Yoga can improve general wellness by reducing stress, supporting healthy eating/activity habits, and improving mental/emotional health and sleep. It can also help relieve neck pain, back pain, and knee osteoarthritis.
Yoga can also boost your flexibility and balance. Plus, it’s good for your lungs and heart: it reduces blood pressure and cholesterol, and cuts levels of clot-promoting proteins.
Breathing Exercises
Breath is an integral part of yoga, both on and off the mat. It focuses the mind, supports movement and can help with relaxation and calmness. A few simple breathing exercises can make a big difference in your yoga experience and overall health.
Inhale through the nose, inflating the whole lungs. Hold at the top of your inhale for a count of four. Then exhale through the nose for a count of six. Repeat the cycle three to five times, or more, for calming and clearing effects. This is called Nadi Shodhana Pranayama, a basic full-yogic breath.
Studies have shown that incorporating yoga into your regular exercise routine can improve cardiovascular fitness and muscular strength, but it’s important to check with your doctor before starting any new workout. If you have diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease, a regular yoga practice may help to manage those conditions. It can also provide a holistic approach to managing stress and improving sleep patterns.
Stretches
Stretching exercises improve posture and flexibility, helping to relieve tension in muscles throughout the body. Adding 10 to 15 minutes of stretching to your daily yoga routine can help you feel more flexible and relaxed in your everyday life, as well as making it easier to perform your longer yoga sessions.
Start this pose with your feet hip-width apart and facing forwards, with the back of one foot pressed into the floor. You can rest your head on a block or rolled blanket if you need to, to make this pose less intense.
Lie on your back, with your arms at your sides and palms facing upwards. Inhale and roll your shoulder blades down toward the floor, opening your chest and shoulders. Hold for five deep breaths and then switch sides. This pose stretches the shoulders and back, while stimulating the digestive organs. It also helps improve balance. This is a great pose for people who suffer from lower back pain and tight shoulders.
Strengthening
Practicing yoga poses that involve holding your body in one position while breathing and stretching improves strength and balance. Performing these postures regularly will help strengthen the muscles of your arms, back, legs and core.
In addition, several studies suggest that regular yoga may help people with chronic health problems reduce cardiovascular risk factors, such as blood pressure, blood cholesterol and body weight. These studies were limited in size and did not address all of the potential risk factors, but they provide encouragement that yoga can be an effective form of exercise for improving heart health.
Another style of yoga is kundalini yoga, which involves movements that stimulate your energy. This type of yoga focuses on a force known as prana, or chi. It incorporates breathing exercises, meditation and chanting to relax your mind and muscles. It is not as vigorous or fast-paced as other types of yoga, but it can still challenge your body.
Relaxation
Yoga is an effective stress-reducing exercise. It releases mood-boosting endorphins, which help you cope with stressful situations by distracting your mind and calming your body. In addition, it improves focus, concentration and mental health. It also helps you develop the ability to observe your feelings without judgment.
Deep breathing and meditation are the foundation of yoga. These exercises encourage the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis to shift from a sympathetic response, which triggers the “fight or flight” response, to a parasympathetic response, which promotes relaxation. This results in decreased heart rate, blood pressure and anxiety.
Other yoga exercises are designed to relax the body, such as the Cat-Cow stretch. Lie down on the floor with your back flat and your knees bent, stacking one foot under the other. Move your body gently up and down with your breath, letting the gentle undulations of your spine create a feeling of calm. This yoga posture is also known to soothe insomnia and relieve back pain.