If running, lifting weights or cycling just aren’t for you, a great alternative is yoga.
Yoga is a form of physical exercise that connects the body and mind through controlled breathing, various poses and simple meditation. Yoga is malleable to be a fit for practically anyone because of its wide range of varying difficulties.
Whether it’s a simple child’s pose or a full blown hot yoga class, there is a place for everyone in a yoga class. The mental and physical benefits of regularly practicing yoga are undeniable.
One of the most obvious benefits of yoga is increased flexibility.
Often overlooked, flexibility is vital when it comes to being active and staying healthy. Most athletes focus mainly on strength and endurance training and forget all about the importance of keeping your muscles loose.
Tight muscles can lead to pulled muscles and pulled muscles can render you inactive for weeks at a time. After an intense strength training session, lactic acid, the organic compound that makes muscles feel sore, is extremely concentrated in muscles.
Yoga places emphasis on stretching muscles out in order to release lactate from the muscles and relieve soreness. Maintaining a healthy amount of flexibility can be the determining factor in whether you're successful in other athletic endeavors.
That being said, yoga also helps build muscle.
Holding certain poses for extended periods of time and maintaining control of your body forces muscles to work. Yoga targets such a wide variety of muscles throughout the body. A single yoga workout can help strengthen core, upper body, leg and back muscles.
Gone are the days where each day of the week was dedicated to a certain area of the body. In this way, yoga doesn't allow for one area of the body to be underdeveloped compared to the rest.
Also, when only lifting weights you may forfeit flexibility for strength. Yoga helps condition the body for both flexibility and strength, and these two elements when combined can help prevent things like arthritis and aching pains throughout the body.
A major component of yoga is posture.
During a yoga session correct posture and form are essential. A very basic example is when sitting in the lotus position it is key to keep your back completely straight. This strengthens core muscles.
If yoga is regularly practiced and these core muscles are strengthened, correct posture becomes much more natural in everyday tasks.
The lotus position is among the most basic in yoga, yet it is still reinforcing a healthier body. It also becomes second nature to hold your head directly above an upright spine, which is much healthier than straining other muscles to hold your head up.
Incorrect posture is a huge contributor to the common pains we feel and train ourselves to be ok with. Correct posture can almost completely eliminate back and neck pain.
Apart from physical health, yoga helps mental health in numerous ways as well.
Since a huge concentration of yoga is controlled breathing, people practicing yoga experience a more peaceful state of mind. Yoga calms the fluctuating nature of the mind because it forces the mind to sync with the movements of the body.
The mind is required to connect with the motions of the body and the speed of breathing as you move harmoniously from one pose to the next. Through this concentration, it soothes the anxious loops the brain tends to encounter on a day-to-day basis.
This promotion of mindfulness creates a heightened awareness of the present moment and relieves stress about work, school or personal relationships.
A moderate amount of meditation is also present in most yoga classes. Meditation allows us to clear our minds and feel rejuvenated to continue our day with a fresh perspective.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
