The Benefits of Doing Yoga

It may not be a heart-pumping, butt-kicking, power-punching workout, but the benefits of practicing yoga every day goes far beyond those types of exercises. Yes, those hard weightlifting and cardio workouts are important, however there's a long list of additional benefits from incorporating yoga into your regular routine.

The fact is, yoga goes way farther than the physical act of practicing it. It's a workout for your muscles, mind, organs, breath, focus, and much more!

The Top 10 Benefits of Doing Yoga Every Day

1. You'll get better at living in the moment.
   During the practice of yoga, you're constantly focusing on returning your mind back to your breath, and to whatever position you're in at the moment. This will help increase mindfulness in everyday life!
2. You will boost flexibility.
   Feel tightness in your joints or tendons frequently? Yoga eases stiffness by increasing the movement and flexibility in your muscles. This means less pressure on joints, more elasticity in tendons, and less chance of injury when exercising or even performing regular daily tasks.
3. Stress will be reduced.
   Deep breathing and slow stretches calm the mind and the body. Yoga has been shown to decrease blood pressure and reduce levels of cortisol, the hormone linked to stress.
4. Greater relationship happiness.
   It's no secret that lower stress levels help everything in life. The more relaxed state of mind that yoga creates will help create overall happiness that will spread to your emotions and relationships. If you learn to listen to your own breath and body, you'll start listening more to your loved ones
5. Improved focus.
   Yep, this means better ability to do your job, multitask, and be more productive in general. Always wishing for more hours in the day? You got it!
6. Better bones!
   Think yoga is easy? You'd be surprised how many muscle groups it takes to get in and out of those poses, let alone keep your balance. The muscle strength that is built through regular practice means more pull on the skeletal system, a fantastic way to build bone vitality and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
7. Immunity to illnesses will increase.
   Since yoga poses massage internal organs, this causes increased circulation of blood and improved flow of toxins out of the lymph nodes, and ultimately out of the body.
8. Increased confidence and posture.
   Yoga supports elasticity in the muscles and relieves pressure on the spine, which means you'll have better posture and alignment. Confidence shines through those that walk tall!
9. Lower blood sugar levels.
   Surprising, right? Since practicing yoga lowers adrenaline and cortisol levels on top of supporting a healthy weight, it will improve your body's sensitivity to insulin.
10. You'll sleep more soundly.
    Yoga increases energy during the day, but it also helps support deeper sleep at night. Since your mind and body relax, it reduces general stress and anxiety, lowers blood pressure, and supports a calm mental state. This all translates to a better night's sleep!

Remember, yoga is accessible at any level of fitness. The poses can be easily changed to reflect your skill level, and any good teacher can guide you. Everyone has to start somewhere, so even if you can't touch your toes right now, you'll get there with practice!

__________________________________________________

[Credit: Benefits of Yoga. Art of Living.]
[Credit: Timothy McCall, MD. 38 Health Benefits of Yoga. Yoga Journal.]