All About Yoga

Yoga is an ancient practice and meditation. Yoga has become increasingly popular in today’s hectic society. For many people, yoga provides a retreat or an escape from their chaotic, always tuned-in, busy lifestyle. Yoga provides many health, mental and physical benefits.

The purpose of yoga is to create strength, awareness, and harmony in both the mind and body. While there are several forms of yoga, typically yoga includes meditation, breathing exercises and assuming postures (poses) that flex and stretch various muscle groups.

BENEFITS

There are immense benefits to practicing yoga; physical and mental benefits of yoga include:

• improves flexibility
• builds muscle strength and tone
• improves posture
• inner awareness – yoga focuses your attention on your body’s abilities at the present moment. It helps develop breath and strength of mind and body
• enhanced fitness – yoga has a positive impact on a person’s exercise capacity and improves athletic performance 
• better body image and self-esteem
• maintaining a balanced metabolism 
• weight management 
• cardio and circulatory health
• stress management
• increases energy
• better balance
• prevents cartilage and joint breakdown
• protects your spine
• betters bone health
• increases blood flow
• ups your heart rate
• lowers blood sugar
• makes you happy
• relaxes your body
• maintains nervous system
• releases tension in your limbs
• helps you sleep better
• boosts your immune system functionality
• gives your lungs room to breathe
• eases pain and tension

Aside from the physical benefits, one of the most beneficial benefits of yoga is how it helps a person manage stress. Stress has a devastating effect on the body and mind. Stress can reveal itself in several ways, such as neck and back pain, sleeping issues and headaches, among many others. Yoga can be very effective in developing coping skills and obtaining a more positive, tranquil outlook on life. 

FUN FACTS ABOUT YOGA:

• The goal of your yoga practice is to challenge yourself physically, but not to feel overwhelmed. At this “edge,” the focus is on your breath while your mind is accepting, calm and zen.
• Commonly, yoga studios don’t have mirrors. The reason behind it – people can then focus their awareness inward rather than how a pose or the other people around them look. 
• A regular yoga practice enhances all of the systems in the body: skeletal, muscular, circulatory, skin, nervous, digestive, respiratory, endocrine, eliminate and reproductive!!

PRACTICE YOGA

Regular yoga practice creates mental clarity and calmness, relieves chronic stress patterns, relaxes the mind, centers attention, increases body awareness and sharpens concentration! Body-and self-awareness are especially beneficial, they can help with early detection of physical problems and allow for early, preventative action. 

To learn more about the health benefits of yoga, tune into Inside Sports Medicine on 97.1 The Ticket this Sunday, April 22 at 8 am EST. We’ll have Preventive Medicine Expert, Dr. Marsha Billes and Owner of Red Lotus Yoga Studios, Brian Granader in studio to weigh in on the benefits of yoga. Also, watch us on Facebook Live.