1. Reduces Pain: The random aches and pains from stiffness around the joints begin to disappear. With continuous practice, they will go away completely.
2. Boosts Metabolism: Through constant stretching and contraction of muscles, they will begin to gain in strength and process nutrients much more efficiently. Your overall digestion and metabolism will improve through a natural process of balancing. As the energies in the body move away from pain management and inflammaiton, they are diverted towards improved biochemical processing.
3. Increases Flexibility: Yoga poses work on a very deep level to help you improve the range of motion in all joints of the body. All action and flexibility relies on proper functioning of the joints and yoga helps the body regain their pliability.
4. Improves Focus: Performing poses with the breath has a calming and energizing effect on both body and mind. Along with a specific breathing technique, paying attention to the subtleties of poses and to the physical control required to flow from one to the other will help clear and focus the mind.
5. Improves Posture: Practicing the very basic principles of alignment with the right amount of physical engagement and control will help improve posture by stretching the spine and the muscles that surround it. The constant interchange of alignment from neutral, sidebends, backbends, twists, and forward bends help strengthen the spine and result in proper posture.
6. Boosts Energy Levels: Yoga has a naturally energizing effect on the body and mind. If you find yourself feeling sluggish throughout the day, then a good yoga class that will challenge you in the right way will help release the stress and tension that usually robs the body and mind of their vibrancy.
7. Boosts The Immune System: It is well-documented that the combination of exercise and deep breathing has an immediate positive and long-lasting effect on the immune system. The combination of resting, stretching, and stregth poses helps the body rid itself of inflammation and blockages in the internal organs. This improves your organs and their job of clearing out toxins and helping the antioxidants contained in food to better circulate throughout the entire body.
8. Detoxification: Every single 'style' of Yoga providing a good combination of poses will help rid the body of toxins through the sweat produced during vinyasa flows.
9. Relieves Stress and Anxiety: The combination of mindful and controlled breathing with the movement in the body has a deep impact on overall mental health. Stress is nothing more than the combination of several habits that the body was not designed to sustained for prolonged periods of time beyond the flight-or-fight response. Yoga helps lower the cortisol levels intimately associated with stress and anxiety.
10. Improves Mindfulness: The total combination of controlled breath and movement helps calm the mind. Deep breathing allows the brain to absorb more nutrients and frees the mind from unnecessary noise. When combined with meditation, the overall effect of breath and movement is to bring the mind into a calm, alert, peaceful, and wakeful state.
The bottom line is that the benefits of Yoga are inumerable and negative effects simply do not exist. When seeking a Yoga studio, venue or teacher, make sure that you look for highly experienced teachers. They will know from years, even decades of experience, what works will work best for your body. Look for teachers trained in a traditional manner and who have spent many hours studying on a onel-to-one basis with their highly-qualified teachers. If you are serious about healing and reaching a higher level of health, peace, and wellness, our strongest advice is to avoid seeking teachers who simply make you sweat. There is much more to this ancient wisdom than simply getting a good workout. And finally, once you begin a Yoga practice, never stop! The great benefits are achieved after many years of consistent, uninterrupted practice.
Enjoy the journey!
