Yoga is the ancient exercise regime that helps people with everything from stress relief to weight loss.

In an unhealthy world plagued by cardiovascular disease and diabetes, it’s important to stay healthy and prevent these conditions from developing in the first place.

It’s no hidden secret that the benefits of yoga practice are significant. They touch so many parts of a yoga practitioner’s life. (This yoga instructor swears by her craft. Who can blame her? She’s 98 years old!)

While yoga may not be a cure-all, it is the sort of thing that everybody should be doing due to its tremendous health benefits. Here is a look at some of the most significant beneficial effects of yoga.

Cardiovascular Health

Rumor has it that yoga boosts heart health and prevents heart disease. As it turns out, these rumors could very well be true.

According to a study published in 2014 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, there was evidence of improved cardio-metabolic health in participants that practiced yoga regularly.

That’s great news considering that heart disease is the number one killer of men and women in America today!

Pain

Muscle pain happens to all of us every day. If you go running without stretching or you’re just plain old, muscle pain is a part of our daily life.

What’s more, the market is flooded with pain killers and muscle relaxants that have as many side effects as prescribed uses. Avoid all of that with yoga.

Scientific studies have shown that yoga can improve the pain associated with conditions from lower back pain to even serious conditions like Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis.

Stress

If you’re alive, chances are that you experience stress. How can you not? We all experience different levels of it and we all deal with it differently. Many of us choose to partake in a couple of adult beverages or a cigarette to relieve some stress. But it is important to find other healthier options for stress release. Yoga is one of these options.

Exercise is a great way to bust stress and improve your overall mood and health. Yoga has shown to have multiple effects. One study even suggests it may lead to decreased levels of anxiety and even depression.

Whether it’s for relaxation, flexibility or for general health, yoga is the number-one exercise for you. These examples are just the tip of the iceberg, to learn more about how yoga can change your life for the better contact us today.

Since its introduction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Western practice of yoga has experienced a steady increase in popularity. Before diving into the different categories, poses and yoga pants, a new student should be aware of the range of benefits they can reap from taking a yoga class.

It isn’t just the young and athletically inclined that can find reward in a yoga practice. Every type of student can benefit from a yoga class, from athletes taking classes for injury prevention to students in search of a healthier lifestyle to long-time practitioners learning the art of teaching yoga.

Mental Health

First and foremost yoga is famous for stress relief, which carries with it cascading mental health benefits. Stress has been a leading factor in causing everything from asthma to insomnia; so relieving stress of every day life provides a host of healthy side effects.

Studies show that yoga classes can alleviate the symptoms of severe mental disorders such as depression and chronic anxiety. Quieting the mind through mindful movement and as well as breath control all add up to both mental clarity and a sense of calm. Additionally, just making room for personal development or “me time” and foster an overall feeling of wellness and contribute to healthier choices outside of the studio.

Physical Benefits

While not every style of yoga will help develop the promised toned “yoga butt,” studies show time and again that yoga changes your body for the better.

Some classes are more dynamic and offer the benefits of cardio and muscle building. Yoga classes with a faster pace, such as Ashtanga or flow, provide a cardiovascular (although not aerobic) workout. These classes focus more on a sustained heightened heart rate, moving from pose to pose to quickly build a sweat and working muscle tone.

This does not mean that gentler yoga classes don’t have comparable health benefits. For older students, slower yoga classes can ease aches and pains of aging. Studies show that a regular yoga practice helps with maintaining bone health, alleviates stiffness from arthritis, stabilize fluctuating hormones and improve both balance and mobility.

Furthermore, a yoga practice encourages awareness outside of the studio. Through taking the first steps toward self-care through yoga and the mindfulness fostered in classes, yoga encourages a healthier lifestyle. Students may find themselves eating better and becoming more committed to a healthy awareness of their body.

Joining the Yoga Community

Even though that first class may be daunting, many studios offer supportive and nurturing environments. Everyone begins at the same place and can relate to the confusion and apprehension of being a new student. Many students turn to teacher training after finding a deeper connection within the community in order to pay it forward.

There are as many ways to practice yoga as there are yoga students, but across the board everyone can benefit from yoga classes. From beginners to yoga pros, there is always something to be learned on the mat.

