The yoga industry has had its fair share of fads, with goat yoga and beer yoga making headlines in recent years, but there is one thing which has remained constant — people rolling out their yoga mats.
Yoga is a great way for people to work up a sweat and center their minds, no matter if they’re a newbie or seasoned pro. There also are some pretty amazing health benefits that come from a daily yoga session. Here are 5 amazing changes that happen to your body when you take part in a daily yoga session.
Your Other Workouts Will Benefit
Naturally, no one is interested in one activity and one activity only. It’s perfectly fine to love yoga and also run or take part in regular HIIT sessions. No matter where your workout passions lie, it is likely that regular sessions of yoga will help you perform better.
Repeating the postures seen in yoga will help give your deep connective tissue more adaptability, meaning that practicing it daily will help your performance of other exercises. But, this doesn’t mean you should double up on your workouts straight away. If you are interested in pursuing other exercises and workouts, then a quick 10-minute morning yoga sessionmay be just what you need to condition your body and mind in preparation for the day ahead.
You May Reduce Chronic Pains
Pain that is always present isn’t something you should mess around with. Chronic pain can be extremely debilitating to your quality of life, and some research has shown that it may lead to depression. However, multiple studies have shown that yoga is an extremely effective treatment for those who suffer from lower back pain and shoulder discomfort.
You’ll Stress Less And Sleep Better
We are always told to get more sleep, no matter what. If you are personally struggling to get more shut-eye, then yoga is likely to help. A recent survey found that 55% of yogis reported that they had improved sleep levels, and a further 85% said that they were much less stressed. A lot of the hard work comes from the breathing practices involved in yoga, which help practitioners switch off and relax after a busy or stressful day.
Improve Your Flexibility and Mobility
This pointmay seem obvious, but many people find that before yoga they can’t touch their toes or lock their hands behind their backs. But, being able to do this isn’t the only benefit that comes from practicing yoga.
As yoga involves a lot of postures that are used to improve flexibility and build muscular strength, it also helps work your deep connective tissue. Stress and anxiety from day-to-day life can leave our muscles feeling tired, stuck and tight; but yoga focuses on the movement of the whole body and being aware of it, so we can use yoga poses to release, lengthen and relax those tighter areas.
This doesn’t only mean more flexibility on the outside, but also that you can retrain the way your body holds the connective tissues together. The way to do this is with regular practice, but from better posture to more mobility, yoga poses themselves are a great way to wake up our bodies, and make them move and feel less tense.
You Might Have a More Positive Outlook
The way that you regularly think and act can greatly affect your mood and the way that you feel about yourself and the world around you. This means that it is important to put yourself within a space which feels safe, where you don’t feel judged, and where you can be in tune with your thoughts: yoga is the place for this.
By setting out your intentions at the beginning of a yoga class and focusing on the moment you are present in, you become more aware of negative thoughts when they arrive. By being able to understand them, you then can replace them with a brand new activity, such as mindful movement and controlled breathing.
Yoga is now becoming much more ethically and health focused, with yoga retreats and holidays on the increase. Even yoga clothing is undergoing a makeover toward more sustainability. Brands such as Horizon Athletic and Jade, for example, assure the public that their products have a positive impact on the environment.
All these small steps in the yoga community are slowly(but in a huge way) affecting those who take part in the exercise regularly, contributing to their overall outlook on the world.
