There’s a reason why yoga remains popular year after year. More people are taking up yoga, and for some, yoga is the one thing they swear by. These science-backed benefits will convince you to hit the mat, if you haven’t already.
Photos: 123rf.com
There’s a reason why yoga remains popular year after year. More people are taking up yoga, and for some, yoga is the one thing they swear by. These science-backed benefits will convince you to hit the mat, if you haven’t already.
Photos: 123rf.com
Many yoga poses require flexibility. For instance, forward folding or bending poses target the hamstrings, while backbends like bow and wheel poses help to reduce stiffness in the back. The stiffer you are, the more you will benefit from yoga.
Often seen as a flexibility exercise, yoga is also a great form of strength training. Many poses, such as chair and chaturanga, require you to resist your body weight.
Many studies show that yoga lowers the resting heart rate, the marker for cardio fitness. Fast-paced styles like ashtanga and Bikram yoga are especially good for increasing endurance and maximal oxygen intake. That’s why yoga is highly recommended as a form of cross-training for runners.
Having good balance is crucial to preventing falls, which happens even to the most careful people. Balancing poses include tree pose, dancer pose and half moon pose. These strengthen your ankles, calves and core muscles, so you’ll have much better control on unsteady ground.
Because yoga quietens the mind and promotes relaxation, it leads to better sleep for most people. Research by Harvard University found that doing yoga for eight weeks helped people with insomnia get significantly better sleep. Try doing calming yoga poses such as savasana (corpse pose) if you can’t fall asleep.
As you transit from one yoga pose to another, the movement promotes lymphatic drainage that helps your body get rid of toxins and waste. At the same time, it transports lymph – a fluid that contains infection-fighting white blood cells – around the body.
(Also read: 7 Ways to Boost Your Immunity & Stop Falling Sick)
Certain yoga poses are known for helping to reduce gas in the tummy and improve digestion, due to the stimulation of digestive juices. So if you often feel bloated, give yoga a shot.
(Also read: Do These Yoga Poses If You Are Bloated Or Constipated)
If you have high blood pressure, consider adding yoga to your routine. Research has consistently shown yoga to help in lowering blood pressure levels, similar to the effects from cutting down on salty food and alcohol.
(Also read: Why Measuring Blood Pressure Daily Is Important For Hypertension)
Feeling extra focused after doing yoga? It’s not just your imagination. Recent research from the University of Waterloo found that doing 25 minutes of hatha yoga or mindfulness meditation daily significantly improves cognitive performance as well as energy levels.
A study at the University of Utah found that yoga practitioners have higher pain tolerance and the lowest pain-related brain activity compared to healthy non-practitioners. That’s what makes yoga suitable for all types of people, whether you have back pain or bad knees.
The chanting at the start or end of a yoga class could clear your blocked nose. A Swedish study found that single-breath humming helps to drain nasal fluids.
(Also read: I Sat In A Room Full Of Salt & It Cleared My Sinus Problems)
A study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine found that doing an hour of yoga daily for 12 weeks enhanced sexual desire, arousal and function among women. This is likely due to increased abdominal and pelvic muscle tone, digestion, joint function and mood.
Aside from partner yoga and acroyoga, yoga is usually a solo practice. Those hours spent on the mat is the perfect time to discover your strengths and weaknesses. At the start of yoga classes, the instructor may ask you to breathe deeply, let go of negative thoughts, and set a positive intention for your yoga practice. All that gives you the opportunity to connect with yourself.
It’s no coincidence that yogis love eating at salad bars and whole food places. Doing yoga really makes you more aware of what you put into your mouth. Researchers from the University of Washington found that yoga increased people’s ability to eat mindfully, but (surprisingly) not walking or other moderate- to high-intensity activities.
Yoga is not about perfection, but rather, improvement. The role of yoga instructors is not to make you feel inferior for not being able to execute a pose gracefully, but to give constructive feedback on how to eventually get there. Comparing yourself to other students in class is generally discouraged. Instructors always emphasise: Yoga is not a competition, but a journey into yourself.
Yoga has been used as an alternative treatment for depression for some time. And latest studies show that it really works. The more yoga you do, the lower your levels of stress, anxiety and worry. Don’t believe? Try these happiness-inducing poses.
HEALTH | 08 December 2019
LIFESTYLE | 07 December 2019
LIFESTYLE | 06 December 2019
FITNESS | 06 December 2019