To improve our quality of life, several factors come into play. Some of these factors may include maintaining a healthy diet, having healthy relationships, and participating in a steady day-to-day routine. One of the things we can incorporate in this routine is having an exercise regimen for fitness or weight loss. There are many ways to do this, for instance doing simple daily work in the evenings, joining a gym for cardio and weight lifting or even yoga.
Benefits of yoga
Yoga is a practice that a person can easily engage in at any point in their day. All you need is a mat and a comfortable silent space where you can follow along with the guided practice, or do it yourself. The benefits of yoga far outweigh physical fitness, as it is good for your overall well-being as well.
1. It helps to relieve stress
To have an overall healthy lifestyle, you must pay attention to all areas of your life, be it mental, emotional, or physical. Doing a daily practice after work for instance is a great way to restore your emotional balance. Due to its relaxing nature, yoga can help you manage your stress. This is because some studies have shown that yoga helps to reduce the stress hormone cortisol. As such, doing a couple of minutes of yoga along with some calming music will help you unwind and put you in a better headspace to deal with issues that may be stressing you out.
2. Improves your posture
In this technological age, most of us may end up spending a lot of time hunched over our computers or cellphones. This often leads to bad posture and strains on the neck or back pain. Various postures target specific areas such as the upper back, neck, or shoulders. Doing these can help alleviate the discomfort that you may be feeling, and can help loosen your muscles for better posture. Point of note to take, if you have chronic pain in any area of your body, it may be best for you to do a practice with a professional to ensure that you do not hurt yourself.
3. Improves your blood flow
Yoga postures require deep breathing and often are done in slow meaningful movements. These can help to improve your blood flow to various parts of your body, which consequently means that your body parts will be well oxygenated. This will then have an overall effect of improving your moods and energy thus helping you enjoy your day more.
4. Boosts your strength and flexibility
Yoga postures incorporate several body muscles and therefore helps to train your whole body. In most cases, one needs to hold the posture for quite some time, which helps to improve strength and flexibility. It may be a little challenging at first, but with continued practice, you will find that you can hold the postures for longer and with more ease. Your strength will gradually increase with time, and so will your balance and flexibility.
