Fitness: Top 5 Benefits of Yoga

Fitness: Top 5 Benefits of Yoga

This mind-body practice is no new trend; in fact, yoga has been around for nearly 5,000 years, providing peace and tranquility to those who practice. More than 20 million Americans participate in yoga, touting that their lower stress levels and overall well-being can be attributed to the aerobic-based exercises.

Here are a handful of the many health benefits that yoga can offer:

Better Breathing: Because of the deep, mindful breathing used in yoga, participants often increase their lung capacity and endurance over time. This can be especially important to running enthusiasts or performance athletes.

Reduced Stress: Regardless of the style of yoga you choose, the various meditation techniques help mute the outside world and bring a sense of peace to participants. The meditations allow you to clear your mind more easily and reduce thoughts of stress and anxiety.

Increased Flexibility: If done correctly, yoga is a great way to gain a deeper stretch from your muscles and increase the range of motion in your joints. By regularly practicing the different poses, you help your body release the lactic acid that may build up, which is often the cause of those pesky aches and pains.

Improved Posture: Through using your abdominal muscles to maintain poses, you’re able to engage and strengthen your core, which makes it easier to straighten your back and stand tall. Practicing the various sitting and standing poses engages numerous muscles that will help rid you of that unwanted slouching.

Heart Health: Research has shown that yoga, specifically the warrior sequence, can help control and reduce your heart rate, a great benefit for those with blood pressure issues or heart disease.

Woman’s Center for Wellness offers a variety of different yoga classes. Visit www.womans.org/wcw for more information.

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