Yoga is a mind and body practice with historical origins in ancient Indian philosophy. Like other meditative movement practices used for health purposes, various styles of yoga typically combine physical postures, breathing techniques, and meditation or relaxation.
Health Benefits of Yoga: 10+ Benefits Showing Why Yoga is Good For You
Sooooo yoga. There are plenty of health benefits of yoga that you may not have yet realized. In this video, I will show you exactly why yoga is good for you.
Whether it’s Pins on Pinterest, Youtube videos, or those dank beach yoga photos on Instagram, yoga is quickly becoming one of the hottest trend in health and fitness. If you live in a big city it probably feels like there’s a yoga studio on every street corner.
Even though many of those pants never make it into the inside of a yoga studio, I’m going to show you some reasons why they should and why yoga is so beneficial to the body.
This week on The Health Nerd, you’re going to learn how just a few minutes of yoga every week, will make you more mentality alert, happier, and healthier.
First, let’s talk about the science.
There are a shocking amount of studies that show the health benefits of yoga for men, for women, and everyone in between. If you think it’s something only for the naturally flexible or for hippies, think again.
Here are some of the best benefits of starting a regular yoga practice.
#1. Researchers from the University of Washington found that a regular yoga practice helps one
Fight sugar cravings. Improve breathing. And help with emotional awareness. They found that yoga gave people a sense of “mindful eating” in which they were consciously aware of the impact the food they ate made on their body. This gave the practioners better control over their eating habits and eating decision.
#2. Oxyford University found that people who practice yoga only once a week
Slept better. Had lower blood pressure. And were overall less stressed than their non-yoga counterparts. This lowering of cortisol and stress levels led people to be in a more relaxed and happy state of mind. It also helped them manage stressful situations better and not totally freak out.
#3. There’s even significant evidence behind how yoga can help people lose weight.
Including its ability to balance hormonal levels. Manage cravings (as mentioned before). And burn the equivalent calories of any standard workout routine. It seems that the popular term “yoga body” actually has some evidence behind it. Finally, yoga has proven to help the body become more flexible, relieve migraines, improve posture, de-compress lower back pain, boost immunity and can help you have better sex.
Phew***
That’s a lot of health benefits of yoga!
So at this point you may be thinking… What’s the best way to get started? Try a 20-minute yoga workout after this video and see how you feel. I’ll link some of the best places to start for beginners in the description below.
1/8 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. More than 60% of women experience thickening of breast tissue and lumps that come and go. Swelling, pain and tenderness in the breasts is a normal part of our hormonal cycles. In this short daily hatha yoga class we bring our breasts to yoga and bravely learn how to reduce the risk of breast cancer as well as lower its recurrence.
This short hatha yoga sequence will attend to your lymphatic system, endocrine system, fascial system as well as the psycho spiritual aspects of breast health that relate to: swelling, painful and tender breasts; fibrocystic breasts; breast cancer; chemo and radiation; and recovery from breast surgery.
I have experienced my own problems with breast health from swelling, pain and tenderness in her breasts, fibrocystic breasts that have led to several breast cancer scares. I have gone through mammograms, ultrasounds and biopsies and I have an increased risk of breast cancer due because of familial breast cancer. All of this has motivated me to create breast health programs for women, that I can care for my breasts daily on my yoga yoga mat.
This hatha yoga class has yoga poses that stimulate the lymphatic system through the breasts to filter out bacteria, cancer cells and destroy toxins and germs. Because the lymphatic system has no pump of its own and it flows upward against gravity, we will practice inversions and poses that stimulate its flow. Even movements that add bouncing encourage the breasts to move and promote lymphatic drainage and decrease the chance of congestion.
Breasts suffer from poor posture, rounded shoulders and a rounded spine. The postures chosen for this daily hatha yoga class for breast health open up the chest and shoulders and strengthen the back to support the breasts. By creating space in the torso we continue to prevent fluid from accumulating around the breasts.
Finally attending to our own psycho spiritual needs to feel valued, loved, soothed, listened to and cared for on a deep level allows us to nurture ourselves on a deep level, affirming our own worth and committing to our own lives.
What Happens To Your Brain And Body When You Do Yoga Regularly
Over 36 million Americans practice yoga. Studies show it can improve flexibility, which in turn can help treat and prevent back pain. Yoga has also been shown to lower inflammation, which is linked to serious issues like cardiovascular disease and cancer. Studies also suggest it might reduce stress by interfering with your brain’s ability to release stress hormones.
Following is a transcript of the video:
Over 36 million Americans practice yoga, which really can have profound health effects on your body and brain. Studies show yoga can improve flexibility, which in turn can prevent and treat back pain. Not to mention, it lowers inflammation in the body, which has been linked to serious issues like cardiovascular disease. And like other forms of exercise, yoga may reduce stress.
