Regular yoga practice can improve flexibility, increase muscle tone and strength, and boost your mood, but the benefits don’t stop there.
Yoga is a healthy practice that creates harmony in the mind, body and soul. There are many types of yoga practice, and different yoga “schools” will offer unique benefits. Classes like hot yoga can get your heart rate up, burn calories, and leave you sweating, while yin yoga involves deep stretching to release muscle tension and improve joint mobility.
Regardless of the style, most sessions last anywhere between 30 to 90 minutes and include breathing exercises, meditation, and a series of poses called asanas designed to target and strengthen most major muscle groups.
If you are planning to try yoga then get one of the best yoga mats to support your practice and this yoga routine for knee pain is suitable for beginners.
The benefits of yoga
Here are the benefits of yoga and what the practice can do for your body.
Improves flexibility
Good news – yoga can make you more stable. We can’t guarantee you’ll get out of class, but through a series of challenging stretches, asanas, and balances, a regular yoga practice can improve joint health and increase overall strength and flexibility.
One Study pilot (Opens in a new tab) It found that a six-week Iyengar practice of 90 minutes per week significantly increased flexibility, particularly in the spine (the muscles that support the spine) and hamstrings. Better mobility in the spine can also improve lower back pain with regular practice.
What’s more, hot yoga classes help relax your soft tissues, allowing you to find more depth and range of motion in your poses. a Physiotherapy in sports (Opens in a new tab) The study found that applying heat to muscles can enhance the effectiveness of stretching.
Burns calories
Like most exercise, yoga supports weight loss, but it is not alone. Managing factors such as stress and prioritizing sleep, diet, and exercise are key if weight loss is your goal.
Although you are not likely to take in calories in slower-paced classes such as Yin or Hatha, increasing the heat in your practice can cause you to burn more calories. Hot yoga and hot vinyasa classes are taught in much milder temperatures, which get your heart rate up and make you sweat. Because your body has to work harder, this can cause your metabolism to increase.
Classes such as power or rocket yoga are faster-paced and involve “flow” — continuous movement — closer to cardio than traditional yoga styles. These classes are generally more challenging, which can also help you burn more calories. One study (Opens in a new tab) Tracking 50 overweight, middle-aged and younger women showed improvement in every indicator such as body fat after practicing yoga regularly for one year. As published by published research Journal of Physical Activity and Health (Opens in a new tab) I discovered that 60 minutes of Vinyasa burned only slightly fewer calories than brisk walking.
Builds stronger bones and muscles
Weight-bearing exercises build strength in your muscles and bones, which is why calisthenics (body weight exercises) are so effective in keeping your body strong and limber. Yoga falls nicely into the same category, and with a series of exercises that challenge strength and balance, you can expect the following results.
studies (Opens in a new tab)In Bikram yoga (a somewhat controversial form of hot hatha yoga) it has been found that this practice can improve lower body strength, upper body range of motion, and balance in healthy adults. The yoga participants also experienced an increase in deadlift strength and shoulder flexibility. We knew the downhill dogs were worth it.
Improves mood
Cortisol (the stress hormone) has its purpose—it’s the hormone you rely on to activate fight-or-flight if you’re under threat—but it also increases anxiety. Deep breathing and gentle movement are just what the doctor orders.
The meditative component of yoga can reduce stress levels. By focusing on the breath and connecting the breath and the body, you can switch from the sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic nervous system, which is a state of rest and repair.
Yoga can also improve mood and reduce anxiety. Search (Opens in a new tab) In the effects of yoga and stress, he found a significant improvement in stress levels after practicing yoga, and because it improves body awareness, people feel more connected to the “self”.
Better heart
There is a lot of research to be done regarding the benefits of yoga and aerobics, but the hotter, faster classes will get your heart and lungs working. Exercising in the heat provides a cardio workout, and when your body is working harder, you’re more likely to get your blood pumping and burn calories.
Helps sleep
The mindful aspect of yoga can improve your sleep. the Sleep Foundation (Opens in a new tab) He recommends practicing before bed to help improve snoozing efficiency, and according to NHIS (Opens in a new tab), 55% of dedicated yogis reported better sleep. I recommend this bedtime yoga routine that you can do from home. Moreover, stress is a factor known to disrupt sleep, so by calming down your stress levels, sleep should come naturally as well.
Next up: Here’s what an hour of Pilates can do for your body and here’s what 30 minutes on an exercise bike can do for your body.