The numerous benefits of yoga are becoming more and more well known across the globe for those seeking quick results and lasting body transformation. Whether you’re someone who is just beginning your fitness journey or an experienced athlete looking for a new way to stretch, and strengthen your muscles, there is something for everyone with power yoga classes. Yoga offers a great way to change both your mental and physical capacity in a very short time frame, while gently preparing the body and mind for long term health advantages.

Yoga is Inclusive

One of the best things about yoga is the fact that while each person’s individual journey is special, the practice itself is very inclusive. Most yoga studios, especially independent studios, give you the option of taking classes with other students at all different skill levels. Unlike many other fitness options, yoga accepts everyone with open arms and promises that everyone in the group feels accepted.

Choose from Many Different Styles

When they say there is something for everyone in yoga, they aren’t exaggerating. From power yoga classes that focus on a full body workout to classes that are all about strengthening the core, depending on your fitness needs, you can try a new yoga style everyday until you find the perfect class schedule. Most studios encourage their students to explore many different class styles to broaden their horizons and ensure that they continue to grow mentally and physically through yoga.

Yoga Provides Increased Focus

As your body becomes more familiar with the breathing and flow required to complete and hold each power yoga pose, you’ll find that you have an increased ability to focus. This skill is not only beneficial in class but in your day-to-day life. Take this new ability out of the classroom and use it to de-stress anywhere by coming back to your calm and centered breathing to focus your mind and power through the rest of your day.

Yoga Improves Strength and Flexibility

Power yoga postures are designed to strengthen the body from the inside out, making it easy to look and feel healthier than you ever have before. Each of the yoga poses you learn in class are designed to help to reinforce and strengthen the muscles around your spine, which is the very center or core from which your body operates. When your core is engaged and working properly, you’ll find that your posture is improved, acid-reflux is alleviated and your body looks longer, leaner and healthier.

Power Yoga Builds Muscle

Much like the popular body weight fitness exercises or calisthenics, advanced power yoga poses challenges the muscles in your body by requiring an increased amount of energy, strength and focus. Most poses are held for a long, sustained period of time. This means you’ll have to focus your mind and breathing while your muscles get an intense workout to hold each pose. Overtime, this strengthens and builds long, lean muscles.

It is easy to stay active during the spring and summer when the long days and warm weather encourage us to get outside.However, it’s hard to maintain these activities moving into the fall and winter; those after-work jogs are far less appealing when it is dark and icy. Yet, the cold weather is no excuse to stop caring for your body, and the winter is the perfect time to revive or double-down on your yoga practice. There are many benefits to practicing yoga during the winter months, so here are a few tips to enhance your winter yoga practice and some examples of how it can improve your physical and mental health.

Poses to fight a cold

It is not advisable to follow your standard yoga routine while fighting illness – rest is probably the best option – but these are some poses that open the chest and improve circulation that can help relieve the symptoms of a cold or flu. For detailed instructions on how to do each pose, check out the pose instruction page at yoga.com: https://yoga.com/poses.

Bridge pose: This is a beginner pose that effectively opens the chest and increases blood flow to the head. This pose is perfect for opening some congested airways.

Camel pose: The camel pose is an intermediate pose will open the back and chest to relieve congestion.

Plow pose: Another beginner pose, the plow pose is supposed to be therapeutic for sinusitis.

Bow pose: This pose stretches the neck, chest, stomach, and back. The opening of the neck and chest will improve breathing, and the bow pose also enhances relaxation. This is a good pose to improve sleep.

Additional health benefits of practicing yoga in the winter

In addition to relieving the symptoms of a cold or flu, yoga provides other health benefits during the winter. For older folks or those with medical conditions that lead to stiff joints, cold weather can exacerbate chronic joint pain. Practicing Vinyasa, a flowing form of yoga, can help to maintain joint mobility and increase circulation to loosen stiff joints.

Yoga can also help protect the lower respiratory system. Consistent breathing through the nose will warm air before it enters the lungs, decreasing lung constriction that results from cold air entering the body. Nose-breathing can also help decrease nasal congestion and clear out mucus in the sinuses.

Lastly, yoga is the perfect antidote to the winter blues that creep in during the dark and cold winter months. Yoga can help reduce stress and elevate your mood, both of which help to ward off the winter blues.

When practicing yoga in the winter, make sure not leave the studio or your home to quickly after a practice. Cooling down too quickly can tighten muscles and reduce circulation, which will put you at a greater risk for muscle injuries. Waiting 5-10 minutes before going outside, and bundling up when you do, should be sufficient to allow for a proper cool-down.