Top 10 Reasons to Give Yoga a Try

According to Yoga Alliance

1. STRESS RELIEF:  Yoga reduces the physical effects of stress on the body. By encouraging 

relaxation, yoga helps to lower the levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Related benefits 

include lowering blood pressure and heart rate, improving digestion and boosting the 

immune system as well as easing symptoms of conditions such as anxiety, depression, 

fatigue, asthma and insomnia. 

2. PAIN RELIEF:  Yoga can ease pain. Studies have demonstrated that practicing yoga 

asanas (postures), meditation or a combination of the two, reduced pain for people with 

conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, auto-immune diseases and hypertension as 

well as arthritis, back and neck pain, and other chronic conditions.  Some practitioners 

report that even emotional pain can be eased through the practice of yoga. 

3. BETTER BREATHING: Yoga teaches people to take slower, deeper breaths. This helps to 

improve lung function, trigger the body’s relaxation response and increase the amount of 

oxygen available to the body. 

4. FLEXIBILITY: Yoga helps to improve flexibility and mobility, increasing range of movement 

and reducing aches and pains. Many people can’t touch their toes during their first yoga 

class. Gradually they begin to use the correct muscles. Over time, the ligaments, tendons 

and muscles lengthen, increasing elasticity, making more poses possible.  Yoga also helps to 

improve body alignment resulting in better posture and helping to relieve back, neck, joint 

and muscle problems. 

5. INCREASED STRENGTH: Yoga asanas (postures) use every muscle in the body, helping to 

increase strength literally from head to toe. And, while these postures strengthen the body, 

they also provide an additional benefit of helping to relieve muscular tension.

6. WEIGHT MANAGEMENT: Yoga (even less vigorous styles) can aid weight control efforts by 

reducing the cortisol levels as well as by burning excess calories and reducing stress. Yoga 

also encourages healthy eating habits and provides a heightened sense of well being and 

self esteem. 

7. IMPROVED CIRCULATION: Yoga helps to improve circulation and, as a result of various 

poses, more efficiently moves oxygenated blood to the body’s cells. 

8. CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONING:  Even gentle yoga practice can provide cardio- 

vascular benefits by lowering resting heart rate, increasing endurance and improving 

oxygen uptake during exercise. 

9. FOCUS ON THE PRESENT: Yoga helps us to focus on the present, to become more aware 

and to help create mind body health. It opens the way to improved concentration, coordi- 

nation, reaction time and memory. 

10. INNER PEACE: The meditative aspects of yoga help many to reach a deeper, more 

spiritual and more satisfying place in their lives.  Many who begin to practice for other 

reasons have reported this to be a key reason that yoga has become an essential part of 

their daily lives. 

For more information please www.yogaalliance.org and www.yogadayusa.com