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7 Reasons You Should Practice Yoga - Health - Nairaland

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7 Reasons You Should Practice Yoga by kingjaja23(m): 7:02am On Apr 23, 2017
1. Improves your flexibility
Improved flexibility is one of the first and most obvious benefits of yoga. During your first class, you probably won't be able to touch your toes, never mind do a backbend. But if you stick with it, you'll notice a gradual loosening, and eventually, seemingly impossible poses will become possible. You'll also probably notice that aches and pains start to disappear. That's no coincidence. Tight hips can strain the knee joint due to improper alignment of the thigh and shinbones. Tight hamstrings can lead to a flattening of the lumbar spine, which can cause back pain. And inflexibility in muscles and connective tissue, such as fascia and ligaments, can cause poor posture.


2. Builds muscle strength
Strong muscles do more than look good. They also protect us from conditions like arthritis and backpain, and help prevent falls in elderly people. And when you build strength through yoga, you balance it with flexibility. If you just went to the gym and lifted weights, you might build strength at the expense of flexibility.
3. Perfects your posture
Your head is like a bowling ball—big, round, and heavy. When it's balanced directly over an erect spine, it takes much less work for your neck and back muscles to support it. Move it several inches forward, however, and you start to strain those muscles. Hold up that forward-leaning bowling ball for eight or 12 hours a day and it's no wonder you're tired. And fatigue might not be your only problem. Poor pisture can cause back, neck, and other muscle and joint problems. As you slump, your body may compensate by flattening the normal inward curves in your neck and lower back. This can cause pain and degenerative arthritis of the spine.

4. Betters your bone health
It's well documented that weight-bearing exercise strengthens bones and helps ward off osteoporosis. Many postures in yoga require that you lift your own weight. And some, like downward and upward facing-dog help strengthen the arm bones, which are particularly vulnerable to osteoporotic fractures. In an unpublished study conducted at California State University, Los Angeles, yoga practice increased bone density in the vertebrae. Yoga's ability to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol (see Number 11) may help keep calcium in the bones.

5. Drops your blood pressure
If you've got high blood pressure , you might benefit from yoga. Two studies of people with hypertension, published in the British medical journal The Lancet, compared the effects of savasana (corpse pose) with simply lying on a couch. After three months, Savasana was associated with a 26-point drop in systolic blood pressure (the top number) and a 15-point drop in diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number—and the higher the initial blood pressure, the bigger the drop.
6. Makes you happier
Feeling sad? Sit in Lotus. Better yet, rise up into a backbend or soar royally into King Dancer Pose. While it's not as simple as that, one study found that a consistent yoga practice improved depression and led to a significant increase in serotonin levels and a decrease in the levels of monoamine oxidase (an enzyme that breaks down neurotransmitters) and cortisol. At the University of Wisconsin, Richard Davidson, Ph.D., found that the left prefrontal cortex showed heightened activity in meditators, a finding that has been correlated with greater levels of happiness and better immune function. More dramatic left-sided activation was found in dedicated, long-term practitioners.

7. Helps you focus
An important component of yoga is focusing on the present. Studies have found that regular yoga practice improves coordination, reaction time, memory, and even IQ scores. People who practice Transcendental Meditation demonstrate the ability to solve problems and acquire and recall information better—probably because they're less distracted by their thoughts, which can play over and over like an endless tape loop.

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Re: 7 Reasons You Should Practice Yoga by WooodSI: 7:30pm On Nov 16, 2020
I have already 2 months since I started to practice yoga and I really cannot understand why I started to do this so late. I think that only yoga gives such feelings of relaxing and saul feeding. I know that I'm not perfect here but I practice a lot, and now I cannot imagine a day without yoga. I even started to find more information about it and I found this https://yogapractice.com/yoga/practice-breath-of-fire/ blog about how to breathe while practicing. Actually, I think that the secret in yoga is breath. If you learn how to breathe correctly then you can become a master. So I invite you to visit the new world with the help of yoga.
Re: 7 Reasons You Should Practice Yoga by Victor8st: 7:36am On Nov 23, 2020
WooodSI:
I have already 2 months since I started to practice yoga and I really cannot understand why I started to do this so late. I think that only yoga gives such feelings of relaxing and saul feeding. I know that I'm not perfect here but I practice a lot, and now I cannot imagine a day without yoga. I even started to find more information about it and I found this https://yogapractice.com/yoga/practice-breath-of-fire/ blog about how to breathe while practicing. Actually, I think that the secret in yoga is breath. If you learn how to breathe correctly then you can become a master. So I invite you to visit the new world with the help of yoga.
Breathing is the key to success! I wish you good luck with your yoga performance!
Re: 7 Reasons You Should Practice Yoga by carol1107: 8:53am On Mar 11, 2021
Yoga is becoming more and more popular every year. However, few people realize that yoga is not just a set of physical exercises. We are talking about a real philosophy, by adhering to which you will not only improve your health, but also find inner harmony.
If you practice yoga regularly, you will quickly feel positive changes in your psychophysical health. This Indian philosophy aims at ensuring the unity of body and spirit, which is the key to good health.
But if you need specific reasons to practice yoga and you're stopping by to become a yoga teacher, you'll find the best recommendations and lessons here.

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