If you have made the decision to start living a healthier lifestyle, you may be considering many different options. Exercises like running, elliptical machines, biking, weightlifting, and others can be great ways to get and stay in shape. But if you’d like to find an exercise that works to improve both mental and physical health at the same time, you may want to try your hand at yoga.
For those who have never tried yoga, the thought of contorting yourself into seemingly strange positions can be intimidating. But in reality, yoga is great for you whether you are a beginner or an expert. It is safe, low-impact, and gentle on your body when done correctly. In addition, yoga’s thoughts and philosophies can really help you lead a healthier lifestyle.
Here are 5 ways that yoga makes you a healthier person:
1. Yoga increases relaxation and decreases stress levels.
We all know that mental stress has a way of manifesting itself physically. That’s why no matter how many hours you spend at the gym working out, you will never feel good if you are too stressed out. But yoga is the perfect way to combat this. Through your yoga class, you will learn many techniques to help you relax your mind and increase serenity, which can lead to a significant reduction in stress levels. And if that weren’t enough, yoga has also been known to actually lower the levels of cortisol in your body, which is a hormone that causes stress.
2. Yoga improves your conditioning.
Want to increase your endurance, lower your resting heart rate, and decrease your chances of having heart problems? Of course you do. But do you know that yoga can help you accomplish all of those goals? Well, it can. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t participate in more standard cardiovascular workouts like running also. But yoga will benefit you when you are doing those as well because of your increased flexibility and better breathing patterns.
3. Yoga teaches you how to breathe properly.
One of the most important things you will learn from yoga is a better way to breathe. This will help you in all aspects of life, including other exercises. By breathing slower and deeper through your nose, the oxygen levels in your blood are increased. This will also result in stronger, more effective lung function.
4. Yoga will help relieve your aches and pains.
Whether you suffer from arthritis, have been in an accident that you never quite recovered from, or are just experiencing the normal back, neck, and joint pain that come with getting older, yoga is a perfect way to combat these aches and pains. First off, yoga significantly increases your body’s flexibility, which leads to more limber and loose muscles and less muscle tension. Yoga also teaches your body to know exactly which muscles to use when doing certain movements, which, believe it or not, is not likely to be something you do naturally.
5. Yoga can help you lose weight.
I know your natural inclination is to think that the slow movements of yoga will not help you when it comes to weight loss, but that is entirely untrue. You actually do burn calories when going through your yoga poses. You also reduce your cortisol levels, which helps you lose weight and keep it off. Add that to the improved diet and healthier lifestyle that will be encouraged in yoga classes, and the weight will come flying off.
Juliana Weiss-Roessler runs Weiss-Roessler Writing with her husband Josh. Together, they offer press releases, blogging, website copy, and other writing services to small and mid-sized businesses. Her writing has been featured on high-traffic websites, such as Yahoo.com, and in major publications, such as PARADE and People. Along with her husband, Juliana lives in Austin, TX, with their two tiny-but-rambunctious dogs and one tiny-but-rambunctious baby boy. Learn more on www.WeissRoessler.com, or follow her on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook.
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