With the vast variety of exercises out there, it can feel difficult to find one that works for all of your health goals. Starting fresh can feel stressful with all the different things you have to learn, but with yoga there is no stress at all. Whether you’ve had an athletic past or are just starting to exercise, yoga can help you reach your goals while keeping your heart healthy.
Benefits of Yoga
Yoga can provide a unique form of exercise that incorporates breath control into each pose to allow you to meditate as you strengthen your body. Thanks to this combination, regularly practicing yoga can have numerous benefits for your physical health, mental health, and lifestyle.
Physical Health Benefits
On the surface, yoga looks like simple poses and breathing exercises, but the precision it requires can give you physical results. There are numerous ways you can physically benefit from regularly practicing yoga. Benefits you may experience include:
- Improved balance and flexibility
- Increased strength
- Muscle toning
- Weight loss
- Managing arthritis symptoms
- Improved cardiovascular function
The physical benefits are similar to other forms of exercise, but there are a few key differences that make yoga a better option for some. When it comes to balance, flexibility, strength, muscle definition, and weight loss, yoga can be a more functional exercise option than traditional exercises like weightlifting thanks to the slow movements yoga uses to build endurance.
Other benefits from yoga come from the anti-inflammatory side of yoga. Arthritis and cardiovascular issues are worsened with inflammation, which yoga can help with by reducing stress and increasing your body awareness.
Mental Health Benefits
Yoga can be used as a routine form of meditation to help you manage your mental health. Thanks to the combined use of breathing exercises and poses, you become more aware of your body, how you are holding stress, and healthy ways to relieve the tension. You may notice mental health benefits such as:
- Higher self-esteem
- Reduced burnout
- Improved sleep
- Decreased stress
- Improved anxiety management
- Better moods
- Increased ability to focus
Any mental health benefits you experience from yoga come from introspection methods used throughout each session. During each session, you are encouraged to look within yourself to identify what your body is capable of doing in the moment with your current ability level. You are not expected to match each pose perfectly, and the only expectation is that you listen to your body and meet yourself at your own level.
By encouraging you to look inward, yoga can help you focus on prioritizing yourself by letting go of the stress you are holding onto. Stress can disrupt many aspects of your life, from burnout at work to how you sleep at night. Incorporating mindfulness and relaxation into your day can help you reduce stress that can be affecting other areas of your life.
Lifestyle Benefits
Once you begin practicing yoga, you may notice it starting to affect other aspects of your lifestyle. One of the most common ways people see a change in their daily life from yoga is how they approach stressful situations. Yoga encourages you to relax and reflect on how you feel, which can make handling a challenge easier.
If you attend group yoga classes, you could also build healthy, supportive relationships with other people in the class. Yoga classes can encourage a sense of community from the shared focus on mental and physical health. You can also find support in other class attendees through helpful advice and encouragement.
You may also notice that yoga has you reflecting on your other health habits and making adjustments. Yoga connects multiple aspects of your health, so naturally you might start to look at how you can improve your diet or your activity levels. With yoga, you become more aware of your body, including cues from your stomach that can help encourage healthier portion sizes and food choices.
The Link Between Yoga and Heart Health
Heart health is a major concern for many Americans, with an estimated 82.6 million people in the United States having cardiovascular disease. Risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure are exacerbated by stress levels. Other factors like an inactive lifestyle or excess weight can lead to cardiovascular disease. When focusing on reducing stress, losing weight, and getting more active, yoga can be a great way to target all of these goals at one time.
A common practice during a yoga session is to focus on breath control to help you relax. Deep breathing throughout a yoga session can help reduce your blood pressure by calming your nervous system. After you’ve incorporated yoga into your regular routine, you could also lower your resting heart rate and improve your cardiovascular fitness. Through the combination of lowering your blood pressure and resting heart rate, you can gradually reduce the amount of stress on your heart.
Incorporating exercise into your daily life can help reduce inflammation from stress by increasing your circulation. The calm movements with yoga allow you to increase your blood flow without putting too much strain on your heart. It’s important to have good circulation to prevent vascular issues such as peripheral artery disease and keep your heart functioning effectively.
Tips for Yoga Beginners
Starting yoga is just like starting any other type of exercise; you have to start slow and build up your endurance. Before you dive in, you should research the different types of yoga and determine which you think is best for your abilities. Styles like Yin or Hatha can be easier for someone starting yoga for the first time. While researching, you can find yoga classes in your area that offer beginner sessions where you can work alongside an instructor to learn each pose.
Once you have an idea for what kind of yoga you will be doing and where you will be practicing, it’s time to try your first yoga session. Heading into your first session, there are a few tips to keep in mind:
- Consistency Over Perfection: Although you may want to hold every pose perfectly for every session, perfection is not the goal of yoga. The true goal is to make gradual progress by consistently practicing, regardless of your flexibility or energy level on any given day.
- Keep Distractions Away: Audiobooks, to-do lists, phone notifications, and more can all be distractions from the focus of yoga. Before you start a session, take a moment to clear away any distractions to start with a clear mind.
- Proper Form: With each pose, make sure you have your body aligned correctly to keep from injuring yourself. If there is a pose you are not flexible enough for yet, do not force the pose, as you may hurt yourself. Ask your instructor if there is a modified version of the pose you can do while you work up to the standard pose.
- Start Small: When you are a yoga beginner, shorter sessions can help you build the habit without overwhelming yourself with lots of poses. You can always work up to a longer session as you make progress.
- Leave Expectations at the Door: Your expectations can greatly affect your thoughts during yoga and get in the way of your mental and physical connection. Yoga is meant to help you clear your mind and reconnect with your body, which unrealistic expectations can interrupt.
- Be Patient: When it comes to fitness or exercise, it is easy to start comparing yourself and your journey to someone else’s progress. Everyone’s journey looks different, so avoid comparing yourself to others, even at the beginning stages.
Starting a new habit can be nervewracking, but yoga doesn’t have to be. You are in control of your yoga journey and your heart health, so talk to your doctor today about how yoga can benefit you. Make sure to consult with your healthcare provider before starting any new form of exercise.
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