5 Surprising Benefits of Practicing Yoga

Benefits of Yoga

The practice and philosophy of yoga create a powerful interplay that informs and refines the other. That is why yoga forges a unity of the body, mind, and spirit. In a yoga practice, different movements and breathing techniques are done to strengthen the body and clear the mind from negative thoughts. Aside from these benefits, there are surprising benefits of practicing yoga that will inspire and motivate you to pursue yoga and incorporate it into your daily routine.

Let’s discuss these benefits in detail.

1. Practicing Yoga Reduces Anxiety and Frustration

As stated in Psychologist Southern Sydney, everyday stress and worries can lead to anxiety and frustration. Yoga involves practicing the art and science of meditation. Meditation improves your concentration, memory, and inner peace, reducing your anxiety and frustration.

The meditation in yoga results from performing different “asanas,” or yoga poses, which are combined to create a sequence of poses. These yoga poses allow you not only to improve focus but also reduce anxiety by diverting negative thoughts to purposeful activity. Here are some types of yoga poses and breathing techniques that can help relieve your anxiety:

● Restorative yoga involves rejuvenating and calming yoga poses.
● Viniyoga includes yoga poses, meditation, and breathing techniques that are gentle and adaptable.
● Belly breathing also referred to as diaphragmatic breathing, is excellent for those who are experiencing chronic anxiety. It decreases heart rate, strengthens the diaphragm, and lowers stress level.

2. Practicing Yoga Promotes Conscious Breathing

Conscious breathing is the act of breathing with awareness, intention, and attention to your every breath. You’re engaging your brain more actively by implementing conscious breathing. Conscious breathing is important to achieve a calmer and more relaxed body.

Here are other benefits of conscious breathing:

● Sustained levels of higher energy
● Better athletic performance
● Lower anxiety level
● A higher sense of physical and emotional awareness
● Clear reasoning and mental clarity for stronger relationships
● Lower risk of chronic disease and cancer

There are yoga breathing exercises that promote conscious breathing. One example is Ujjayi breathing. It relieves tension and stress, regulates blood pressure, and increases energy. This breathing technique is perfect for warming up. Here’s how to perform the Ujjayi breath:

● First, breath out of your nose with mouth closed.
● Next, inhale (deep breath) through your nose, focusing on the oxygen pathway from your nose to your pharynx or back of your throat.
● Exhale slowly while you’re slightly constricting the muscles of your throat.
● Inhale for a count of five and exhale for a count of five.
● This breathing technique takes practice to get the hang of it. It will make you feel cleansed and energized.

3. Practicing Yoga Instills Independence

It’s important to achieve and practice independence to survive in this world. The benefits of yoga lies here. You need to support yourself and become responsible for your actions. Doing yoga at home is an excellent way of deepening and maintaining your yoga practice and also instills independence. For instance, you can start and end your yoga session at any time and play any genre of music you want to target your physical needs and mood.

Here are some independent home yoga practice tips:

● Supplement your knowledge about yoga by reading online blogs and tutorials to keep abreast of the latest trends.
● If you feel uninspired, you can check different resources to learn new yoga poses and keep you motivated such as yoga books and yoga DVDs.
● When you’re doing home yoga, you can also set the mood to enhance your practice by lighting incense or scented candles and playing music, to name a few.

4. Practicing Yoga Instills Hard Work and Perseverance

It’s a known fact that there are a lot of yoga poses that are very challenging to do. It may even take years for some people to strike a particular pose or do a specific sequence. Practicing the different yoga poses from the basic to the advanced level teaches you hard work and perseverance – the qualities that you need to achieve your short-term and long-term goals in life.

Here are some tips to achieve difficult yoga poses:

● Start slowly with your yoga practice and gain an understanding of each yoga pose. Don’t rush achieving a particular yoga pose. It will take time.
● Choose poses that you can do, such as positions or movements done on the floor or poses with long hold time.
● Don’t be afraid to explore and experiment with different alignment and positions. Assess what your body can do and cannot do for the moment and slowly strive to improve.
● One of the main banefits of yoga is help you to increase the intensity of your yoga practice by holding poses for a more extended period, slowly advancing to more challenging poses, or moving quickly between positions.
● Practice kapalabhati pranayama, which aids you in holding a pose and maintaining focus, especially during a challenging pose.

5. Practicing Yoga Promotes and Maintains Self-Discipline

Self-discipline is beneficial to become the best person you can be and become successful with your endeavors. With self-discipline, you can follow instructions easily and abide by the rules and the law. You also learn to be responsible and accountable for your actions.

With yoga, you learn self-discipline by following the poses and breathing techniques. You tend to follow your yoga instructor with patience, willingness, and without complaining.

Here are some tips to achieve self-discipline in a home yoga practice:

● Commit to a schedule. Be realistic and honest to ensure you stick to it.
● The recommended daily yoga practice should be 15 to 90 minutes long (1 to 6 times a week), depending on your ability, schedule, and goals. Practice yoga regularly with shorter practice times to yield greater results.
● Eat no less than 1 to 3 hours and drink only small amounts of water before your yoga practice. If possible, don’t drink during the yoga practice.

Conclusion

Practicing yoga offers not only physical benefits but also mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits. It nurtures your body, promotes focus and concentration, and sets a more positive emotional tone. Indeed, it’s your gateway for you to maintain self-discipline, set direction to your life through hard work and perseverance, and attain self-fulfillment. Achieve a healthier and happier life by practicing yoga!

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About the Author: Kabbyik

Kabbyik Mitra, a voracious reader and health writer. He is a health & lifestyle journalist. Kabbyik is a yoga enthusiast practicing yoga for last 7-year. He is a certified yoga therapist, a science writer, communicator and journalist. He has been practicing yoga and training people to live a healthy and happy life. Get in touch with him via email: yogatoall2016@gmail.com for any yoga related queries.

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