Here's the quick list, scroll down for explanations...
- Improves flexibility and balance
- Stress relief
- Improves mental health
- Strength training
- Reduce anxiety
- Improve quality of life
- Boost immunity
- Improve heart function
- Improve sleep
- Increase self esteem
- Promote better posture
- Manage burnout
Most people know that yoga improves flexibility, strength, and body awareness and that it relieves stress and anxiety.
Let’s look at 12 of the many benefits of yoga in greater depth.
1. Yoga improves flexibility and balance
A key part of yoga involves enabling you to move further and more steadily. This is different from a simplistic view of improving flexibility. Yes, we are increasing the elastin in the body so that we can stretch further, but we are also reducing the over-reactivity of the nervous system that stops a body from moving to its potential - the less we move the less we become able to move, the converse is also true. When our range of motion decreases aches and pains creep in - which reduces our enjoyment of life.
But, there's more to it than that. When we practice a yoga that requires to hold a posture we are also increasing our steadiness, our strength. We are literally building muscle mass and bone density, these two are key indicators of health and of course being able to lift and move things makes life easier. It's also known that feeling physically strong helps us to feel emotionally and mentally strong.
2. Yoga helps with stress relief
A regular yoga practice helps you to manage your stress levels and improve your overall quality of life. A yoga practice that feels rhythmic soothes the nervous system, letting the body-mind know that we are safe, which of course reduces our stress levels.
Practicing in a group as we do in a class brings in a sense of social belonging, which also signals to the body-mind system that we are safe. The non-movement elements of yoga - meditation, breath work, chanting and soundbaths, have also been shown to significantly reduce tension and relieve stress. Meditation helps us to connect with what we are grateful for and to watch our thoughts instead of becoming identified with them. Chanting helps to slow down the breath and out thoughts and releases feelgood hormones. Breathwork literally changes the chemical makeup of the body, helping to body to clear our excess stress hormones and signalling to tight muscles that they can relax. Soundbaths slow down the brainwaves, heartrate and breath - signalling to the muscles that they can relax, signalling to the brain that it can let go of trying to seek out threats and be at peace.
3. Yoga improves mental health
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is thought to be one of the most common mental health disorders in the world.
A 2017 meta-analysis of 23 intervention looking at the effects of yoga-based treatments on depressive symptoms overwhelmingly concluded that yoga can now be considered an effective alternative treatment for MDD.
Both movement-based yoga therapies and breathing-based practices have been shown to significantly improve depressive symptoms.
4. Yoga increases your strength
If you choose a yoga class that is strong (such as Ashtanga, Aerial or Mindful Flow) you will build strength in upper and lower body and deep core. It has been shown that when we feel strong in our body we feel more able to cope with challenges in life, which makes sense because the body-mind are so linked so a mind that senses that the body is capable of handling threats won't worry quite so much.
5. Yoga may reduce anxiety
Numerous studies suggest that yoga asana may beTrusted Source effective as an alternative treatment for anxiety disorders, though several of the researchers suggest that further research is still needed to confirm this.
Yoga nidra, which is a body scan meditation, has been shown to reduce symptomsTrusted Source of anxiety.
6. Yoga can improve quality of life
There are several factors that can affect quality of life (QOL), such as relationships, learning opportunities, health, and material comforts.
For decades, researchersTrusted Source have viewed QOL as an important predictor of people’s longevity and likelihood of improvement when treated for a chronic illness or injury.
A 2019 meta-analysis shows promising potential for yoga to improve QOL in people with chronic pain.
If you experience chronic pain, consider speaking with a healthcare professional about lifestyle measures that may help. They may be able to suggest an individualized yoga routine that could help you manage symptoms.
7. Yoga can boost immunity
Chronic stress can negatively affect your immune system. When your immunity is compromised, you’re more susceptible to illness. However, yoga is considered a scientifically backed alternative treatment for stress.
The research is still evolving, but some studies have found a distinct link between practicing yoga (especially consistently over the long term) and better immune system functioning.
This is due in part to how yoga fights inflammation and in part to the enhancement of cell-mediated immunity.
8. Yoga can improve cardiovascular functioning
Pranayama, often referred to as “yogic breathing,” is an important and beneficial aspect of yoga.
In 2019, the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine published a review of 1,400 studies looking at the overall effects of pranayama. One key takeaway was that yogic breathing can improve the functioning of several systems in the body.
Specifically, the research summarized that the cardiovascular system benefited hugely from controlling the pace of breathing. This research indicates that yogic breathing may influence the function of the heart, brain, and lungs.
9. Yoga can help improve sleep
Yoga practitioners know that they sleep so much better after practicing yoga. When measuring sleep, researchers look at a person’s ability to fall and stay asleep. Many science studies have shown that yoga improves both how quickly people fall asleep and how deeply they stay asleep. This is partly due to the after-effects of movement and the mental calming and stress relief provided by yoga specifically.
10. Yoga can improve self-esteem
Yoga focuses on how wonderful our bodies and minds are and practicing speaking kindly to and about ourselves. As we start to find each element of yoga easier our self esteem builds. Several recent studies show positive resultsTrusted Source when using yoga to improve self-esteem and perceived body image.
There has also been promising evidence that yoga may helpTrusted Source with the accompanying symptoms of obsession, anxiety, and depression in patients with anorexia nervosa.
11. Yoga improves posture
More and more of our time is spent sat in chairs, hunched over screens and this is resulting in increased pain. Yoga postures include positions that counteract these hunched positions, helping to release muscles that have been tightly held and feel stuck.
In addition a 2020 review of 34 research studiesTrusted Source found that yoga improved brain functioning in the areas responsible for interoception (recognising the sensations within your body) and posture, so that those who practice yoga are less likely to hold their body in unhelpful patterns.
12. Yoga can help with burnout
Burnout - excessive exhaustion that affects one’s health — is at an all-time high and yoga can help here too. A 2021 studyTrusted Source that examined burnout among hospice workers during the COVID-19 pandemic concluded that yoga-based meditation interventions significantly reduced the effects of burnout by improving interoceptive (body) awareness.
This is the ability to notice internal signals and respond appropriately — meaning yoga may help people become more in tune with, and even more likely to listen to, their body’s signals.
Yoga Works!
Yoga works - it supports our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing and improves our relationships with all beings we come into contact with. In short, it helps us to live with greater ease and joy, so choose a yoga class, get yourself a membership and join us.