As we wrote on the last post, this is a blog series about THE BENEFITS OF YOGA FOR YOUR DAILY LIFE. On today’s blog post we are going to show you some of the physical benefits of yoga. Are you ready to start changing for a more meaningful, healthy, and free lifestyle?
Increases flexibility and balance
Without a doubt, one of the best-known and science-proven benefits of yoga is that it helps people become more flexible.
Keeping joints, tendons and muscles flexible is critical to avoiding injuries and staying in shape. For example, many people who suffer from arthritis find great relief from doing yoga. In addition, greater flexibility also improves body alignment and posture.
Many people think that if you are not flexible, you cannot do yoga, but that is not true! Flexibility is not a prerequisite for yoga, it is a benefit.
There are some asanas designed to improve the body’s flexibility and balance.
The Halasana (plow pose), for example, is an inverted posture that stretches the lower back and neck, working on spinal flexibility and balance.Other interesting postures for those who want more flexibility, strength and balance are Uttanasana (standing forward fold) and Utthita Parsvakonasana (extended side angle), which work on the back, legs, arms, and breath control.
When you start practicing yoga, it is normal for you to feel stiff and not even be able to touch your toes, but over time the muscles, ligaments and tendons get more elongated and incredible elasticity is acquired.
Improves digestion
Yoga is a combination of physical, mental, and technical exercises that also help to balance the entire digestive system. With this system in balance, you can adopt more correct and healthy eating habits, reaching an ideal balance for your body.
This is because many postures involve twisting, reversing, using the abdomen act by rebalancing all the abdominal organs.There are excellent postures for stimulating stomach and bowel function. One of them is Parsvottanasana (pyramid pose), a lateral stretch that stimulates blood circulation to the abdominal region, alleviating flatulence and gastric reflux.For those who have problems with constipation or hyperacidity, the most recommended posture is Vajrasana (thunderbolt or diamond pose), also known as “Zen pose”. It allows the body to rest on the thighs, reducing blood flow to that region. This helps expand the blood supply to the stomach and stimulates digestive functions.
Helps the cardiorespiratory system
Did you know that practicing yoga is a great way to take care of your heart? If performed correctly, some asanas stimulate the circulatory system, strengthening the heart and promoting a better quality of life.
Trikonasana (triangle pose), for example, is a low-movement posture that works on large muscle groups, improves the circulatory system, and corrects breathing difficulties.Another amazing posture for the cardiorespiratory system is Tuladandasana (warrior III), which directly stimulates the arteries and strengthens the heart muscles.
In addition, Pranayama can help you breathe more deeply and slowly, improving lung function while increasing the amount of oxygen absorbed with each breath.
Strengthens the immune system
Yoga stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which has a calming effect. This relaxing effect acts indirectly on our immune system, strengthening it considerably. As a result, the body fights viruses, and bacteria faster and easier.
Regular practice allows the body to expel toxins from the organs, which will allow for further enhancement of the immune system. There is an innate self-healing system in the body, and this is significantly strengthened by yoga practice.
Increases vital energy
We would all like to have more vital energy and to be more active during the day. If energy could be packaged and sold, it would be the best-selling product in the world. But in fact, it can be found anywhere, and it is free!
Yoga reduces stress, allows tight muscles to relax, and balances the entire body. These benefits not only help you sleep better, but the feeling of tiredness is reduced and there is generally an increase in energy throughout the day.
Yogis believe that a continuous practice balances the energy centres (known as chakras in Sanskrit), allowing vital energy (prana in Sanskrit) to flow freely throughout the body, thus increasing vitality.
Today you could know that through the practice of yoga and/or pranayama, we slowly remove levels of stress, worries, fears from our body and we rediscover our true nature. Keep following this blog series about THE BENEFITS OF YOGA FOR YOUR DAILY LIFE.
Namaste.
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