you really only need to try a class or two to experience them for yourself:
- Practicing yoga creates a feeling of peace and calm – which I’m sure you’ll agree is a much nicer state to live than running around like a headless chicken!
- Improves sleep quality
- Improves mood by increasing serotonin levels, and decreasing cortisol levels
- Improves posture, which in turn improves digestion and breathing; relieving IBS, constipation and asthma, and also giving you that proud feeling of ‘walking tall’
- Increases body/mind awareness – commonly known as mindfulness these days – stimulating you to generally take better care of yourself, by eating healthily for example
- Eases pain by releasing tension in your body
- Improves balance – we all need to be able to avoid falls, especially in older age
- Improves focus – Helping you to stay in the present moment, which transfers to the rest of your daily activities. This act of mindfulness could help you to lose weight (ask me how)
- Lowers blood sugar
- Regulates your adrenal glands (read more here)
- Lowers blood pressure (Savasana – Corpse pose)
- Increases lymph drainage
- Increases blood flow
- Strengthens bones
- Keeps spine supple & lubricated
- Keeps joints and cartilage mobile
Say goodbye to bingo wings!
For a great upper body workout, try doing 20 minutes of continuous sun salutations. If you’re really game you can do 108. Then see how easy it is to lift your arms the next day!
Get into a comfortable outfit – it doesn’t need to be fancy or expensive – and change your life for the better with yoga!
