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  • Home
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12 benefits of yoga

September 26, 2017 //  by Di Hickman//  33 Comments

This post is sponsored by Mambo Sprouts and prAna.

Over the last 25 years I’ve tried just about every fitness trend thats come out. Heck I’ve taught most of them too. However the one staple that always remained in my program no matter whether my program involved weights, running or rebounding was yoga. Yoga just makes me feel good. Even bad yoga is good yoga. I walk out of every class feeling taller, and my joints feel like I took oil to a squeaky hinge. There are so many other benefits of yoga I’ve experiences I thought I’d share twelve of them.

benefits of yoga

This post is sponsored by prAna and Mambo Sprouts. The outfit I’m wearing is by prAna: Filament Tank (black) and Juniper Pants (coal). On a comfort scale of  1 – 10 these feel like I’m not wearing anything! Seriously so comfortable. The pants are made from hemp, organic cotton and spandex and are super soft. The leg length is a little long for me (I’m only 5’4″) but this makes them perfect for winter in cool yoga studio! I like my tootsies warm! The tank has a lace up back that is adjustable, and the bra has modesty cups which I appreciate as we head into fall. The prAna active wear is so comfortable and great for yoga workouts. PrAna have generously offered a discount coupon for my friends! Get 15% off with code MSF17DH at www.prAna.com until 25th October

12 benefits of yoga

 

Decrease Stress

Personally releasing stress is the biggest reason I do yoga. I tend to be quite an anxious person by nature so practicing yoga helps ground my pitta controlling personality. Letting go, being in the present moment and learning to trust my body have all been things I’ve learned through my practice. It’s important to remember that just sitting in silence, and using the breath is practising yoga. It’s not all about the poses. There is an old zen adage that “you should sit in meditation for 20 minutes every day – unless you’re too busy, then you should sit for an hour”. The busier you are, the more you need to slow down, sit, and de-stress

benefits of yoga

Improve heart health

Less stress means a healthier heart, but yoga can also help improve heart health by simply being a form of low impact activity. Remember that the CDC recommends “activity” everyday not a “workout”, and yoga can definitely count as moderate-intensity exercise depending on the class. A medium paced vinyasa flow class can be pretty challenging and can definitely work up a sweat. If sweating it your thing, and you want to try something a little more challenging maybe try hot yoga or Bikram.

benefits of yoga

Decrease Blood Pressure

As mentioned above yoga can reduce stress, which in turn can lower blood pressure. Along with the decreased stress and increased activity levels yoga creates a mind body connection. Pranayama and meditation can enable us to deal with stressful situation more easily, and in studies has shown to reduce anxiety and blood pressure. My personal experience has shown that keeping active I am able to keep my blood pressure stable. I have a hereditary kidney disease which usually leads to high blood pressure by my age (oh jeez I sound old). Well, my blood pressure is perfect. Huzzah!

benefits of yoga

Improve Joint Mobility/stability

Due to our daily lives being more sedentary we are finding ourselves lacking in the mobility of joints. It really is a case of move it or lose it when it comes to joint movement. Ask anyone with arthritis. The key to keeping joints mobile is to move. My own personal experience has shown that with some gentle movements my joints are able to move better, and the body responds holistically. If you are seeking mobility I suggest a gentle like AIM, Feldenkrais or Hanna Somatics.

benefits of yoga

Improve Flexibility

On more than one occasion I’ve had people tell me that they can’t do yoga because “they aren’t flexible enough”! Yep, not kidding. This is one of the reasons we do yoga, to stay limber and flexible. This is often a double edged sword though as people tend to overstretch some muscles and not stretch others. As the saying goes “train your weakness”. Mine has always been my hamstrings so I try to pay more attention to them. Heron (below) used to be a challenging pose for me, but working on it regularly it’s definitely improving. You don’t need to be flexible to do yoga, that’s part of why we do yoga!

benefits of yoga

Improve balance

One undertrained part of most fitness programs, and life, is balance training. When you do balance poses, you work all those little stabilization muscles, the ones that wake up in warrior 3 or tree pose, causing you to wobble as they fight to hold you in gravity. This means more strength, and better ability to correct yourself when falling, or when you roll an ankle. Plus holding a balance posture is psychologically satisfying. Being a naturally clumsy person, balance isn’t something that comes naturally to me. I work on it. A lot.

