From experience I know how good it feels to practice yoga (postures, in this case – yoga includes many other things also, such as meditation). Doing yoga invigorates me, calms me, and makes my body stronger. The feeling of well-being after practicing yoga is often quite extraordinary. What’s more, and what I didn’t fully realize, is that there is also lots of scientific research done on the benefits of yoga. Yoga is actually being considered as alternative medicine(!).
The list is long! Here are some examples:
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It releases stress
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Reduces depression, anxiety, insomnia
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Promotes cardiovascular health through lower resting heart rate, increased blood flow to tissues, lower blood pressure, increased hemoglobin levels, blood thinning effect to reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack, improved blood oxygenation etc…
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Reduces chronic pain
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Strengthens muscles, improves flexibility
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Has antioxidant effects (increases glutathione, vitamin C and vitamin E blood levels)
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Some studies suggest yoga slows aging through increased length of telomeres
I was astounded when I first came across these studies. Of course these effects are individual, and like with any scientific study, the results have to be taken with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, doing yoga is definitely not going to be harmful (if you do it right and honor your limits)!
So go to a yoga class, watch a YouTube yoga video, or practice on your own – maybe contact me for a private lesson ;). Find out what benefits yoga can give to you.
Thanks for reading,
Anna-Kaisa
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3193654/
https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/jcim.2019.16.issue-1/jcim-2018-0094/jcim-2018-0094.xml
