Yoga may seem like the latest trend, but it’s been around for over 5,000 years! It made its first appearance in the United States in the early 1900’s and spread like a wildfire. It’s easy to see why - yoga provides a variety of benefits on both the physical and psychological level. "On a physical level, yoga helps improve flexibility, strength, balance, and endurance," says Linda Schlamadinger McGrath, founder of YogaSource Los Gatos in California. "On an energetic level, yoga teaches you how to cope better with stress by cultivating a sense of ease in both active or passive poses. On a psychological level, yoga helps to cultivate mindfulness by shifting your awareness to the sensations, thoughts, and emotions that accompany a given pose or exercise." We may not be able to sell you on yoga pants, but we will definitely try to convince you to try a yoga class! Here are 11 health benefits associated with yoga:
1. Improves Flexibility
This one may seem obvious, but you will be surprised how flexible your body can be the longer you practice yoga.
2. Builds Muscle Strength
You may not be lifting physical weights, but you are lifting your body weight!
3. Alleviates Asthma Symptoms
Yoga emphasizes breathing practices that can alleviate asthma symptoms.
4. Prevents Cartilage And Joint Breakdown
Yoga has you move your joints through their full healthy ranges of motion and increasing blood flow. This carries fresh nutrients to the cartilage within the joint.
5. Strengthens Your Spine
Yoga’s stretching exercises improve spine flexibility.
6. Improves Bone Health
Weight-bearing activity is recommended to those who are struggling with bone loss, and yoga puts more pressure on the bone than gravity does.
7. Improves Heart Health
Yoga can reduce your risk of heart disease.
8. Lowers Blood Pressure
Yoga lowers blood pressure by keeping your muscles flexible and pliant which allows your arteries to be pliable as well.
9. Hangover Relief
Yoga detoxes your entire system and increases your metabolism. This helps get rid of a hangover faster.
10. Improves Memory
Yoga reduces stress and physical tension which improves your memory by allowing your brain to have organized thoughts.
11. Improves Mental Health
Yoga can benefit those living with depression, anxiety, other mental health conditions by raising oxytocin and serotonin levels.
At Clovis Open MRI, we encourage our patients to lead healthy active lifestyles. If you or a loved one is in need of an MRI, we provide excellent image quality and advanced clinical applications while still offering the most comfortable patient environment available. You can schedule an appointment online today!