benefits of yoga

Improves Posture

As mentioned above our daily habit patterns are creating muscle imbalances, and can cause poor posture. Rounded shoulders, poor hip and shoulder mobility, and head forward just to name a few problems. Yoga can help to ease those postural problems by creating balance in postural muscles of the body. On vacation I was suffering from low back pain from condo beds, long car rids and generally not moving on the flight for 10 hours. By just doing some gentle moves for the lower back helped so much!

benefits of yoga

Increase blood flow

Ever been told that to counter all the sitting we do to get up every hour and do 5 minutes of activity? Usually people suggest chair exercises, or things like squats and jumping jacks. I’d suggest something a little less intense like 1/2 sun salutations. Inhale arms up, exhale fold forward, inhale half way, exhale fold, inhale and come all the way back to standing. I’m not kidding when I say that this can get the blood flowing back into your body. If you have room for a full sun salutation then even better!

benefits of yoga

Promotes better sleep

There is a yoga tank that says “I’m just here for the savasana”. Seriously if you’ve never taken 5 minutes to just lay on the floor in silence, then take time out of your day today and try it. Learning to remove stress, and simply lie in silence focusing on the breath is so soothing. Last weekend at our RYT300 training we did some breath exercises and I am not ashamed to say I totally napped during one of them, but I woke up feeling completely refreshed. The power nap is totally underrated!

Increase strength

When people think of yoga they generally think of flexibility, but yoga is excellent for strength too. Ever done squats in a fitness class? That’s a yoga pose called chair! Planks, and side planks? Yep yoga poses! Many pilates exercises are yoga poses also. Lots of exercises we commonly use today in fitness are from yoga poses. Still not convinced and not feeling the strength? Slow down! Hold poses for 8 breaths (approx 45 seconds). I suggest trying this in: chair, boat, plank, side plank, warrior 3, tree and… handstand.

benefits of yoga

Aid in digestion

In my yoga training I learned that twists area amazing at aiding digestion. It makes sense right? It all comes back to our physiology, and specifically our colon. Visuals help me alot, and I envision a dishcloth being wrung out. That is what twists do to our digestive system, effectively assisting in pushing things gently along. I’m currently training for my RYT300 and looking at human dissection videos you definitely get more of an appreciation of how the muscles impact the internal organs. It’s fascinating!

benefits of yoga

Improves breath

We’ve already established that the average person in today’s society is stressed, and has some postural issues but did you know that this can impact your breath? The very thing you need to do to survive! Many people have turned into upper chest breathers as we’re in a constant state of hyperawareness. Using the diaphragm for “belly breaths” filling the lungs allowing for full inhalation.

So there are twelve benefits of yoga practice, I’m sure there are many more too. We know that exercise and activity is important but it doesn’t have to be running or lifting weights it can simply be movement to be beneficial. Yoga is a great way to gain the benefits of movement while being kind and gentle to your body. The benefits of yoga go far beyond the physical body. After years of running, cycling, lifting and thinking more is better I have found something that truly incorporates all aspects of health; body, mind, heart and breath.

Don’t forget to check out prAna for your yoga wear. Get 15% off with code MSF17DH at www.prAna.com until 25th October

 

Questions

Why do you do yoga?

If you don’t do yoga already why not?

Do you practice meditation or breath work?

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kimberly Biddle

    January 10, 2018 at 7:59 am

    love prAna!

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      January 27, 2018 at 10:10 pm

      me too!

      Reply
  2. Laura @ MommyDearest

    December 12, 2017 at 4:34 pm

    I plan on starting Yoga in the New Year. I was always too skeptical of doing yoga as I usually like a fast paced workout.

    Reply
  3. Tina

    October 11, 2017 at 9:37 am

    I have been slacking big time lately and this might be the perfect thing to get me back into working out.

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      October 12, 2017 at 7:10 am

      Yoga is a great way to work the muscles, mind and spirit.

      Reply
  4. TColeman

    September 28, 2017 at 1:32 pm

    I knew that doing yoga had benefits but I did not know about all of these. I need to get back into a class!

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      October 8, 2017 at 8:32 am

      Oh it has so many more benefits, I barely touched the surface!

      Reply
  5. Krystle Cook

    September 28, 2017 at 1:31 pm

    Yoga is something that I really want to get back into doing. It is so good for the body and soul!

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      October 8, 2017 at 8:32 am

      Make the step this week, schedule time for your yoga!

      Reply
  6. Nailil

    September 27, 2017 at 6:46 pm

    This is great because I have always wanted to try yoga. Now with known benefits, I am more eager to give it a try.

