As with any physical exercise, yoga poses can cause injury. The most common injuries occur when people jerk their body into a pose instead of gradually lengthening into it, like lifting a heavy weight too quickly or sprinting on the treadmill without increasing the incline.
Remember to always listen to your body and if something doesn’t feel right, stop. Also, don’t compare yourself to the person next to you in class or even your teacher.
Improved Flexibility
Being flexible doesn’t mean you have to be a contortionist, but it does help prevent injury. When muscles are tight, joints move less freely and are more at risk of damage. The flowing movements of yoga stretch and lengthen muscles, improving your flexibility over time.
Flexibility is important for all exercise, but especially for people who sit or stand all day for work. The gentle stretching in yoga helps improve flexibility in the arms, back, legs and core. It also helps lubricate the cartilage in joints, keeping them healthy and free of inflammation.
Yoga also encourages fluid transitions between fitness exercises, which is another way it can improve your flexibility. In fact, one study found that sedentary people who practiced yoga for eight weeks had better balance and increased leg strength than those who didn’t. The researchers suspect this is because the yoga improved their “baroreceptor sensitivity,” which helps the body sense imbalances in blood pressure and maintain equilibrium.
Improved Muscle Tone
Yoga can improve your muscle tone and build strength in new areas of your body. Many poses require you to support your own weight, which is similar to resistance training. Some postures also help strengthen the muscles that support your joints, which helps prevent arthritis or joint pain.
Practicing yoga regularly can help you get your heart rate into the aerobic range, which is good for your cardiovascular system. It also strengthens your bones and can even help prevent osteoporosis, because many of the poses are weight-bearing.
Although Yee and other yogis discourage students from practicing with the intention of sculpting their bodies, they agree that regular yoga can increase your core strength and make you stronger overall. Yoga may be more effective in toning your body if you combine it with other types of exercise, such as weight lifting or high-intensity interval training. This will help you create a balanced workout routine and allow your muscles to recover between sessions.
Better Sleep
The physical movements, mindfulness and deep breathing of yoga can help you get a more restful night’s sleep. Studies have found that a regular yoga practice can increase melatonin levels and decrease the frequency of nighttime sleep disturbances in adults.
Practicing yoga before bed can help calm your body and mind so you can drift into a peaceful sleep. Try adding poses like Wide-Knee Child’s Pose, Reclining Bound Angle pose or Corpse Pose to your bedtime routine.
Lie down on your back and allow your arms to fall loosely by your sides. Close your eyes, relax your face and breath deeply into your chest and belly to calm the mind. If possible, save the bedroom for sleeping and sex and do your bedtime yoga in another room where you can dim the lights, listen to soothing music and lay on carpeting or a padded mat. A good mattress and soft pajamas are also a must.
Reduced Stress
Yoga can be a physically challenging practice, but it can also calm your mind and relax your body. Many studies have shown that practicing yoga can help reduce stress levels. Yoga can also improve your heart health by lowering your blood pressure.
It is believed that the effects of yoga on stress are largely due to its ability to increase mindfulness and interoceptive awareness. The increased self-awareness that yoga provides helps people to regulate their emotions and coping mechanisms.
In addition, yoga can also improve emotional well-being and spirituality. Several studies have found that yoga can reduce depression and anxiety in individuals who practice it regularly. It has also been shown to lower blood pressure, especially in individuals with hypertension. These results may indicate that different aspects of yoga have different effects on stress reactivity and psychological perceived stress. Future research should explore these differences in more detail.