If you are looking at losing weight, developing a strong and flexible body, having beautiful glowing skin, or being at peace, Yoga can help you achieve it all. Yoga is often partially understood as being limited to asanas or poses, and its benefits are only perceived to be at the physical level. However, we fail to realize the immense benefits yoga offers in uniting the body, mind, and breath. When you are in harmony, the journey through life is calmer, happier and more fulfilling.
What does Yoga have to offer?
- All-round fitness
- Weight loss
- Stress relief
- Inner peace
- Improved immunity
- Living with greater awareness
- Better relationships
- Increased energy
- Better flexibility & posture
- Better intuition
With all this and much more to offer, the benefits of yoga are felt in a profound yet subtle manner.
Top 10 benefits of Yoga
1. Yoga for all-round fitness
As Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar puts it, “Health is not a mere absence of disease. It is a dynamic expression of life – in terms of how joyful, loving and enthusiastic you are.” Yoga poses, pranayama (breathing techniques) and meditation are a holistic fitness package. The benefits accrued by being a regular practitioner are numerous. Some very discernible ones are:
- Improves health
- Gives mental strength
- Improves physical strength
- Protects from injury
- Detoxifies the body
2. Yoga for weight loss
Sun Salutation and Kapal Bhati pranayama are highly useful for losing weight. Moreover, with regular practice of yoga, we tend to become more sensitive to our body and its needs. This, in turn, helps keep a check on our food intake and body weight.
3. Yoga for stress relief
A few minutes of yoga during the day can be a great way to get rid of stress that accumulates daily - in both the body and mind. Yoga postures, pranayama and meditation are effective techniques to release stress.
4. Yoga for inner peace
We all love to visit peaceful, serene spots that are rich in natural beauty. Little do we realize that peace can be found right within us and we can take a mini-vacation to experience this any time of the day! Benefit from a small holiday every day with yoga and meditation. Yoga is also one of the best ways to calm a disturbed mind.
5. Yoga to improve immunity
Our system is a seamless blend of the body, mind and spirit. An irregularity in the body affects the mind and similarly unpleasantness or restlessness in the mind can manifest as an ailment in the body. Yoga poses help massage organs and strengthens muscles; while breathing techniques and meditation release stress and improve immunity.
6. Yoga to live with greater awareness
The mind is constantly involved in activity – swinging from the past to the future but never staying in the present. By simply being aware of this tendency of the mind, we can save ourselves from getting stressed or worked up. Yoga and pranayama help create that awareness and bring the mind back to the present moment, where it can stay happy and focused.
7. Yoga for better relationships
Yoga can even help improve your relationship with your loved ones. A mind that is relaxed, happy and contented is better able to deal with sensitive relationship matters. Use Yoga and meditation to keep the mind happy and peaceful and watch how your relations with those around you blossom.
8. Yoga to increase energy
Do you feel completely drained by the end of the day? Shuttling through chores and multitasking continuously can be quite exhausting. A few minutes of yoga everyday boosts our energy level and keeps us fresh. A 10-minute online-guided meditation in the middle of a hectic day is all you need to charge up your batteries.
9. Yoga for better flexibility & posture
Yoga must become part of your daily routine to get a body that is strong, supple and flexible. Regular yoga practice, stretches and tones the body muscles and also makes them strong. It also helps improve your body posture when you stand, sit, sleep or walk. This would, in turn, help relieve you of body ache due to incorrect posture.
10. Yoga to improve intuition
Yoga and meditation have the power to improve your intuitive ability so that you spontaneously realize what needs to be done, when and how, to yield positive results.
Remember, yoga is a continuous process. So, keep practicing! The deeper you go into your yoga practice, the more profound will be its benefits.
