Yoga Health Benefits
With more than 5000 years of heritage and over 11 million American followers
, Yoga is one of the worlds most widely practiced exercise regimes because there are so many health benefits. The following will brief the various yoga health benefits that come with practicing this ancient art.
Flexibility
It is never too late to improve upon your bodys flexibility and it is one of Yogas health benefits. Age is not a barrier in learning and practicing yoga. When you assume a pose called asana, the lactic acid that causes the muscles to be stiff gets released thereby increasing the flexibility and reducing fatigue. It further increases the range of joint motion and improves their lubrication thereby turning you into a more agile being.
Apart from the muscles, yoga also stretches the ligaments, tendons, and the fascia sheath and despite your level of expertise, the rewards can be reaped within a short time span. It has been found that within the first two months people can gain flexibility in the shoulder and the trunk area.
Strength
Just like other fitness schools, yoga also has many styles with varying levels of rigor. Examples are the ashtanga and the power yoga which help in improving muscle tone.Even if you practice a less rigorous style like Iyengar you can still be blessed with the yoga health benefits leading to endurance and strength.
Strength of the muscles and bones become vital when you age and poses like Downward Dog, Upward Dog and Plank pose make your upper body stronger. The hamstrings, quadriceps and abs are worked out when you assume standing poses for several long breaths. The upward dog and chair poses fortify the lower back.
Posture
Proper sitting and standing posture develops automatically once you build flexibility and strength in your body which is another yoga health benefit. This is a direct consequence of the postures dependence on the abs. When the core muscles like the abs, quadriceps and hamstrings strengthened, sitting and standing tall becomes easy. Further your overall awareness of your body and mind increases thereby preventing slouching while you stand.
Breathing
The ability of your lung to hold more air improves gradually through regular practice thereby helping you improve your performance in sports activities without the aid of any cardiovascular workout. The relaxation response is often found to be more beneficial than the fight or flight adrenaline response and hence almost all yoga schools stress on deepening and lengthening of your breath.
Calmness
The torrent of thoughts, which are a primary cause of stress can be calmed and an inner peace generated with continuous practice of yoga and even novices have found it very beneficial from the beginning.
Yoga health benefits also affects the bodys metabolism. For instance, the stress hormone or catecholamines production is reduced along with other neurotransmitters like dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine thereby creating a soothing experience and calming the mind. Also there is an increase in the love hormone called oxytocin which improves your personal relationships.
Improved concentration and mood
Though difficult to acknowledge by scientific methods, it has been observed that yoga practitioners report elevated levels of concentration and mental ability. Furthermore, the overall mood of the mind tends to move towards the happiness and satisfaction spectrum. Yogas health benefit in combating depression is being studied in various institutes around the world and the increased level of oxygen in the blood is commonly attributed to this phenomenon. Further, studies have also revealed the benefit of yoga in treating personality disorders like obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Benefits to the heart
The blood pressure gets to the acceptable levels by constant practice of yoga thereby helping patients with low as well as high blood pressure problems and it is seen as one of the major causes of reduced heart disease in yoga practitioners. Reduced rate of heart beat helps people with hypertension, atherosclerosis and stroke. Dr. Dean Ornish of California has designed a program for heart patients based on yoga and it marks for the first time in the field of medicines where heart disease could be reversed without surgical means. Yoga also acts as an anti-oxidant and helps in reducing cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood. Finally yoga improves the immune system of the body and prevents early aging.
by: Christine Chou
The Best Electronic Cigarette Is Risk-free Characteristics Of The Best Electronic Cigarette Why The Best Electronic Cigarette Works Better What Comes With The Best Electronic Cigarette The Better Option Is The Best Electronic Cigarette Keeping Healthy This Winter Season What Was The End Result Of Health Care Changes In 2011 The Most Important Reason To Make Sure You Have Health Insurance Coverage The Benefits You Get With The Best Electronic Cigarette Health Insurance Coverage The Best Electronic Cigarette And The E-liquid What Is The Best Electronic Cigarette? Social Media: Impact On Healthcare