Yoga and health
Are you looking for a good reason to take up yoga? From increasing your strength to strengthening your heart to improving your flexibility, here are 38 benefits to push you to roll out the mat, not red, but yogic!
If you're a seasoned yoga practitioner, you've probably noticed the benefits, maybe you're sleeping better, or you're less likely to have a cold, or you're feeling more comfortable and Zen overall.
But if you're a beginner or completely new to the world of yoga, then you may find it hard to believe in its benefits. And yet, researchers are very interested in the virtues of yoga, and there is no shortage of essays on the subject.
Right now, science is beginning to provide concrete clues as to how yoga works to improve health and cure certain ailments and diseases.
YOGA GREATLY IMPROVES FLEXIBILITY
Let's start at the beginning! That's what you first think of when you think of discipline, and if you're stiff as a post, that's a good first reason to get started.
During your first class, you will certainly struggle to touch the tips of your feet, but by practicing regularly, you will not fail to notice a progressive and magical slackening, postures that seemed impossible to you will become achievable.
You will also notice that some of your pain will start to disappear. This is not by chance.
Stiff hips can damage the knee joints due to incorrect alignment of the thigh with the shins. Likewise, stiff hamstrings can lead to flattening of the lumbar vertebrae, causing back pain.
In addition, a lack of flexibility in muscles and connective tissue, such as fascia and ligaments, can cause poor posture. After a few months of practice, it will all be behind you!
IT'S TIME TO "MAKE" SOME MUSCLES!
Having muscles is good, having strong muscles is even better! They protect us from pathologies such as arthritis and back pain, and help prevent falls in the elderly.
As you develop your overall strength through yoga, you improve your balance and flexibility at the same time, which is excellent. When you go to the weight room, you develop a lot more muscle through resistance training, that's undeniable, but you do it in spite of your flexibility.
CORRECT YOUR POSTURE
Your head is like a bowling ball, big, round and heavy. When it is well balanced directly on a spine, it requires less effort for your neck and your back muscles to support it.
Now move it a few inches forward, and you start to deform those muscles. Go and hold a bowling ball at arm's length for 8 or 12 hours a day (I voluntarily increase the stroke), no wonder you're tired. Moreover, fatigue may not be your only problem.
Poor posture can cause problems with your back, neck and other muscles and joints. As you slouch, your body tends to compensate by smoothing out the normal inner curves of your neck and lower back. The result? Pain and the potential onset of degenerative arthritis in the spine.
Yoga helps you realign your entire spine and teaches you how to hold yourself better.
PREVENTS THE RUPTURE OF CARTILAGE AND JOINTS
Every time you practice yoga, you teach your joints to work in their widest range of motion.
This can help prevent degenerative arthritis in areas of cartilage that are not often overlooked. Articular cartilage is like a sponge; it receives fresh nutrients only when its fluid is squeezed and new fluid can be absorbed.
Without proper nutrition, neglected areas of cartilage can eventually wear away, exposing the underlying bone to wear and tear, much like worn brake pads.
PROTECTS YOUR COLUMN
The vertebral discs, a kind of shock absorber between the vertebrae, take over the movements. If you have a regular practice of yoga, with lots of twisting, bending, stretching, etc., you will greatly help your spinal discs to stay flexible, which is a great thing.
IMPROVES BONE DENSITY
Resistance exercise is known to strengthen bones and help prevent osteoporosis. Many yoga postures require you to lift your own weight.
Some, such as the Downward- and Upward-Facing Dog, even help to strengthen the bones in the arm, which are especially vulnerable to osteoporotic fractures.
In a study conducted at California State University in Los Angeles, the practice of yoga has been shown to improve bone density in the vertebrae. Yoga's ability to reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol may also help to fix calcium in the bones.
IMPROVES YOUR BLOOD CIRCULATION
Yoga gets your blood flowing, more specifically, the relaxation exercises you learn in yoga help get your blood flowing (especially to your extremities).
Yoga therefore brings more oxygen into your cells, which are then more functional. In addition, the hypothesis is that the twisting poses "squeeze" the deoxygenated blood present in the internal organs while allowing the oxygenated blood to circulate in those same organs once the twist is released.
Inverted poses (such as balance), on the other hand, encourage deoxygenated blood from the legs and pelvis to return to the heart, where it will be pumped to the lungs to be replenished with oxygen.
This is very helpful if you have swollen legs or cardiac/kidney problems. Yoga also increases the levels of hemoglobin and red blood cells, which are responsible for carrying oxygen to the tissues.
Finally, yoga has the effect of thinning the blood by making platelets less sticky and reducing the level of proteins that promote clotting. This can lead to a decreased risk of heart attacks and strokes, often caused by blood clots.
LOWERS YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE
If you suffer from high blood pressure, you should know that two studies (published in the British medical journal The Lancet) of people with high blood pressure have compared the effects of Savasana Yoga to sitting on the couch.
After three months, it was found that subjects who received the Savasana training experienced a 26-point drop in systolic blood pressure and a 15-point drop in diastolic blood pressure.
SIMPLY MAKES YOU HAPPIER
Are you in a sad mood? Sit down in the Lotus position.
One study found that regular yoga practice fights the symptoms of depression and results in a significant increase in serotonin levels, as well as a decrease in levels of monoamine oxidase (an enzyme that destroys neurotransmitters) and cortisol.
At the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Richard Davidson found that the left prefrontal cortex shows increased activity in meditators, which is consistent with higher levels of happiness and improved immune function. Even more pronounced activation of the left side was found in more experienced meditators.
LAYS THE FOUNDATION FOR A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE
Move more, eat less, that's the adage of many dietitians. Yoga can help on both fronts. Regular practice causes you to burn calories, and the spiritual and emotional dimensions of your practice can encourage you to solve your eating and weight problems on a deeper, more mental level. Yoga can also lead you to eat more consciously.
HELPS YOU CONCENTRATE BETTER
An important component of yoga is to focus on the present. Studies have shown that regular practice of yoga improves coordination, reaction time, memory and even IQ scores!
People who practice Transcendental Meditation demonstrate a better ability to solve problems and acquire/recall information, probably because they are less distracted by their parasitic thoughts.
HELPS YOU RELAX
Yoga encourages you to relax, slow down your breath and focus on the present, better balancing the sympathetic nervous system (or the famous "fight/fire" response) with the parasympathetic nervous system.
The parasympathetic nervous system is soothing and restorative; it reduces breathing and heart rate, lowers blood pressure and increases blood flow to the intestines and reproductive organs, which directly calls for relaxation.
IMPROVES YOUR BALANCE
Regular practice of yoga increases proprioception (the ability to locate your body in space) and actually improves balance.
People with poor posture or movement dysfunctions generally have poor proprioception, which brings a bed of problems such as knee problems and back pain.
Better balance means fewer falls. For the elderly, this translates into greater independence and thus the possibility of delaying admission to a home.
For everyone, postures such as the tree can help.
SHINES ON YOUR RELATIONSHIPS
Love cannot conquer everything, but it can certainly help to heal!
Cultivating the emotional support of friends, family and community helps improve health and healing, as science has proven time and time again.
Regular practice of yoga helps develop friendliness, compassion and greater equanimity.
Add to this the yogic philosophy on how to avoid hurting others, how to tell the truth, and how to take only what you need, and it will improve many of your relationships!
