No , you can’t call your sleeping position to be scientifically healthy. But are you a yoga enthusiast? Do you enjoy a deep intimidating relationship with your yoga practice? Psychology says that full awareness of a certain practice can boost your motivation. Learning the importance of one yoga position is better than learning 100 new positions you blindly practice. So we bring you 5 benefits of yoga that are supported by science. Knowing that your practice has scientific backing can motivate you to build on it. Stick around because yoganna love these…
A brief Historical Insight
History can be boring for some. But learning how did you end up with such a rich spiritual practice can be worth it. So here is a brief but informative insight into yoga’s history.
Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word Yuji. It means yoke or union. This signifies that yoga brings your mind and body together. Incorporating breathing exercises and stress-reducing poses releases any energy tensions building up around you. The practice first appeared in northern India over 5000 years ago. From there, the masters spread yoga around the globe. Teaching it in different parts of the world over time. So that is how you ended up with your everyday yoga routine.
1. Decreases Stress
Imagine this, you came home after a long day at work, you take a stretch or two. How relaxing does a random stretch feel? It releases the tension in your tired muscles. Now imagine practicing proper rhythmic stretching with added breathing patterns. To be honest, you don’t even need science to see its benefit. You can feel it yourself.
Multiple studies have shown that yoga can decrease the release of cortisol. That is the primary stress hormone in your body (2,3).
Another study was carried out on 24 women who considered themselves emotionally unstable. After 3 months of the yoga program, the women had significantly lower cortisol levels. Moreover, their stress and fatigue levels also dropped. As a result, they somewhat gained emotional stability.
This shows that coordinated yoga movements can release tense energies from your aura. As a result, you feel lighter, less anxious, and relaxed.
2. Might Help with Inflammation
In addition to the proven mental health and stress-reducing benefits of yoga, studies suggest that it may also help with inflammation. Inflammation is a natural immune response. But in some chronic cases, it can contribute to the development of serious inflammatory diseases. For instance, heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer in some cases. (8)
Back in 2015, a study divided 218 participants into 2 different groups: Those who practiced yoga and those who didn’t. Both groups then performed several exercises to produce stress. As the study was concluded, the individuals who performed yoga regularly had lower inflammatory indicators compared to the other group. (9)
This shows that yoga is not just a random set of movements that help mental health. It can be beneficial for reducing inflammation and thus preventing other diseases.
Although extensive research is needed to further establish that yoga helps with inflammation, the findings up till now indicate that yoga protects against health issues such as inflammation.
3. Improves Heart Health
You could always use a healthy heart. From pumping blood around the body to supplying nutrients tissues, your heart health matters. So how does yoga help with your heart health?
Studies indicate that yoga may help improve heart health by reducing the risk factors for heart disease.
According to one study, the participants over the age of 40 who practiced yoga for 5 years had lower blood pressure and pulse rates than those who didn’t practice yoga (11). High blood pressure is a major cause of heart-related diseases. For instance, heart attacks, and strokes. Lowering your blood pressure reduces the load on your heart and so the risk of heart diseases is minimized (12).
4. You Deserve a Quality Life
Let’s be honest, you work hard all your life just to attain a quality lifestyle. With the stresses of modern life and physical health not being all, you may turn to a metaphysical store online looking for alternative tools such as crystals and Yoga tools to enhance our spiritual health. Yoga is a known therapy to improve the quality of life for many individuals. According to a study, 135 senior citizens were assigned to either 6 months of regular yoga, just walking around, or a control group. The results showed that practicing yoga significantly improved their life quality. It also reduced anxiety, depression, and fatigue. On the other hand, the groups going with walking, or control groups had higher stress and fatigue levels.
Moreover, in another study, women who had breast cancer and were going through chemotherapy were followed. Yoga decreased the symptoms of chemo. These included nausea, vomiting, and headaches.
All of these are medical benefits of yoga. However, they also tend to improve the psychological health of individuals. As a result, their life quality is improved with lower stress and fatigue levels.
5. Could Reduce Chronic Pains
Do you feel random headaches, backaches, or any other regular pain in your body? You might be suffering from chronic pain that is persistent. But you are not alone in this. Chronic pain affects millions of people around the globe. It can have multiple causes from injuries to arthritis.
Research has shown that practicing yoga regularly can have a significant impact on these pains. According to a study, 42 individuals with carpal tunnel syndrome were divided into two groups. One group practiced yoga and the other received a wrist splint. After 8 weeks, yoga was found to be more impactful than wrist splint. It reduced pain and improved the grip strength of the participants. (23)
Final Words
So here is the bottom line, if yoga is just another exercise on your fitness routine, you won’t realize its significance. You must learn about the benefits of what you are practicing. As a result, you will value it more and try to be better at it. From stress release to medical benefits, yoga is more than a number of poses you randomly practice. So we hope this list of Yoga health benefits, will add value to your yoga practice.
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