Yoga helps to reduce stress, enhance mental clarity, and improve your overall well-being
#Mind-Body
Contrary to popular perception, you do not have to be flexible to practice yoga – everyone can practice it and reap the benefits. Yoga helps to calm the mind, strengthen the body and improve body awareness. It also reduces back pain and body inflammation which has been linked to health issues such as cardiovascular disease. While there are many styles of yoga from Hatha and Vinyasa to Yin and Restorative, yoga is, in essence, a mind and body practice which involves stretching, meditation exercises and attention to breathing. So, what are the benefits of this calm and flowing practice beyond the physical?
Non-Physical Benefits of Yoga:
Builds confidence and self-awareness
Yoga connects the mind and the body via the breath, thus directing your attention inwards and enabling you to recognise your thoughts and be more aware of your body and movements. This helps you cultivate a positive relationship with yourself as you get to know yourself better. It also helps to de-clutter your mind, thus making you feel rejuvenated and refreshed after a session of yoga.
Improves focus
Through regular practice, yoga helps to sharpen your concentration as each posture requires you to focus on executing the moves and on yourself, thus helping you to remember things better. The deep and conscious breathing and meditation techniques help you to stay focused and calm.
Relieves stress and anxiety
The whole idea of yoga is to be present at the moment and show gratitude towards you. Yoga teaches breathing techniques that help to manage your response to stress. It helps you to relax and focus on your breathing, hence enabling you to overcome stress and anxious feelings and boost your mood. You will notice the difference on your mental state through regular practice.
Higher cognitive function
Did you know that yoga helps to improve your cognition function? Studies have shown that participants who practice yoga performed much better in a visuospatial memory test; that is, they were able to identify objects, perceive depth and navigate around space better. This functional skill is important for everyday activities; for example, driving as well as not bumping into things!
Helps you sleep better
Physical activity can improve your sleep quality and yoga has been used to treat insomnia. Surveys have shown that over half of the people who did yoga get better sleep. As such, if you have an irregular sleep pattern, try practicing yoga to improve the quality of your sleep.
The benefits of yoga are well-known and are much talked about. Why not experience the difference yourself by grabbing your yoga mat and start our Sun Salutation online class now with Yoga Teacher, Master Anant:
For a full yoga experience, check out our yoga class schedule and try a class of your choice.
