5 Reasons To Get Into Yoga

Yoga has long been seen as a good way to get into exercise – a beginner’s approach to leading a healthier life. However, if you have never tried your hand at yoga before, joining a class can understandably seem like a daunting prospect.

So, if you are in the process of trying to decide whether yoga is a good fit for you and your exercise goals, we’ve put together five reasons why you should give yoga a chance!

Improved Flexibility

Regular yoga practice is well known to bring a wide range of benefits, with many yoga practitioners reporting an increased level of flexibility – with benefits being felt from as little as ten weeks of yoga practice.

One of the best things about yoga is that you don’t have to have a high level of fitness to practice yoga. You can start from the ground up and improve your muscle strength and flexibility gradually over time. Yoga can be practiced at all different levels of ability – it’s no surprise why it’s so popular among beginners!

Practicing yoga can help to stretch, strengthen and tone your muscles, and due to the amount of yoga poses found in a typical class, the chances are that you will be working for core muscle groups in most areas of your body.

For instance, a well-known yoga pose like the plank will work on muscles in your upper arms, neck and back, providing an effective exercise solution. And of course, that’s just one yoga pose!

Weight Loss

While all types of exercise are good for promoting a healthy, active lifestyle, some can help more effectively with weight loss than others.

Yoga combines a relaxing, holistic exercise with all the benefits that come from going to the gym. It includes elements of cardio, strength and functional training in one multi-functional activity – and best of all, with yoga, you can progress at your own pace.

When practiced regularly, even basic yoga poses will increase weight loss and promote the burning of fat. Regular yoga can also restore your body’s natural hormone balance, stabilizing your body weight, decreasing appetite and reducing levels of stress.

If you are looking for an enjoyable way to lose weight, yoga might just be the exercise for you!

Reduced Stress

It’s no secret that yoga is great at minimizing stress levels – if you’re feeling particularly harried, you might benefit from reaching for the yoga mat!

Yoga is relaxing and it can calm you both mentally and physically, giving you better tools to be able to effectively combat the negative effects of stress on your body.

When combined with meditation and deep breathing, the effects are even more significant; many yogis choose to incorporate all three elements (breathing, poses, and meditation) into their yoga practice in order to maximize as many benefits as possible.

Yoga is also said to help prevent insomnia and improve your sleep, boosting the overall quality of your nightly sleep and reducing the impact of fatigue.

Builds Muscle Strength

Muscle strength is a key component of a healthy body. Strong muscles will protect your body and also prove beneficial as you age, keeping you healthier throughout your life.

The added bonus of coupling increased muscle strength with flexibility is sure to help you reap many more benefits from your yoga practice.

In addition, did you know that yoga can also be beneficial for bodybuilding? Contrary to popular belief, yoga can help to build muscle mass and strength while improving your posture.

As unlikely as it may seem, if you want to build muscle strength, you might want to give yoga a try!

Increases Blood Flow And Lowers Blood Pressure

As well as weight loss and toning up, yoga can also have many more hidden benefits on your body.

Yoga is known to increase your blood flow, boosting circulation and increasing the amount of oxygen reaching your cells, improving their function. It can also boost your levels of haemoglobin and red blood cells, thinning the blood and reducing the risk of blood clots.

As your heart rate is likely to increase during yoga practice, the aerobic exercise is likely to increase your heart health, lowering your resting heart rate and improving your oxygen intake during future exercise.

Of course, the more rigorous your yoga routine is, the sooner you are likely to start seeing benefits. Despite that, there is absolutely no shame in starting gently and gradually working your way up to increased levels of aerobic exercise in your yoga practice.

On a similar note, yoga has also been proven to be an effective way of naturally increasing your body’s lymph drainage, keeping your body happy and healthy.

When it comes to blood pressure or hypertension, yoga has also been linked with lowering it. Regular practice is also said to help keep blood pressure levels down in general.

Are You Ready To Try Yoga?

Many gyms and fitness organizations offer introductory taster sessions for their yoga classes, allowing you to get a good feel for the yoga instructor and environment and assess whether or not you like the appeal of yoga.

If you are interested, you may also check yoga instructor jobs.

Yoga is a great stepping stone to different types of exercise, and as explored in greater detail above, it can also bring many health benefits.