Yoga can benefit your life in more ways than you realize. It is mostly known as a way to wind down but it can also develop strength and prevent or improve disease.

yoga for depression, stress, and anxiety

Calm that nervous system! Practicing yoga and mindfulness will calm your sympathetic nervous system, that thing that controls our fight, flight or freeze response. It used to help us run from tigers but now just activates as we ruminate over the stressors in our life. Having too much cortisol, the stress hormone, floating around in the body for too long can really wear on us_⁽⁴⁾.

The great thing about yoga is that it can help lower your cortisol to a more balanced level, making you less irritable off when facing life’s difficulties. In a recent study stress, anxiety and depression scores were significantly lower in a yoga practicing group compared to a physical exercise group. And, this was after only 16 weeks_⁽³⁾! So hop off that treadmill and get on your yoga mat!

improve cardiovascular health

Just 3 months of yoga is shown to improve quality of life, increase the amount of blood pumping from your heart, and decrease cardiac inflammation in heart failure patients_⁽¹⁾. This study also observed that no cardiac side effects existed in relation to the sessions. Improved quality of life and no side effects… that’s a recipe for a happy heart.

A study in Nepal showed that after 8-weeks of yoga, participant’s BP readings were lowered by almost 10 points^₍₂₎. So if you’re starting to approach a hypertension diagnosis or already have one, do your heart a favor and introduce a yoga session into your weekly routine.  

yoga to cultivate spinal flexibility

Put an end to that dreaded back pain once and for all! Participating in yoga just once a week improves spinal and hamstring flexibility, thus improving overall movement and function_⁽⁵⁾. This is especially important for those of us working remote experiencing chronic low back pain.

If you’re feeling stiff with limited mobility in areas of your body then yoga is the right choice for you. You don’t have to roll out of bed everyday feeling like Frankenstein. Instead, trust that improving the capability of your spine will have lasting positive effects on your body and quality of life. 

Remember not be discouraged by the state of your current flexibility. Everyone starts somewhere and with consistency in your practice you will begin to see the little changes over time. Gymnast-level flexibility is not required!

yoga for muscle strength and endurance

While mostly known for its relaxation and meditative properties, yoga can also have an impressive effect on the muscles. After introducing yoga to a group of sedentary individuals for 8-weeks, researchers saw that participants had greater muscle strength and endurance, flexibility and cardio-respiratory fitness_⁽⁶⁾.

If you’re looking for a session with a little more grit to it, Ashtanga Yoga is the path for you. Holding positions can provide that stretch in the muscle fibers needed to initiate healing. Doing this after lifting weights will help the muscles increase in size faster_⁽⁶⁾. You also get the metabolic stress in the muscle, or “the burn”, that enhances muscle growth and endurance.

improved respiratory health

Calming your nervous system also has a positive effect on the pathway of breathing. Slow, yogic breathing dilates our bronchioles allowing more oxygen to enter. It involves a lot of vertical breathing which studies have shown to be beneficial as more of our alveoli are available for use in this position_⁽⁷⁾. As we increase the oxygen we take in, we increase the amount that is available to circulate throughout the body. Pranayama has the power to increase the depth of breathing and expand those lungs to promote more gas exchange with each breath_⁽⁷⁾. Yoga may not eliminate the inhaler all together, but it can improve your breathing and the strength of your lungs.

yoga to decrease pain

It comes in many flavors; migraines, headaches, arthritis, low-back, neck….etc. If you are someone that experiences any of these painful ailments consider integrating yoga into your life. This practice has the power to help your pain by:

• increasing physical flexibility
• calming and focusing the mind to develop greater awareness and diminish anxiety
• reducing distress
• improving overall mood_⁽⁹⁾.

Researchers have even linked yoga with a significant decrease in severity of rheumatoid arthritis due to a decrease in systemic inflammation. In addition to an improvement with RA, participants also reported a significant decline in the depression that commonly comes along with such a condition_⁽⁸⁾.

See my other post about how yoga can decrease inflammation —–> click here!

improved cognitive function

The data available on how yoga improves cognitive function is abundant and backed by the use of imaging technology like MRI. Recent studies clearly state the positive effect of yoga practice on the structure and/or function of the hippocampus, amygdala, prefrontal cortex, cingulate cortex and brain networks.

There is also evidence that the practice of yoga has the ability to mitigate age-related atrophy and neurodegenerative decline_⁽¹⁰⁾.  Yoga results in improved learning and memory, attention, decision making, reaction time and even performance on tests_⁽¹¹⁾.

a healthier digestive system

Many yoga postures involve twisting of the abdomen and spine. This does a great job of massaging the internal organs including those used for digestion. For this reason it is a helpful way to promote gut motility and alleviate issues like bloating and gas. IBS has been linked to increased stress in the body which is controlled with the relaxing nature of yoga_⁽¹²⁾. The increased circulation to the abdomen with certain poses works well for cramps and other unpleasant symptoms of IBS.