Here’s Why You Should Try Yoga

Yoga isn’t your typical form of physical exercise. On the contrary, this increasingly popular form of movement is more than just stretching, burning calories, and toning your muscles. The ancient practice isn’t just about the physical aspect of exercise, it focuses on the mind and body as a whole. It’s a movement that combines stretching, deep breathing, and meditation. It’s more about steady postures and relaxation of muscles.

If you have been struggling with rigorous exercises to stay fit and you would like to try other forms of movement to enable you to hit your fitness goals. Yoga might just be the right option for you! This article covers why you should consider practising yoga. 

1. It’s Beginner-friendly

Despite yoga poses seeming difficult and intimidating. It’s actually beginner-friendly, anyone curious about it can explore it. You don’t need to be super flexible to give it a try. That’s because the ancient practice is more about connecting your mind and your body and it is less about the poses. To many people, it’s beyond a means of staying fit, it’s a lifestyle. As a beginner, you should learn about the many different styles of yoga so you can know where to start. Ideally, it’s important to learn the basic poses, and over time, you can learn other forms of yoga and more advanced poses. 

2. It manages stress

It’s an ancient practice to use yoga for stress relief. The form of movement encourages mental, physical, and emotional relaxation which is great for reducing stress and anxiety. It boosts one’s mood and overall sense of well-being. The practice has also been linked to lowering heart rate and blood pressure. The therapeutic benefit of yoga to one’s health is plentiful. 

3. It enhances flexibility 

The gentle strengthening technique of yoga helps the muscles to relax and it hereby enhances one’s flexibility. Many people aspire to be more flexible and practising yoga is a surefire way to achieve that. Flexibility improves mobility, posture, muscle coordination, reduces the risk of injuries, and many more. 

4. It promotes balance 

Yoga helps to promote balance between the mind and body. As we get older we tend to lose mobility due to inactivity and other factors, this form of exercise helps to improve our body movement and athletic performance. Thanks to yoga, our body muscles are more stable. Certain poses help to activate muscle stability which promotes better balance in the body.

5. It increases body awareness 

With yoga, our body and mind are connected and more in tune. We become more intuitive and aware of the state of things in our bodies. We understand better how our muscles, joints, and tissues work. With body awareness, we can focus more on areas in our body that require more care and attention. 

6.) It enforces better breathing

Yoga uses a practice called “diaphragmatic breathing where there’s an emphasis on expanding the diaphragm during breathing. This makes the muscles and lungs stronger hence improving our breathing. The technique is useful for also controlling one’s breathing.