YOGA: 7 BENEFITS 

As we learnt in India, yoga is extremely good for the Body, Mind & Soul. While most of us know the practice for its powerful ability to improve flexibility and reduce stress. There are other helpful benefits which you may not be aware of, this includes:

Stress Relief: Unlike some exercises, Yoga is extremely gentle on the body and soul, the practices primary focus is not about working out; instead it’s about living an all round healthy lifestyle. Nowadays we are constantly surrounded by a busy world and yoga offers an escape. It’s a means for you to block out everything and just be present and in a state of tranquility. By indulging in Yoga’s deep breathing and meditation practices, it enables you to take a time out from your daily stressors, unclutter the mind and help you be more focused.

Immunity: To have a seamless alignment between your body, mind and spirit, there must be no unpleasantness or restlessness in the mind. This is where yoga practice comes in. Yoga poses gently massage your organs, while strengthening your muscles; and the breathing techniques/meditation enables you to alleviate stress and as a result improve your immunity.

Enhance memory and Cognitive: It may seem bizarre that a practice, which involves stretching and breathing, could also be associated with cognitive enhancement. But the yogis may actually be superior learners and have a higher memory and concentration capacity. This is because of the benefits, which are attributed to meditation (the goal of yogic practice) and are linked to improving your brain functioning.

Improves your mood: Sometimes life gets the better of us and as a result, we find ourselves in a ‘bad mood’ – and often these moods are hard to snap out of. Fortunately, yoga can help enhance your mood. Yoga practices focus on calming the mind and searches for your inner peace. It should be about finding poses and performing them in way you are comfortable with and at they same you should feel 'good' whilst doing them. A good idea is to keep a list of the poses, which make you feel your best. This way you can refer back to them the next time you sense a bad mood coming on and use these 'feel good poses' as a tool to put you back into your happy place.
 

Reduces Pain: Next time you feel a headache coming on, before you go to grab your paracetamol, you may want to consider doing some yoga poses. Yoga is thought to be a very effective way for reliving all types of pain.
 

Increases energy: By the time 5pm rolls round, do you feel completely drained? The combination of work/life/daily tasks certainly has the ability to take it out of us. If you want to start feeling more energized and rejuvenated, yoga may just be your answer. A few minutes of yoga everyday can leave you feeling refreshed and recharged.

Increases sleep: It’s been found regular yoga practice can significantly improve the quality of your sleep (for those who suffer insomnia). This is can be attributed to yoga’s ability to cope with stress. By taking the time to focus on your breathing, it also allows the mind to slow down, which means falling asleep will be easier as your mind wont be as busy.