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What is yoga?

Yoga is a 5,000-year-old discipline from India. It was developed as a practice to unite the mind and body. There are many branches of yoga. All yoga styles can help balance your body, mind, and spirit, but they achieve it in various ways. 

 

Some yoga styles are intense and vigorous. Others are relaxing and meditative. No matter which type you choose, yoga is a great way to stretch and strengthen your body, focus your mind, and relax your spirit. 

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Benefits of yoga

Yoga can make you stronger and more flexible. It's a great way to stay limber and energetic. You'll also feel more focused and alert. And yoga can help you feel great and function better in your daily life. Yoga can also help improve these conditions:

  • Poor blood circulation

  • High blood pressure

  • Arthritis

  • Osteoporosis

  • Limited mobility

  • Lower back pain

  • Trouble breathing

  • Headaches

  • Tension or stress

  • Depression

 

Yoga's gentle movements are a big reason for why it’s so popular. Yoga is good for people who haven't been active in a while. It’s good for people who have certain health conditions like arthritis or osteoporosis. You can change the exercises to fit your needs. But yoga is also great if you're already fit and want a challenging workout. As you become more strong and flexible with yoga, it's easier to do other kinds of exercise like dancing, walking, or swimming. 

 

Yoga can help you:

  • Reduce your risk for injury. Each yoga pose targets specific muscles. This helps you increase your flexibility and reduce your risk for injury. 

  • Reduce stress. Yoga can help soothe the mind and lower stress levels. It does this by focusing the mind on the moment and the movements. 

  • Increase your concentration. A main part of yoga is rhythmic, focused breathing. This can help you focus. 

  • Understand the mind and body connection. Yoga requires you to focus all your energy on each movement or pose exactly. This can help you feel the mind and body work together. 

  • Gain strength and stamina. More vigorous styles of yoga promote strength and stamina. 

  • Improve balance and stability. Balancing poses require you to use your core muscles. This can help you improve your overall stability. 

  • Improve posture. Yoga poses strengthen and open tight areas of the body like the shoulders and muscles of the upper back. This can help you keep good posture. 

  • Develop body awareness. Yoga requires you to contract or relax specific muscles as you stretch into each pose. This can help you become more aware of your body’s strengths and weaknesses

 

Strength-training with yoga

Many people think yoga is essentially a stretching regimen. It is that, but it’s also much more. How do you strengthen your muscles with yoga? Simply by getting into a yoga posture and holding it. Yoga can give you stronger muscles with poses such as: 

  • Downward facing dog pose. This strengthens your arms and legs. 

  • Half moon pose. This strengthens your legs and ankles. 

  • Plank pose. This strengthens your arms, wrists, and back. 

  • Locust pose. This strengthens the back of your torso, legs, and arms. 

 

Give it a try

Yoga can help you get fit for life. It helps you deal with stress, pick up your child, control your dog, carry groceries, or work in your garden. It also can help to prevent or ease back pain and muscle or joint injury, and give you self-reliance and self-esteem.

Yet, one of the most important benefits of any yoga routine isn't physical — it's the quieting of the mind. The bottom line is learning to pay attention. You fine-tune your attention, beginning with the body, and then moving to the mind. As you get deeper into your practice over the years, you start to see the mental and spiritual benefits.

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