This year is the year that you start doing yoga, and I mean for real this time. You're going to join the 36 million-plus Americans who have taken up this beautiful practice, connecting yourself with a millennia-old tradition and helping you flush out those nasty toxins, or, you know, probably not.
Before you grab a mat, here's what yoga really does to your body and brain. First of all, yoga comes in many, many different styles, but generally speaking, it involves some amount of stretching and meditation. Now, despite what you may have read, there's no scientific evidence to support the idea that yoga will flush out toxins from your colon or anywhere else. But that doesn't mean these techniques can't help your body in many other ways.
Take back pain for instance. An estimated 80% of Americans will suffer from back pain at one point in their lives. But one study found that after just six to 12 yoga sessions, participants reported significantly less pain in their lower back. That's because certain yoga poses stretch out your hamstrings, which, when they're too tight, can yank on your hip flexors and strain your lower back. But the more you practice yoga, the more flexible your hamstrings get.
For example, in a 2015 study, women practiced a type of hatha yoga, which involves positions like downward dog and triangle pose. They practiced 90 minutes each week for around 16 weeks straight. And by the last week, they could reach four centimeters closer to their toes than before thanks to those loose hamstrings. Now, if you're also meditating during those yoga sessions, the flexibility might not be the only benefit. After seven to 16 weeks of meditative activities, participants in one study saw a huge drop in C-reactive proteins in their blood. Those proteins are linked to inflammation, which, when you're overly stressed, can kick into overdrive. And over time, that inflammation may contribute to serious illnesses like cardiovascular disease and cancer. That's where yoga's meditative qualities can help.
Researchers suspect that yoga may reduce stress by interfering with the central nervous system's ability to release stress hormones. Plus, studies show that meditation-focused types of yoga, like yoga asana, boost levels of feel-good hormones like oxytocin in the brain. Plus, yoga is an exercise, and exercise in and of itself is a stress reliever. In fact, the US Department of Health and Human Services recommends two and a half to five hours a week of light to moderate exercise.
That can include workouts like yoga, brisk walking, or swimming. And to be fair, any amount of regular exercise is most likely going to reduce anxiety, elevate mood, and improve sleep and self-esteem. So while yoga might have an edge in the flexibility department and mindfulness department, there are plenty of other activities you can try to get fit. But as long as it gets you moving and maybe gives you some new friends, why not give it a try?
15 Min Daily Yoga Routine for Beginners (Follow Along)
This is a 15 minute beginner’s daily yoga routine. With gyms and offices shutting down, this video
is focussed on utilising our precious time into a higher purpose of learning yoga. If you have never
practised any of the yogic postures or breathing exercises then this should be the video which will
help you get started with this divine practice. Let’s not focus on the fear, panic and the noise
created by the media instead channelise our energy into something like yoga which will boost your
immunity and help you live a disease free life in the long run. One more thing, this is not a video to
just watch but to follow along. So, c’mon let us do it together.
0:47 - Before getting started with this Yoga Routine, do this.
01:12 - Yoga Warm up. These have been referred to as Sukshama Vyayama in the Yogic scriptures
04:15 - Suryanamaskar.The sun salutation. A powerful yogic practice involving 12 asanas.
05:35 - The three most important asanas for our modern lifestyles
05:44 - Pawanmuktasana. The gas release pose. Best to beat acidity and gas issues.
07:20 - Markatasana. The monkey pose. This is especially for the back and the issues related to the spine.
08:22 - Naukaasana. The Boat pose. This is to reduce the belly ponch and tone the abdominal muscles.
09:08 - Yogic pranayama or the breathing exercises.
09:20 - Aum chanting. Thrice. Aum chanting creates subtle vibrations within the body that makes the body ready for pranayama.
10:23 - Bhastrika pranayama or yogic deep breathing. This is a simple yet effective way to boost the immunity. It energises the body and calms the mind.
11:30 - Kapalbhati or rapid exhalation. Among the most powerful Yogic pranayama. It pushes the excessive air trapped in the digestive tract.
13:29 - Agnisaar. The benefits of agnisaar kriya increase manifold when it's done just after Kapalbhati. It is known to strengthen the digestive system.
14:09 - Anulom Vilom pranayama or Alternate Nostril Breathing. Anulom vilom instantly calms the mind. It has the capability to put in a trance state. You feel mediative.
16:17 - Bhramari Pranayama or Bee breath. This is the best breathing exercise for brain. Stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, anger issues, weak concentration power, you name it, Bharamari has the power to cure any issues related to the brain. It even stimulates the pineal and pituitary glands.
17:43 - Rubbing the hands together before concluding. It activates the acupressure points.
17:50 - Last but not the least. Shavasana, to cool down the body.
