By: Selena Rodriguez
Exercising is a no-fail way to help improve your mood and boost your energy. Simply moving your body and challenging yourself can result in a surge of dopamine, a type of brain neurotransmitter associated with producing feelings of happiness and pleasure.
Among all the types of exercise, yoga has always been one of the most popular ones, regardless of a person’s age or fitness level. It’s a physical activity requiring people to slow down and perform a series of guided poses, stretches, and controlled breathing.
Why Try Yoga?
Despite its growing popularity, some people are still hesitant to try yoga. For them, the practice’s poses can be pretty intimidating, especially for beginners. If this somehow resonates with you, perhaps it’s time to delve deeper and see how yoga can change your life. Yoga has a lot of health benefits, and more so, it’s easy to get started.
Primarily, you need to buy a sturdy mat to prevent injuries while executing and changing poses. You also need to look for the right yoga style and a credible teacher who can guide you. You can check with your local fitness centers if they offer classes, look into a recommended app, and ask your yogi friends for suggestions.
Besides these, below are more reasons to love and practice yoga.
Helps You De-stress
Perhaps, one of the many reasons people have become attracted to yoga is because it helps calm the mind and the body. Stress is universal, and everyone has different experiences of dealing with it. For some people, shopping, eating their comfort food, or going for a run is their strategy for relieving stress. However, the practice is simply an effective way for yoga enthusiasts to clear their heads and relax.
Yoga can be an ideal de-stressing activity because it teaches you to perform movements at a slow pace. This gentle physical activity can decrease your heart rate and soothe muscle tension. In turn, consistently showing up for this practice allows you to learn to calm your nerves and dedicate your energy to performing the poses correctly.
Because of this, some people like to practice yoga after their hectic week. It helps them unwind and recharge their depleting emotional batteries. In turn, with a clearer headspace, they’d become more productive at accomplishing tasks and more active in socializing with other people.
Allows You To Practice Good Posture
Suppose you’re working from home; it’s common and easy to sit at your desk all day and make no time for any physical activity. Unfortunately, this situation can result in leading a sedentary life. If left unmanaged, remote work can blur the margins between work and relaxation or even recreation.
Improper posture can add tension to your spine, which then may result in pain, or worse, back injury. Practicing yoga can remind you to look after your spine health and start moving. With various stretches and a full range of poses, the activity can help promote and increase postural awareness and strength.
Yoga can be the perfect exercise to stretch those tight muscles and enhance overall back health. Likewise, yoga can help you develop a solid core, enabling you to sit and stand tall.
Can Improve Flexibility
As you age, your muscles and joints can become stiff. Consequently, this can lead to inflexible muscles and a limited range of movement. While this is natural when aging, regularly practicing yoga can help increase your flexibility.
In addition, yoga can help you regain mobility in your muscles and joints. Frequently doing the poses may even help relieve pressure and tension on particular body parts, making it easy to move. And as you slowly reduce your heart rate and control your breathing, you also become adequately relaxed to stretch deeper.
For some people, yoga has helped them touch their toes and maintain poses for a couple of seconds. In return, you tend to feel stronger and more confident with every small accomplishment. Besides allowing you to develop flexibility, yoga is also a physical activity that can make you feel good about yourself.
Helps You Become Present
Perfecting a particular yoga pose takes patience and consistency. In turn, this compels you to focus and heed attention to executing the proper movements. Along with controlled breathing exercises, performing yoga can help you become more present.
Interestingly, meditation is a part of yoga, which can help you become more aware of your thoughts and allow them to slip from your mind. As you examine your thoughts, you’re taught not to judge them. Instead, you’re instructed to see them as simply floating thoughts.
Spending a few moments of mindfulness makes it easy to be present. Indeed, yoga lets you find a sense of peace and stillness, especially in this busy and cluttered world. In fact, you can turn this exercise into a self-care activity to boost your mental well-being.
Takeaway
Yoga has become a well-known practice due to its array of benefits, from physical to mental health. Regardless of your age and fitness level, it’s never too late to start practicing and loving yoga. Be inspired by the list above and enjoy the journey.
Author Bio
Selena Rodriguez is a freelance writer and has been in the industry for almost a decade. She has been sharing her expertise through guest blogging. During her spare time, Selena likes to play the ukulele and take sunset photos.
