Reasons You Should Be Doing Yoga: What Stretching Does For You

by  • 

When it comes to staying healthy, there’s no shortage of advice. Unfortunately, many of these suggestions can be misleading or unnecessarily complicated. Fortunately, another way to stay fit that doesn’t require endless books or expensive supplements: keeping your body active and limber with regular exercise. Yoga, the exercise, is one of the best ways to do this because it benefits everyone, from seasoned practitioners to beginners looking to stretch their muscles. Perhaps most importantly, however, is that regular yoga helps you stay limber and relaxed throughout the day, so you’re as ready as possible when the unexpected happens (like a sudden injury). 

Helps You Lose Weight

Have you ever been on a diet and realized that, rather than making you slimmer, the strict regimen simply made you feel worse? Or, perhaps, you’ve been trying to drop pounds for years and still haven’t managed to achieve the body you want? If so, yoga may be able to help you lose weight. Here’s why: Yoga enables you to achieve a healthy body image because it gives you the confidence you need to step away from the weight-loss treadmill and create a new, healthier image for yourself. In addition, yoga has been shown to reduce negative feelings like shame and embarrassment because it encourages you to be more open and confident about your body. Yoga has also improved self-esteem because it allows you to feel more connected to your body and mind. As a result, you’re more likely to stop focusing on what you don’t have and start appreciating what you do have. This is especially helpful if you’ve been trying to lose weight for years and are frustrated by the lack of progress. The good news is that you don’t need to focus on weight loss for the rest of your life. Once you start practicing yoga regularly, you can enhance your diet and incorporate healthy foods into your routine. You can also build up your exercise routine, so you’re able to burn off excess calories while still maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

It May Help You Feel Better About Yourself

Unsurprisingly, yoga helps you feel better about yourself if you struggle with low self-esteem. One study, for example, found that adolescent girls who practiced Christian yoga for just six weeks felt more confident about their bodies and even became more accepting of their unique differences. Similarly, another study found that yoga can help people with anxiety. People with anxiety may feel nervous or anxious about many things, including social situations like a first date or meeting new people. Practicing this exercise, however, can help reduce these anxious feelings because it allows you to focus on your breath and relax all over your body.

It Can Ease Stress And Anxiety

Studies have found that regular yoga can help relieve stress and anxiety by improving your ability to focus and relax. This is especially helpful if you’ve been experiencing high-stress levels for months or years. One study, for example, found that people with high levels of anxiety who practiced yoga for eight weeks experienced significant reductions in stress and anxiety levels.

It Can Improve Your Flexibility

Yoga can help you improve your flexibility because it works your muscles gently and systematically. With regular practice, you’ll be able to increase your flexibility in your neck, shoulders, wrists and ankles, for example. In addition, as you get better at yoga, you may notice that you can apply a greater range of motion in everyday activities like carrying heavy objects or walking up a flight of stairs.

It Can Strengthen Muscles

Yoga can help strengthen your muscles because it involves a mix of intense and lighter exercises that work for different muscle groups. With practice, you may find that you can apply tremendous pressure or lift heavier objects like bags or dumbbells. For example, one study found that people who practised yoga twice a week for eight weeks significantly increased their grip strength (the ability to hold onto objects). You may also find relief for lower back pain and other parts of the body through different yoga exercises. 

It Can Increase Confidence And Self-Esteem

Yoga can help you feel confident and self-esteem as you learn to accept yourself and become more comfortable with your body. Yoga can help you to do this by teaching you how to relax and become more accepting of your natural urges like breathing and sexuality. One study, for example, found that women who practised yoga for six months reported positive changes in self-esteem and increased self-acceptance.

Conclusion

Yoga is a fantastic way to stay healthy, be more flexible, strengthen your muscles and feel confident in your body. It’s also a great way to meet new people and make friends, which means you can easily enhance your social life while you get fit. With all of these benefits, it’s no surprise that yoga is growing in popularity rapidly. It’s important to note, however, that you don’t have to be a professional athlete to reap the benefits of yoga. You can reap these rewards even if you’re starting by practicing a few poses daily.

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail
Mavian Arocha-Rowe

Mavian Arocha-Rowe

Editor-in-Chief at Chispa Magazine
Mavian Arocha-Rowe is known as an asset to the business and communications industry and is motivating and advocating “your authenticity should be your strategy,” for all women, regardless of their season and roles. For the past 20 years she has directed magazines, plus multiple art and marketing departments as creative director and brand manager. What supersedes all of her great career moves is her role as wife and mother living in Atlanta. Challenging herself to discover and bravely pursue the calling for her life, Arocha-Rowe helps other women discover and pursue their life’s assignment. She is a passionate, and loud-laughing speaker on the topic of purposefully redeemed, and mentors young women so they can exercise a mind that is doctrinally pure, along with a heart that beats toward sanctification. She will almost never turn down Marlow’s Tavern double-tavern cheeseburger, a cooking-demonstration from Leaning Ladder, or any opportunity to head to Miami to spend time with family.
Mavian Arocha-Rowe

Latest posts by Mavian Arocha-Rowe (see all)

Mavian Arocha-Rowe

Mavian Arocha-Rowe is known as an asset to the business and communications industry and is motivating and advocating “your authenticity should be your strategy,” for all women, regardless of their season and roles. For the past 20 years she has directed magazines, plus multiple art and marketing departments as creative director and brand manager. What supersedes all of her great career moves is her role as wife and mother living in Atlanta. Challenging herself to discover and bravely pursue the calling for her life, Arocha-Rowe helps other women discover and pursue their life’s assignment. She is a passionate, and loud-laughing speaker on the topic of purposefully redeemed, and mentors young women so they can exercise a mind that is doctrinally pure, along with a heart that beats toward sanctification. She will almost never turn down Marlow’s Tavern double-tavern cheeseburger, a cooking-demonstration from Leaning Ladder, or any opportunity to head to Miami to spend time with family.