Explore the Many Physical and Mental Benefits of Yoga

Sunday, February 08, 2009 by: Jo Hartley
Tags: yoga, health news, Natural News

(NewsTarget) Yoga is an effective way to enhance both physical and mental well-being. While yoga is becoming more popular in recent years, it is actually an ancient activity that focuses on connecting the mind, the body, and the spirit by performing specific poses, breathing, and meditation. The practice of yoga has many health benefits that can improve everyone's health. In fact, yoga is an inexpensive and effective way to improve all areas of one's life.

Some of the physical benefits include:

-Improved flexibility
-Improved joint mobility
-Muscle building, toning, and strengthening
-Posture correction
-Spine strengthening
-Lessening back pain
-Improving muscular-skeletal conditions
-Increasing strength and stamina
-Improving balance
-Stimulating the endocrine system
-Improving digestion and elimination
-Increasing circulation
-Improving heart conditions
-Improving breathing disorders
-Boosting the immune system
-Decreasing cholesterol and glucose levels
-Facilitating weight loss

Some mental benefits include:

-Increasing body awareness
-Relieving stress
-Relaxing the body by relieving muscle strain
-Sharpening concentration
-Freeing the spirit

Recent studies have shown that yoga can also be instrumental in relieving symptoms connected to:

-Arthritis
-Arteriosclerosis
-Chronic fatigue
-Diabetes
-AIDS
-Asthma
-Obesity
-Accelerated aging

Yoga has been touted as a nearly perfect fitness activity that is effective for almost anyone of any age and fitness level. Even children can benefit from learning yoga. If children learn yoga while they are young it will enable them to retain their natural flexibility as they age. Older people can greatly benefit from yoga exercises because it can enable them to increase their mobility and it may also help alleviate symptoms associated with arthritis and poor circulation.

Yoga helps develop balance and coordination. It is an invigorating activity that stretches and tones muscles and joints and directs blood and oxygen to internal organs, glands, and nerves. Learning yoga develops self-discipline and will improve concentration and memory. Yoga is different from conventional forms of exercise because the focus is on quality of movement instead of quantity.

Consistent yoga will quiet the mind, refresh the body and enable overall peace and happiness.
Yoga involves motion without incurring strain or imbalances within the body. When yoga is done correctly there are no negative effects whatsoever and it can be quite demanding and strenuous. It is not an aerobic exercise but it involves almost every muscle and challenges the body very effectively.

Limbs act as free weights and resistance is created by moving the body's center of gravity. This strength building activity creates endurance when the yoga poses are able to be held for longer periods of time as one progresses in skill and strength.

Yoga is also a good exercise choice during pregnancy. Yoga is beneficial for both the expectant mother and the unborn baby. Yoga can help with common pregnancy discomforts like backaches and yoga has also been shown to make labor shorter and easier.

Yoga is a good addition to other sports activities because most sports are contingent upon muscle strength and stamina. Yoga is effective for helping one's body and mind to function better together. A flexible body will be less prone to being injured. Yoga postures are the different positions that are held while coordinating breathing with stretching and strengthening. Practicing yoga will complement and enhance other activities such as running, bicycling, and strength training in particular because the postures involved in yoga work all of the major muscle groups. Not only does yoga improve all of the major and minor muscle groups, but it also helps to send oxygen to all of the cells in the body because of the conscious deep breathing and sustained stretching and contraction of the various muscle groups.

With a little time and effort, the positive effects of yoga will not only improve one's health, but also every area of one's life will become evident and abundant. Yoga works by making one feel good, strong, and peaceful.

Source: http://www.yogaforbeginners.com/html/benefit...

About the author

Jo Hartley
Wife, Mother of 8, and Grandmother of 2
Jo is a 41 year old home educator who has always gravitated toward a natural approach to life. She enjoys learning as much as possible about just about anything!
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