Oxygen gives life to every cell in the body: it heals our wounds, kills germs, and ensures the strength and vitality of all our tissues. Blood carries oxygen throughout the body, and physical activities like yoga increase the circulation of oxygen rich blood. Yoga is beneficial because the postures boost blood circulation to often neglected areas of the body like our joints, connective tissues, and internal organs.
Toxins are everywhere – we breathe them, we eat them, and we drink them. Fortunately, our bodies can eliminate these poisons through the skin, the breath, the blood, and the organs of elimination. Yoga practice stimulates each of these mechanisms. During yoga we sweat, we breathe deeply, our circulation increases, and we massage and stimulate the organs of elimination. A regular yoga practice is an extremely effective method of detoxifying.
Yoga postures strengthen and lengthen the body’s connective tissues through physical postures called asanas, which have been practiced for thousands of years. Whether you are flexible or stiff, weak or strong, yoga can transform your body and mind, and improve your overall health.
IMPROVE MENTAL WELL-BEING
A regular yoga practice creates mental clarity and calmness; increases body awareness; relieves chronic stress patterns; relaxes the mind; centers attention; and sharpens concentration.
Stress can reveal itself in many ways, including back or neck pain, sleeping problems, headaches, and an inability to concentrate. Yoga can be very effective in developing coping skills and reaching a more positive outlook on life. A regular yoga practice calms the body and boosts the immune system, and eliminates the toxins that stress creates. Yoga is the body’s elixir after a hard day at work.
Flexibility is a key part of maintaining your health and avoiding injury, especially as you age. The stretching you do in yoga is a great way to improve your flexibility. It is a commonly held misconception that you have to already be flexible to do yoga. In fact, the opposite is true: doing yoga regularly is a sure way to become more flexible.
SELF-CONFIDENCE & SELF-ESTEEM
Yoga makes us feel healthy, strong, and limber which will help boost your self-esteem and self-confidence. Learning yoga postures creates an enormous sense of pride that you will carry with you in your daily life.
The quality of our breath reflects how we are feeling. When we are upset, the breath tends to be fast and shallow. When we are at ease, the breath is usually slow and deep. We can learn to control the breath through yoga practice by maintaining deep, consistent breathing through all the postures. Once we achieve this “moving medication” we are more able to calm our mind and body regardless of the daily stresses we encounter.