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      October 8, 2017 at 8:31 am

      Yes! I hope you give it a try

      Reply
  7. Cindy Ingalls

    September 27, 2017 at 9:59 am

    I’m not the most flexible of people so sometimes I get so frustrated when I can’t bend or stretch as I would like. I do know that with a regular practice you can increase your flexibility. I really should give Yoga a try more often.

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      October 8, 2017 at 8:31 am

      As we say in yoga “start where you are”. It’s not about touching your toes, it’s about letting go of the desire to touch your toes. Releasing the ego.

      Reply
  8. Blythe Alpern

    September 27, 2017 at 9:58 am

    I’ve been so stressed in the past several months so adding some Yoga practice might be just what I need. I do love the way I feel after taking a class.

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      October 8, 2017 at 8:30 am

      I suggest meditation too! I love the app “insight timer”.

      Reply
  9. cecil

    September 27, 2017 at 8:31 am

    Yoga seems to be very intimidating for me. I’ve tried a few classes, but not sure if the class thing works for me. I may need to try a dvd guided version at home.

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      October 8, 2017 at 8:29 am

      If classes aren’t for you then yes try a home practice. DVDs or I have some youtube videos.

      Reply
  10. Belle

    September 27, 2017 at 6:51 am

    Oh wow! I should probably get into yoga! I need to improve my posture and decrease my stress! Being a mom makes more stressed out than I have ever been in my life! LOL!

    Belle

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      October 8, 2017 at 8:29 am

      It’s also important to lead by example and teach the kids that “me time” is important, and that slowing down, and just taking time to breathe is a good thing!

      Reply
  11. AnnMarie Johm

    September 27, 2017 at 6:25 am

    Yoga is amazing and I love it. It’s one of the best exercises that I have tried through the years. I just really enjoy the peace of mind and the calmness it gives me. Yoga is worth it.

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      October 8, 2017 at 8:28 am

      I feel exactly the same AnneMarie! This is the reason I started teaching it.

      Reply
  12. Angela Tolsma

    September 27, 2017 at 4:42 am

    Yoga is so amazing and I’ve been practicing at a studio for almost a year. It’s made a huge difference in my mental health and my body!

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      October 8, 2017 at 8:28 am

      So happy to hear this Angela!

      Reply
  13. Jeanine

    September 26, 2017 at 5:48 pm

    I don’t do yoga regularly but I have tried it once or twice. I know it is very beneficial for you body and your mind. May have to try it again.

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      October 8, 2017 at 8:27 am

      Yes do, even 20 minutes! I have a couple of videos on youtube!

      Reply
  14. Kathy

    September 26, 2017 at 4:07 pm

    Being a working mom can be so stressful, especially when you still have young ones, yoga is such a good stress relief idea.

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      October 8, 2017 at 8:27 am

      Honestly it’s the main reason I do yoga. Our lives are so stressful now, and we’re constantly being bombarded with information that it’s so good just to relax and not have to THINK for an hour.

      Reply
  15. Lori Geurin

    September 26, 2017 at 2:36 pm

    I like doing yoga for the strength and the relaxation it helps me achieve. I tried to do some yoga poses at home everyday but I’m not currently in a yoga class or anything formal.

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      October 8, 2017 at 8:24 am

      I always said that yoga makes me feel taller. That was years ago before I realized how good it was for my body as a whole. I have a couple of yoga videos on youtube and I’m hoping to do more…

      Reply
  16. Kimberly

    September 26, 2017 at 2:23 pm

    I love all the benefits of yoga! It is so relaxing! My kids have started falling in love with it too! Also – love the Prana top!!

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      October 8, 2017 at 8:23 am

      yes it’s great for kids! They are under so much stress these days and learning to relax can be important for them. I love the top too. It’s my current favorite, along with another prAna one I have.

      Reply
  17. robin rue

    September 26, 2017 at 1:34 pm

    I have actually never done yoga before. It’s on my list of things to try, but I have to actually DO IT one of these days. There are so many benefits.

    Reply
    • Di Hickman

      October 8, 2017 at 8:22 am

      I’ve done all kinds of exercise over the years and yoga is the one I always came back to. Which is the reason I became a teacher.

      Reply

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Hi, I’m Di. A yoga teacher with over 20 years experience in the health and wellness industry. My mission is to give you information so you can be fitter, healthier, stress-free and happier (no, seriously).

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