Yoga has been shown to reduce stress hormones in the body and help people to relax. It can also lead to improved mental health by encouraging mindfulness and compassion for others.
When practicing yoga, always listen to your body. If something feels uncomfortable or unsafe, stop immediately to avoid injury.
Improved Flexibility
Practicing yoga improves flexibility, as many poses require stretching the muscles and joints in different ways. The stretches can feel uncomfortable at first, but with consistent practice and patience, your body will gradually become more limber.
The benefits of being more flexible include reducing the risk of injuries, improving posture and balance, and easing back pain and other types of chronic or persistent pain. Flexibility also helps reduce fatigue and improve sleep quality by easing stress and relaxing the body.
The types of yoga that are best for enhancing flexibility are Yin and Vinyasa flow, as they focus on holding poses for longer periods to allow the muscles to go deeper into the stretch. The poses are more dynamic in Yin yoga, and they use props to support the body as you move into more challenging positions. This allows all types of bodies to reap the benefits of increased flexibility.
Stress Relief
Yoga helps relieve stress by focusing on mindfulness, which is an active awareness of your thoughts and emotions. In addition, yoga is known to positively impact the autonomic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary axis, which are part of the body’s stress response systems.
Yoga also helps relax muscles by elongating and stretching them. As a result, it can help alleviate symptoms of anxiety that manifest as muscle tension and soreness.
In fact, a 2018 study found that when people were asked to answer multiple-choice questions regarding their motivation for practicing yoga, the most commonly selected responses were “reduced stress and anxiety”. In other words, many individuals start a practice of yoga to manage anxiety. Those who feel stressed and anxious may experience an immediate boost in their quality of life once they get into a regular yoga routine.
Better Sleep
Incorporating yoga into your daily routine can help you get better sleep. The ancient practice uses meditative movements, stretching, breathing, and attentiveness to relax your body and mind. It can help reduce stress, which is often the cause of sleep disturbances. Practicing yoga can also promote good sleep hygiene by encouraging healthy habits, such as regular exercise and a bedtime routine that includes soothing activities.
Researchers in one study found that people who did yoga experienced fewer sleep disturbances and better quality of sleep than those who didn’t. Participants who practiced yoga twice a week for eight weeks had significantly less insomnia and reported improved sleep quality, sleep efficiency, and duration.
Make a habit of practicing yoga before going to bed, and incorporate it into your nighttime routine along with other relaxing practices such as listening to soothing music or reading a book. Make sure to practice in a comfortable space, and use warm up and cool down exercises before and afterward to prevent injury.
Better Mental Health
People who practice yoga feel more energy and brighter moods, and have a healthier body. Combined with mental health treatment, regular practice of yoga can be a helpful tool for a range of conditions including depression and anxiety.
Many of the breathing techniques used in yoga help to relieve anxiety and stress, and to promote relaxation. The practice also helps to lower blood pressure and to increase the secretion of melatonin, which promotes sleep. Poor sleeping patterns are linked to depression, high blood pressure and chronic illnesses.
Research shows that yoga can be an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as for a number of other emotional and psychological disorders. More research is needed, including higher-quality randomized controlled trials with appropriate and rigorous methodology, such as active controls, validated outcome measures, longer follow-ups and clear reporting of intervention details and adverse events. This could lead to the development of a standard yoga protocol as an adjunctive therapy for psychiatric conditions.