I am often asked, “To what do you attribute the incredible growth in the popularity of yoga?” My usual response is that it works! In my long experience of teaching I have seen people start yoga for a wide variety of reasons, fulfill their original goals, and find new reasons to practice.
You should expect to feel better after even one yoga class and, with regular practice over time, you may find that some problems disappear without your even noticing. After many years of having severe daily headaches, I began doing Yoga and they stopped. I have one retired student who regularly proclaims that she will do Yoga until she dies because the pain of her arthritis goes away when she practices. I have another student who is undergoing a year of experimental chemotherapy, which requires a dreaded weekly blood draw. When she goes to her appointment after Yoga class, the nurse can draw blood while she sits up. Otherwise, she must lie down and has a hard time relaxing. Several yogis I know simply feel happier in their lives because of Yoga. How many things that feel this good are also good for you?
While all of yoga’s benefits are not measurable, many studies worldwide document the physical, psychological, and biochemical benefits of Yoga. Here are common benefits for someone with a regular Yoga practice. Yoga increases cardiovascular efficiency, decreases blood pressure, and lowers the pulse rate, making it an important factor in reducing heart disease. Practicing Yoga slows the respiratory rate and increases respiratory efficiency including total lung capacity and gas exchange efficiency.
Sleep and digestion generally improve, sensitivity to pain decreases, endocrine function normalizes, and immune system function increases. Physical strength and endurance increase; flexibility and joint range of motion increase; and balance, hand-eye coordination, dexterity, and fine motor skills improve. In one study, people with episodes of severe back pain rated what helped them the most; yoga topped the list. Yoga’s biochemical effects are impressive and indicate that it has a powerful anti-stress and antioxidant effect, important in the prevention of degenerative diseases. Most importantly, yoga allows the parasympathetic nervous system, the system that is associated with relaxation, to take dominance over the sympathetic nervous system, the system that responds to stress overload.
Other documented benefits include an increase in body awareness, an improvement in mood and subjective feelings of well-being, and an increase in self-acceptance and self-actualization. Feelings of anxiety, depression, and hostility decrease, and social adjustment increases. Yoga also stimulates improvements in attention, concentration and memory.
One personal benefit that has changed my life considerably is this – I now know what it feels like to be totally relaxed and at ease in both my body and my mind. These days I notice much more quickly if something I am doing, or the way I am doing it, create tension. With this knowledge, I can make choices that support a relaxed experience of life. This does not mean that I spend my days lying on the couch. It does mean that even during a busy day, I find ways to relax moment to moment, and I support that ability with a daily practice. While all of these benefits and abilities help us to lead happier and healthier lives, events do not always unfold as we want and life is difficult. The skills we learn in Yoga can help us through the most challenging life experiences with a bit more ease and grace.
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