Yoga Benefits

Aside from the uplifting spiritual values, the act of yoga, pranayama and meditation can actually boost your confidence. Practicing yoga can be an meditative experience in motion. The process works by releasing tension from your mind so you can feel confident about your physical body. Without any forms of anxiety, you are able to establish an internal connection with yourself. This is consequently reflected in your perception of others and will help to better your relationships by improving compassion and awareness.

Exercise, such as running, is usually a series of rapid, forceful movements, which means that effort is at a maximum and there is a higher risk of injury and increased muscle tension. Often, strenuous exercise also engages an imbalance of opposing muscle groups whereas yoga concentrates on balancing this activity. Yoga unites your body and mind and therefore allows you to move in a way that results in an injury free, healthier you. This doesn't mean you stop doing everything else, on the contrary live life to the full but include yoga practice in your routine to protect your body from injuries, keep the mind calm and stay connected to your inherent self.

Being overweight is a sign that there are imbalances in your everyday life and one major contributor to weight gain is excess stress. Practising yoga enables you to bring a deep sense of relaxation to your body and your mind, helping you to de-stress and allowing you to lose weight naturally.

People often say that they are not flexible enough to do yoga. The truth is it doesn't matter how tight your muscles are as yoga asanas works by safely stretching your muscles and help you to ease in the practise. Moreover yoga also stretches other soft tissue in the body such as ligaments and tendons, increasing the range of motion in the joints and allowing you to move around more freely.

Many yoga asanas have a profound effect on your upper body strength, such as the downward and upward dog and the plank focuses on your core. Likewise standing poses strengthen your upper leg muscles and lower back. Essentially any pose will strengthen an area of the body if it is practised in the right way, without putting too much stress on specific muscle groups.

If you are to practise yoga consistently, your lung capacity will increase as a result of the deep breathing process. This will then have a positive effect on more intense sports that you might be a part of, increasing your stamina and endurance. Furthermore, meditation and calming yoga like Yin practice slow down your heart rate which in turn lowers blood pressure and have also been linked with improving the immune system and lowering cholesterol.

By practising yoga you maintain a healthier weight, become more flexible and improve your muscle tone and strength. You will find that your posture will greatly improve because of this. Your abdominals and back muscles can now fully support your weight and you will be able to sit and stand tall, preventing niggling injuries, aches and pains.

If you have been inspired to give yoga a go, there is no better place or time. Give it a go and if you think I can help please contact me.