4 Physical Benefits Of Yoga

Copyright (c) 2011 Andrew Holtom

As the benefits of yoga are becoming more clear to people, more people are starting to practice yoga in their homes or local gym classes. This fantastic exercise system has been around for almost 5000 years. There have been thousands of hours dedicated to studying yoga and finding out if it is worth practicing. Simply put, yoga is one of the best exercise systems in the world. It is for this reason that it is popular. If you would like to learn more about the physical benefits of yoga and whether or not it is for you – read on.

1. Flexibility: Regardless of what physical condition you are in, you will be able to practice yoga. Yoga does not rely on you having fantastic flexibility. It helps your work and strengthen your own bodies flexibility. Yoga teaches you how to safely stretch you muscles. When you safely stretch your muscles, you can get rid of the lactic acid that normally builds up with your muscles. This lactic acid usually causes tension, fatigure, pain and stiffness. With yoga this lactic acid is cleared and makes you feel much better physically after exercising. yoga also helps your body lubricate the joints and helps the motion of the joints. In the end, you will see you are more fluid and powerful throughout your entire body.

2. Strength: While yoga is not the ultimate strength building exercise, it does help you build your muscles depending on what exercises you are performing. The Power styles of yoga such as Ashtanga help increase your physical strength and muscle tone at a much quicker rate. The other styles of yoga also help with strength building but only specific exercises.

3. Posture: One of the greatest benefits of yoga is that it helps you work on your posture. This is fantastic for people who have been struggling with posture their entire lives. The yoga positions used help you increase your strength and flexibility. This flexibility and strength is needed to be the foundation of a good posture. The standing and sitting positions for yoga automatically help you work on your core strength. Since you rely on those deep abdominal muscles to maintain each pose, you will be building this core strength automatically. Since yoga helps you work on your body awareness, after a few weeks of practicing yoga, you will automatically know when you are slumping or slouching and you will WANT to fix it.

4. Heart: Yoga has an extremely beneficial effect on heart disease. Since yoga is known to lower blood pressure and slow down the heart rate, it is constantly recommended to people with heart problems. Reducing the heart rate can help benefit people who suffer from strokes, hypertension and heart disease. More and more western physicians are recommending yoga to people with heart issues.

This only touches on the physical benefits of yoga. There are many more benefits of yoga that you can also take advantage of. You can gain the benefits of yoga in your own home through a yoga DVD or through a class at a local gym. Decide which one is for you and start practicing yoga.

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