TOP 7 SURPRISING REASONS WHY YOGA IS GOOD FOR YOU!
1) Yoga is good for the soul
Spend a day or two with somebody who practices yoga and you will witness that he is different from the crowd.
Many people have witnessed that people who practice yoga are calm and composed, they watch their words before speaking, and almost never seem to be stressed out.
Yoga can have the same effect on you.
The main reason why we get stress is that our mind wanders and worries about unimportant things. The mind is like a monkey who likes to get everywhere and ultimately ends injuring itself. Thus, we overthink and worry about things we generally don’t need to worry about.
Yoga is all about controlling the mind. Although some harder forms of yoga do exist, most yoga poses involve being in a relaxed state and focusing the mind on one particular thing, sound, or feeling. Needless to say, the wandering mind is tamed to behave according to your own will and you get control of your actions, thoughts, and hence, your life.
2) Yoga promotes mindfulness
The trick to eternal happiness and satisfaction is to be in the moment.
Many times, we get lost in the past or fret so much about the future. We feel sorry for the things we did in the past and worry about what might happen in the future. There would be nothing to worry about if the present did not matter.
But sadly, the present is what matters. Your present has the ability to shape what you will be in the future.
Yoga helps people to be in the moment. You will learn to control your breathing while practicing yoga. The experienced yogis and gurus believe controlling breathing is key to controlling the mind. Thus, you will also be controlling the mind simultaneously.
Moreover, it is impossible to think about the past or venturing into the future while focusing on your breathing. Thus, you are forced to be in the present and be observant of the things and actions around you. This is the very purpose of being mindful.
3) Yoga improves your posture
Yoga requires one to be in a relaxed position and focus on a simple thing or thought.
Trust us when we say this--being in the same position for more than five minutes is an incredibly difficult task. (Try sitting in your chair without rocking it or shaking your leg and you will realize.)
Thus, one practicing yoga needs incredible muscle tone and fitness along with mental toughness.
You can surely increase muscle mass by lifting weights and consuming enough carbs and protein, but if they are not properly toned, you might only look great in photos.
In fact, most lifters have improper posture and walking style either because of injuries or irregular muscle growth.
On the other hand, yoga will slowly improve muscle fitness and dexterity. You may not bulk up your muscles but you will surely tone them for the best performance.
Since most yoga poses will improve your back and abs muscles, you will greatly improve your posture.
4) Yoga improves blood circulation
To give you an insight, the yoga pose downward-facing dog alone engages the muscles hamstrings, latissimus dorsi, deltoids, glutes, serratus anterior, and quadriceps.
Thus, contrary to popular belief, yoga is not merely mental meditation.
Yoga has been known to lower high blood pressure among those who practiced it for some time. Thus, it can safely be said that yoga reduces the risk of heart problems by improving circulation.
5) Yoga might also promote weight loss.
When many people talk about weight loss, they don’t realize that it is as much a mental battle as it is a physical journey. Let us explain.
Ever stayed up late till night and felt so hungry, only to rush to the fridge to devour whatever junk is inside?
This has nothing to do with your natural hunger. When you stay up late and disrupt the circadian rhythm, your glucose level is messed up and insulin levels rise. Thus, the hunger you feel at night is simply not normal.
Yoga has been known to reduce stress and promote better sleep at night. If you do not stay up till late at night, you do not mess up your circadian rhythm, and hence you do not feel hungry and eat whatever crap you can find.
6) Yoga gives westerners an insight into eastern culture
The result is very similar to traveling. While the west was prospering and progressing in technological accomplishments, the east was silently following the path of spiritualism and mind control.
And when the east meets the west, the blend is absolutely stunning.
Many people from the west seem to have realized this and are putting greater emphasis on yoga than the eastern people themselves.
7) Yoga is an ideal way to get back to the basics of life and prioritize what actually matters.
It pays to travel to a different country and follow their culture. You realize that not everybody is in the rat race. You realize that you can create value and be of use by satisfying your own self and working for a higher purpose by serving others.
Many stories have emerged from the west where stress out fellow finds s his/her true passion by traveling into the Himalayas. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari was a prime book written about this.
Conclusion:
Although proper research is yet to be done to verify the medical benefits of yoga, previous studies and case-studies have claimed the effectiveness of yoga in maintaining a healthy life. Thus, it would be foolish to be ignorant and not give it a try.