Benefits of Yoga

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After understanding the essence of Yoga, now lets move into the benefits of Yoga. Why do some swear by Yoga?

At the physical level, yoga and its cleansing practices have proven to be extremely effective for various disorders. Yoga has postures and breathing techniques for almost all diseases, health disorders, allergies, pains etc. Many of the exercises are simple and have a magical effect on most disorders. An experienced yoga teacher, who has a thorough knowledge on the subject, can guide you through this.

Flexibility: Yoga makes the body supple, as its postures act upon the various joints of the body including those joints that are never really visible or worked upon. The changes will be evident and result almost instantaneous. Your body, which is otherwise rigid, thanks to the sedentary lifestyle, will experience a new whiff of freedom instantly after a few yoga sessions.

Massages all body parts: Ever heard of massaging the internal organs of the body? Yoga is perhaps the only form of exercise, which massages all the internal glands and organs of the body in a thorough manner. It directly or indirectly touches the glands thus massaging it and giving a relaxing therapy to the body.

Cleansing and Detoxification: Yoga has a set of advanced activities, which helps cleanse and detoxify the body. It helps throw toxins out of the body and keeps the body clean from within. This keeps the body and the mind well functional.

Muscle Toning: Muscles that have become slack, flaccid, weak, loose can be firmed and tightened by yoga. Regular practice of yoga helps tone the body making you a piece of true envy.

Beyond the body: Yoga increases the Somatic and Kinesthetic awareness. It improves the overall mood and brings about self-acceptance and self-awareness. Anxiety and depression decreases, concentration, memory and learning ability improves.

Physiological Benefits of Yoga at a glance

• Stable autonomic nervous system equilibrium
• Pulse rate decreases
• Respiratory rate decreases
• Blood Pressure decreases (of special significance for hyporeactors)
• Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) increases
• EEG - alpha waves increase (theta, delta, and beta waves also increase during various stages of meditation)
• EMG activity decreases
• Cardiovascular efficiency increases
• Respiratory efficiency increases
• Gastrointestinal function normalizes
• Endocrine function normalizes
• Excretory functions improve
• Musculoskeletal flexibility and joint range of motion increase
• Breath-holding time increases
• Joint range of motion increase
• Grip strength increases
• Eye-hand coordination improves
• Dexterity skills improve
• Reaction time improves
• Posture improves
• Strength and resiliency increase
• Endurance increases
• Energy level increases
• Weight normalizes
• Sleep improves
• Immunity increases
• Pain decreases
• Steadiness improves
• Depth perception improves
• Balance improves
• Integrated functioning of body parts improves

One has to experience yoga to see the difference. Yoga works differently for different people. For some, the changes may be visible soon, where as for some the changes may be slow. This is because each person is made differently and the body structures and needs of each are different from the other. So always in the practice of yoga, remember not to compare yourself with another. Be aware of your own body and see the difference.