Yoga is the oldest and most holistic system of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. It’s a lifestyle system that incorporates breathing exercises, diet, meditation, and other activities.
Asanas (yoga exercises) are a part of the yoga program that helps people achieve a fit and healthy body. This allows them to then focus on higher branches of yoga such as meditation or self-realization.
Yoga has become a popular form of physical activity, with many classes and styles popping up all over the country. You can choose from simple breathing techniques or advanced poses. No matter what the exercise, there are plenty of options for everyone from beginners to experts. Yoga can be used to increase physical activity, focus better, and relieve stress.
The OVERALL BENEFITS OF PRACTITING YOGA EXERCISES
1. Yoga Develops Strength
2. Yoga Improves Flexibility
3. Yoga Balances
4. Yoga helps focus and concentration
5. Yoga provides clarity and calms your mind
6. Yoga can help you reduce your anxiety
PHYSICAL YOGA BENEFITS
1. Yoga Develops Strength
Yoga is an excellent option if you want to build strength and lean muscle mass. Yoga uses your body weight to build muscle, rather than lifting weights for strength training. Yoga allows you to increase your strength by putting your body in different poses that support your own weight.
2. Yoga Improves Flexibility
Yoga classes can increase flexibility. You will be able to push yourself further into the poses and stretches within the sequence. Blood flow will be more easily able to reach all parts of the body when there is an increase in flexibility. This effectively flushes out toxins, and delivers nourishment to the areas that your body is most in need.
3. Yoga increases balance
Yoga sequences require that you find balance in all aspects of your life, including the physical and mental. It is important to locate the point of focus (drishti) when you are trying to balance in yoga. Once you have found the drishti, you can slowly and mindfully move into your yoga pose. You can encourage and develop balance as you enter the pose as well as as while you are holding it there.
MENTAL BENEFITS
1. Yoga improves concentration and focus
Yoga asanas require physical concentration. You must focus on your breath while you move through a series of poses. As you improve your concentration in daily activities, it is possible to bring awareness to your breath and body.
2. Yoga calms and clarifies the mind.
You will learn to focus on your breath while you practice yoga. This will help you bring your awareness back to the present moment and let go of past and future thoughts. Although this practice can be learned over time, it is often a way to improve your mental clarity and calmness. Yoga helps us to observe and let go of the thoughts that are not serving us well, instead of being engulfed by the daily stresses and to-do list lists that fill our minds every day.
3. Yoga can help you reduce your anxiety
A study about the effects of meditation shows that meditation actually rewires the neural pathways in the brain. Meditation causes the neural connections between the two brain areas to become looser. Meditation will allow you to see the fear you have triggered and not be tied to it. This will help you to reduce anxiety.