We all must have heard one or two things about yoga. By merely hearing the word “yoga,” even if you know very little about it, there’s already a picture in your head—the mental image of yoga, a practice of putting your body in bizarre or unusual positions. But there’s more to it than meets the eye. Many people often wonder if yoga is worth it. So, to help you decide if yoga is really worth your time, there are a few things you need to know to help you decide if it is something you should get involved in or not.
Yoga has been around for a while now. It dates back to an old practice from India. It is considered to be both spiritual and physical. Simply put, yoga makes use of meditation, breathing techniques, and exercise to improve health and happiness.
The practice of yoga has come a long way since then. It has now become widely accepted throughout the world. And it continues to leave more and more people wondering if adopting the practice of yoga is worth it.
Many have come to believe that yoga is not something they can do and question if yoga is worth it. This is because of a common misconception about yoga being a practice involving putting oneself in impossible positions. So, they tend to believe the method is strictly for the more flexible amongst us, which is just not true.
The truth is, practically everyone can practice yoga—from children to the elderly. There are no physical restraints on the practice. But just in case my words are simply not enough to convince you, I will share a few of the MANY benefits of yoga. Hopefully, these will help you decide if yoga is really worth it.
1. Yoga Improves flexibility
Improved flexibility is one of the most obvious benefits of yoga. As a beginner, you probably won’t be able to touch your toes in your first yoga class. But just like almost everything else, if you stick with it, you’ll notice a gradual loosening. With time, previously impossible poses and feats will become possible.
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2. Yoga Increases blood circulation
Yoga tends to get your blood flowing. To be precise, the relaxation exercises you learn in yoga will help your blood circulation.
The practice of yoga will help get more oxygen to your cells, helping them to function better.
Some yoga poses like the headstand and shoulder stand help venous blood from the legs and pelvis flow back into the heart, from where it can then be pumped to the lungs to be freshly oxygenated. These yoga poses may be worth your time if you have noticed swelling in your legs from heart or kidney problems.
Yoga also enhances the levels of the red blood cells, which carry oxygen to the tissues.
3. Yoga Has Cardiovascular benefits
By practicing yoga, you tend to get your heart rate into the aerobic range. This simply means that yoga will help to enhance your heart rate, which, in turn, reduces the risk of a heart attack, promoting a healthier heart.
4. Yoga Helps reduce blood pressure
As you well know, stress is one of the primary reasons for high blood pressure. Luckily, one of the core benefits of yoga is it aims to relieve tension throughout the body. There are a lot of poses that aim to relax the muscles throughout your body. The child pose is one of the more popular relaxing poses.
So, just in case you suffer from high blood pressure, you might want to consider giving yoga a chance.
5. Yoga Helps you sleep better
There are a lot of factors in your daily life that can affect your sleep. Regular yoga practice is known to provide relief from all the stress of modern life.
One of the main branches of yoga is relaxation. By practicing yoga regularly, you will find yourself less stressed and more relaxed. In turn, you will be able to get better, longer, and deeper sleep.
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6. Yoga Improves your immune system
You already know yoga has been practiced for a while now, dating back to ancient India. At the time, they made use of various relaxation poses.
They then noticed that meditation had a better overall effect on the immune system’s functionality. Incorporating meditation into your yoga practice will go a long way toward improving your immune system.
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7. Yoga Improves your lung capacity
By practicing yoga, you tend to take fewer, longer breaths of greater volume. By following this breathing pattern, you will notice that you are more relaxed, and your movements are more efficient.
Yoga promotes longer, deeper breaths through the nose. Hence, by practicing yoga regularly, you will notice you can take much more in-depth, longer breaths than before. In simple terms, by practicing yoga, you will significantly increase your lung capacity.
8. Yoga Gives you clarity and peace of mind
According to something known as Patanjia’s yoga sutra, yoga quells the fluctuations of the mind. In simpler terms, it slows down the mental loops of frustration, regret, anger, fear, and desire that can cause stress.
Since yoga embodies relaxation and meditation, regular practice will positively impact your overall quality of life, from reduced blood pressure to lower chances of heart attacks, better sleep, and a calmer, more peaceful mind.
9. Yoga Helps with aches and pains
If you feel aches and pains all over for no exact reason, it may stem from stiff muscles and joints. Luckily, yoga is a full-body workout that can target almost every area of the body. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of poses designed to target various areas of the body.
So, if you suffer back pains, shoulder pains, foot pains, stiff joints, neck pains, tense muscles, or any other minor aches or pains, you may want to consider adopting a regular yoga practice.
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10. Yoga makes you happier
Everyone wants to be happy, don’t you? But sometimes, it feels like life is designed to make that impossible. In life, sometimes, the little things matter the most, from getting better sleep, feeling more relaxed, having peace of mind, and being overall healthier.
These simple things can significantly influence your happiness.
As you already know, yoga addresses everything on this list of things that can influence your happiness. So, if you are among the many who seek a better, happier life, giving yoga a chance may be worth it. Don’t you think?
Wrapping Up
You’ve come this far, very good. But just in case you’re still unsure if yoga is worth your time, there are still tons of benefits you stand to gain.
By practicing yoga regularly, your overall sex life will be enhanced. You tend to lose weight faster and can curb bad eating habits.
Brain activity is also enhanced through meditation.
Yoga will also encourage your body positivity, increase your self-esteem, ease pains, help with addictions, serve as an excellent workout for the elderly, and do much more.
Yoga is worth your time if all these great health benefits sound useful to you.
Photo by Carl Barcelo on Unsplash
