Why Yoga is Good for Your Body and Mind

The first time I tried Yoga I was in incredible shape and felt that attending yoga would do nothing more than stretch my muscles. I was clearly mistaken. My first yoga class was a power vinyassa class. By the time the 1 ½ hour class was done I was sweating more than with any other workout (granted the room is heated) and my muscles were shaking like I had just completed a marathon.

Why would one subject themselves to this? The answer is simple. The health benefits yoga offers both physically and emotionally are truly amazing and like no other form of exercise.

Yoga's physical benefits are like no other. While all forms of cardio and strength training are excellent for ones health, yoga reaches the muscles that most other forms of exercise cannot. Yoga poses have been proven to improve posture, tone muscles, increase flexibility, and to help with certain diseases. In fact, I have a friend who suffers from MS and although heat normally bothers her, yoga is the one form of exercise that seems to be effective and not create more pain than usual and she is not the only one!

While I will say that at first the emotional benefits that many professed yoga is known for seemed a bit far-fetched to me. When I go for a run I feel good and tend to forget about happenings in my life. However yoga does take that to a new level. The sheer meditative aura that yoga offers is both calming and serene. In fact, while when you are done you realize the physical effects yoga has on your body during the 1 ½ hours it does not seem like your body is doing as much work as it truly is.

If I was at the gym, the 1 ½ hours would feel like just that. However at yoga I felt myself almost disappointed when the class ended. My thoughts were clear and my body felt like it just received a fantastic workout. One that is not possible with other forms of exercise. Muscles I forgot I even had felt sore a few days later indicating that yoga truly does work many muscles. For that reason yoga is a great form of exercise for those nursing sports injuries or for those looking not to aggravate a previous injury. By keeping the muscles flexible injuries are less likely to occur.

While vinyassa is a power form of yoga there are also many gentle forms of yoga available. The yoga studio I attend even offers classes for those in wheelchairs. My class generally has all shapes, sizes and ages of students.

Yoga has gotten me though quite a bit in life and while I still love other more conventional forms of exercise I do try to get to yoga once a week. It truly is a wonderful complement to going to the gym.

www.webmd.com/video/yoga-ms