The Benefits of Yoga

Yoga Offers More Than Just Physical Benefit

Yoga is one of the oldest forms of exercise known to man. It has actually been practiced for over 5,000 years, and today it is estimated that nearly 11 million Americans regularly take part in this activity.

Although many people realize that yoga promotes numerous physical benefits, what they may not know is that yoga also offers numerous other positives in terms of our psychological, physiological, and biochemical well being too.

The primary purpose of performing yoga is essentially to unite the mind, the body, and the spirit all in one. Therefore, because these attributes are all linked together, those who practice this healthy activity are typically more prone to finding inner harmony and allowing any physical ailments to heal themselves.

Psychological Benefits of Yoga

Certainly, keeping our physical self in harmony entails some psychological aspects – and yoga has many. Just some of the mental positives you can harness by doing yoga include an improvement of mood, an increase in your subjective well-being, and a decrease in depression and anxiety.

In addition, yoga can also be attributed to you having much better attention and concentration, keeping a sharp memory, and believe it or not, this exercise can even help you with attaining increased social skills.

Yoga’s Many Physiological Benefits

In addition to a much improved mental state, yoga can also keep you on your toes in terms of physiological aspects as well such as with helping to increase your strength and resiliency, keeping pain at a lower intensity level, and improving balance.

Some may be surprised to learn that yoga is even responsible for maintaining improved reaction time, improved sleeping habits, and a heightened energy level. With this in mind, it may not be out of the question to learn that along with all of this, those who perform yoga on a regular basis are also likely to be at a more normal physical weight.

Yoga Versus Other Types of Exercise

While there are certainly benefits to most forms of exercise, yoga may be head and shoulders above many of the more ‘traditional’ forms of working out in terms of helping to keep muscle tone normalized – as versus risking muscle tears by lifting weights, and in helping to keep the body relaxed rather than working up physical intensity.

Yoga can literally change and improve your physical well being from the inside out. If you perform yoga regularly, there is a good chance that you will see an increase in your body’s overall health.

Vitamin C level as well as an increase in their total serum protein.

Other internal bodily benefits can include a decrease in glucose, sodium, and cholesterol as well as a decrease in total white blood cell count. All of these benefits together keep the body working in harmony – both inside and out – in order to shape the total person physically and mentally.

By practicing yoga, it is also highly likely that you will suffer fewer negative health issues. You may even be able to beat certain types of bodily ailments without the need for expensive medical treatment or drugs with harmful side effects.

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Janet Lynch works in the dietary food and fitness world.