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“All this bringing of the mind into a higher state of vibration is included in one word in Yoga” – Swami Vivekananda
Over recent years, the ancient Indian discipline of yoga has taken the world by storm. Owing to its immense health benefits and more, the entire world has started embracing this art.
What makes this discipline different from most conventional forms of workout is that yoga is more than just some asanas and poses. It is an age-old philosophy conveyed in simple body movements.
Yoga can transform your life with its immense powers and give you the strength to make the world a better place.
There are so many ways in which the regular practice of yoga has positive impacts on us.
1. Helps In Better Weight Management
One of the biggest reasons why most people venture into the world of yoga is to lose weight. Yoga is a form of workout that helps you lose weight without putting the body under a lot of exertion.
This is why even those who are sick, disabled, or very young can do yoga safely without any risk.
It also helps tone the muscles and bring better definition, which aids in losing as well as gaining weight as the body needs. Regular practice of yoga helps maintain a healthy body weight.
2. Pain Management
Pain management is yet another major need that brings people to yoga. It is extremely effective in helping reduce pain and improve mobility for people who are suffering from chronic pain caused by diseases such as arthritis, osteoporosis, fibromyalgia, gout, etc.
If approved by the doctor, yoga can also be used as an additional rehabilitative exercise to help patients recover their mobility faster after injury, surgery, paralysis, and other conditions affecting movement.
3. Improves Flexibility
Yoga is a great way to improve your flexibility. Practicing yoga poses or asanas helps you slowly push your body’s boundaries to help it be more flexible.
Not only is this excellent for those who are into sports and fitness, but it is also highly beneficial for people who are suffering from degenerative and other conditions limiting the flexibility of the joints.
If you do not have a yoga teacher yet, look in yoga blogs for poses specifically aimed at improving flexibility.
4. Helps Build Strength
If you are trying to improve your core strength without putting your body through the strain of working out, yoga is simply amazing. There are a number of asanas that are designed to help your body push its limits of strength.
Yoga also strengthens your muscles and gives them better form, which goes a great way in strength building.
Whether you are a fitness enthusiast keen on breaking boundaries or a patient seeking to improve your physical strength, yoga is perfect for you.
5. Enhances Physical Health In Long Term
Yoga is extremely beneficial in the management of a number of chronic diseases and disorders. It helps reduce pain, stiffness, and weakness and increases the functioning of the muscles and joints.
Yoga can be used to combat the signs of degenerative diseases and if started early, maybe even arrest the symptoms and prolong health.
Moreover, yoga regularizes the flow of hormones and enzymes, thereby, improving the functioning of the various organ systems of the body. It also boosts the body’s metabolism, which improves overall health.
6. Improves Mental Health
Yoga has excellent calming effects, which go a long way in managing stress and anger issues.
It also boosts the release of adrenaline, serotonin, and other chemicals, which makes it highly effective in improving mental health conditions and keeping various symptoms under control.
Yoga is excellent to help build focus, especially for young kids who are suffering from ADD, ADHD, and other attention issues.
It is also helpful for seniors to improve their memory and resist the ravages of degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, dementia, etc.
7. Builds Patience And Positivity
One of the most important things, that no one tells you, is how yoga can transform your life and mindset. It teaches you positivity, and patience, and helps you understand life better.
This is why people feel peaceful, happy, and positive after attending yoga retreats. It helps you tackle the challenges of life much more efficiently as you do not use anger and negative emotions in the face of a challenge.
This also goes a long way in improving your productivity and enriching your personal relationships and professional capabilities.
8. Improves Body Image
Yoga helps you attain a desirable weight and gives a great shape and tone to the body. But more importantly, it teaches you to concentrate on what is inside over the physical aspects of a human.
It enhances your perspective and outlook toward life as you realize that your physical body is just a shell your soul resides.
You learn to love yourself, with all your flaws, instead of berating yourself and being miserable. With body positivity and a better self-image, it help you be a more content person.
9. Imparts A Better Understanding Of The Body
One of the most important things that yoga does is that it helps you understand your body better. It builds a deeper connection with the body and the soul.
You are more aware of your lifestyle, you learn to recognize how the body reacts to different situations and stimuli. This helps you maintain your health smarter as you learn to listen to the unspoken language of your body.
10. Makes You A Better Person
Possibly the most important impact of yoga is how it improves you as a human being. It teaches you kindness, compassion, and love.
The yogic philosophy is deep and all-embracing. It opens your mind up as you learn to love yourself and others. It also teaches you to respect nature, our planet, its plants, and animals, as they are vibrant life forms, just like us.
As you become more aware of your words and actions, you essentially evolve as a better version of yourself.
Whether you are on the path of yoga for physical fitness, or spiritual healing or you want to become a yoga teacher to propagate the discipline yoga is an enriching journey.
Unlike a crash diet of heavy workouts or a pill, yoga works slowly and steadily as it heals from the inside. Therefore, patience is the key to achieving your goals with yoga.
About The Author:
Om Singh is blogging at Retreat Kula, a website that offers a platform to book yoga retreats and yoga teacher training for yogis around the world. He is always on the lookout for interesting places to visit. It took him 25 years of his life to realize where his true calling lies, but once that was done, there’s been no looking back.
