The Ultimate Mind & Body Benefits Of Practicing Yoga

The pace of modern life can take a toll on our bodies and minds.

Keeping a busy schedule, having a pace at work that’s not sustainable, experiencing ups and downs in relationships, other daily stressors… all of these add up.

When you are holding tension in your body, this can begin to impact your immunity, mindset, and overall health.

Many of us find yoga when we are experiencing mental or physical problems such as depression or anxiety, burnout, lethargy, or aches and pains.

Yoga can help!

I highly recommend giving it a try and seeing how a yoga practice can benefit you personally. We all show up on the mat with different needs and parts of us that are ready to heal. With an increased awareness of the importance of mindfulness and self-care, people are more self-aware about their own need for self-love and relaxation. Yoga has become a go-to answer for tired, worn-out, and overworked individuals seeking refuge and recuperation.

So, what can yoga help with? Here are a few things…

Improved Balance

Yoga, which incorporates self-awareness and concentration, can improve your ability to balance. As you move on the yoga mat, you become more aware of your body’s location in space, increasing proprioception. You can incorporate standing yoga poses to improve balance, such as tree pose. Yoga corrects poor posture and strengthens your joints, giving you a stronger foundation.

Improving balance and holding a good posture in everyday life is essential for all ages, particularly if you feel slightly unsteady when standing or walking. 

Enhanced Blood Circulation

Yoga helps move energy in the body, and increases blood flow. Simple inversions such as Downward Dog and Standing Forward Fold get the head below the heart, which facilitates circulation to the brain. Compression and decompression of veins in the legs can help with circulation during poses such as Warrior I and II and Triangle. Enhanced blood circulation will allow more oxygen to move around the body, and subsequently help you focus during your session.

If you suffer from poor circulation in your hands and feet, relaxing yoga poses can help, too. 

A Stronger and More Balanced Immune System

Yoga is a great boost for your immunity! By bringing your entire nervous system out of fight or flight and into a state of ‘rest and digest,’ you balance cortisol levels and reduce stress, which has a huge impact on your immune system.

According to an article published by the International Journal of Yoga, achieving immunity through yoga is possible. The study highlights, "Yoga resists the autonomic changes and impairment of cellular immunity seen in examination stress." By practicing yoga, the body can resist stress, which causes inflammation of the cells. A few great yoga poses to boost immunity include:

• Sukhasana with Pranayama: Easy pose with concentrated breathing. Simple, and it works!

• Viparita Karani: Legs up the wall pose. A very soothing option before bed or when you need a mid-afternoon pick-me-up.

• Uttanasana: Standing forward fold. A simple inversion that opens the backs of the legs and brings fresh oxygenated blood to the brain.

Increased Happiness, Vitality and Joy

A happier you is a healthier you, and yoga enables you to reach a blissful state. Even one yoga class can improve your mood, and of course a consistent practice will help you balance your emotions in a way that’s more impactful in your life.

Yoga has a positive domino effect on your life, enabling you to live the awesome, happy life that you want and deserve. Changes to your hormones and chemical processes are what make this happen.

Flexibility and Strength

When folks think of yoga, often the first benefit they associate it with is increased flexibility. Being able to touch your toes :)

But yoga offers more than just flexibility— it adds strength to the stabilizing muscles around your joints, builds a strong core, and increases range of motion.

When it comes to developing flexibility, it’s important not to push yourself too hard and to listen to your body. Humility and surrender, along with awareness of the present moment, will help you prevent injury.

Whether you are a beginner or have been practicing a while, it’s important to consider the balance between flexibility and strength every time you practice yoga. Overstretching and hyperextending your joints may eventually create the opportunity for injury.

Better Concentration

How focused is your attention?

We live in a world inundated with buzzing notifications from emails, a long list of to do's, social plans, work plans. The list of commitments, meetings, and entertainment can feel never-ending. Distractions make it difficult for us to be present in a given moment and can lead us to live on auto-pilot or multitask our way through life. Are you feeling worn thin? Are you feeling burned out and frazzled?

Simple breathwork and consistently practicing yoga sequences like sun salutations can help you focus your mind and hone your concentration.

Balancing poses require you to steady your gaze, which in turn steadies the mind.

And of course shavasana is a beautiful way to practice meditation in a restful state, and allow your thoughts to slow.

More Restful Sleep

Are you struggling to get enough sleep, or to feel well-rested from your sleep?

Yoga can help.

Try a restorative class to help you wind down at the end of the day. Yoga nidra meditation is another great option.

Yoga can act as a natural remedy for sleeplessness or insomnia.

The practice can help us achieve a sense of peace and tranquility which supports a night of better sleep. 

Toning and Strengthening

Besides the mental health benefits of yoga, consistent practice has also been proven to strengthen muscles and tone your physique. Vigorous styles of yoga such as Ashtanga and Bikram yoga can provide a challenging workout that helps you build strength increase stamina.

Positive Body Image

Yoga can help you transform your mindset about your body. As you begin to focus more on how your body feels, as you cultivate gratitude, as you turn inward and meditate, and as you move into a space of acceptance and non-attachment, you begin to see how beautiful and strong you truly are.

Yoga can help us let go of self-doubt and negative feelings associated with our bodies. We become more in tune with who we are as human beings, as whole beings.

To unlock your mind and body's potential and become a calmer, fulfilled person engaged in the present, yoga can provide a wealth of benefits.

What have you gained from your practice?