Yoga is good for your overall health, as you’ve likely heard. Perhaps you have even tried it and found it a great way to improve your health. Consistent practice can bring you a host of mental and physical benefits. Some of these benefits, such as increased flexibility, are obvious.
Other benefits, such as mental clarity and stress relief, are subtler but just as potent. These benefits all contribute to a greater sense of well-being. This is why many people find yoga addictive. These are the top yoga benefits and poses that will help you get the most from your practice.
Increases flexibility
You can become more flexible by moving your body and stretching in new ways.
In a 2016 study, the International Journal of Yoga examined the effects of yoga on college-aged male athletes. Researchers found significant improvements in flexibility and balance among yoga-practicing college athletes throughout the 10-week long study. Researchers concluded that yoga could improve athletic performance and flexibility. 2
Your flexibility decreases as you age, particularly if you sit a lot, leading to immobility and pain. This can be reversed by yoga. A study found that Hatha Yoga increased flexibility among adults over 50 years old in China. 3
Here are some Poses You Should Try
- Reclined Large Toe Pose (Supta Pandangusthasana) provides the calves and hamstrings flexibility.
- Eye of the Needle (also known as Reclined Pigeon Pose) improves the hips’ flexibility and range of motion. It also provides gentle stretching for the Iliotibial band and Piriformis.
- Eagle Pose (Garudasana) is a balanced posture that increases the shoulders’ flexibility and works the legs, glutes, and adductors.
Building Strength
You will need to support your body weight with many yoga poses, such as balancing on one side or supporting your arms with your arms. These poses can be held for several minutes to build muscle endurance. 3 4
You can expect to see a greater muscle tone due to being stronger.
Here are some Poses You Should Try
- Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) strengthens and stretches the ankles, hamstrings and calves while strengthening the upper body in the shoulders, hands and wrists.
- Tree pose (Vrksasana) strengthens the core and legs while balancing your body. Strengthening the muscles and ligaments of the standing foot is also possible.
- The chair pose (Utkatasana) strengthens the lower back and abdominal muscles while stretching the upper back.
- Plank Position This is a popular exercise that targets the upper body, core, and hands while strengthening the wrists and back muscles (posterior chain).
What are the most popular types of yoga?
Balance improves
Balance training can be beneficial at any age. It can help athletes be more efficient 2, and active people find that it can improve their fitness and workouts. Balance training helps you move more efficiently in everyday life by improving your posture and functionality.
Strengthening and stabilizing the core can improve agility and prevent accidents like stumbling and falling.6 For more advanced students, inversions, which require you to turn your body upside down, are great ways to strengthen your core to keep you upright.
Poses to Try
- Chair Pose: This pose requires core engagement to ensure stability.
- Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chakrasana) tests balance and strengthens your core. This move strengthens your ankles and thighs and stretches your hamstrings.
- Warrior Poses (Virabhadrasana I to III; Devotional Warrior and Humble Warrior) will test your balance by allowing you to move forward and backward from one position to the next. These moves can be used as part of the Warrior Series to complete a sequence of yoga poses.
Joint Health Support
Yoga movements are gentle and low-impact. This allows you to move your joints freely without causing injury. Yoga can also strengthen the muscles surrounding the joints and reduce their workload. Regular gentle yoga practice can help people with arthritis feel better.
Here are some Poses You Should Try
- Bridge Position (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana) mobilizes the spine column and promotes hip stability.
- Mountain Pose (Tadasana) supports the knees and ankles while improving posture.
- The child’s Pose Balasana mobilizes the spine and increases the range of motion in the knees and ankle joints.
- Crescent Lunge (Anjaneyasana) mobilizes the spine and hips and stabilizes the knee joints.
It reduces back pain and prevents it.
Some types of back pain can be prevented by increasing flexibility and strength. People with back pain often spend too much time at the computer or in a car. This causes tightness and spinal compression. These conditions can be counteracted by yoga, which has been shown to reduce back pain symptoms. 8
Poses to Try
- Cat/Cow Poses (Chakravakasana). Both Cats and Cows stretch the spine and strengthen it as they move through flexion, extension and flexion. This can reduce lower back compression.
- The Seated Spinal Twist (also known as Half Lord of Fishes Pose or Ardha Matsyendrasana) involves spinal rotation to promote mobility in the spinal column, especially in the neck (cervical spinal spine).
- Cobra pose (Bhujangasana) increases mobility by moving the spine through spinal extension.
Improved Breathing
- We take shallow breaths and don’t pay much attention to how we breathe. Pranayama yoga breathing exercises focus on the Breath and teach you how to take deep, more satisfying breaths.
- Yoga breathwork can bring physical and mental benefits to both the body and mind. Some pranayama, such as Skull Shining Breath or Kapalabhati Pranayama, can clear the nasal passages. This is helpful for those with allergies. Ujjayi Breath can help to calm the nervous system.
Poses to Try
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- Three-Part Breath (Dirga Pranayama) is a grounding and calming practice that uses the body to center your attention on the present moment and tune into your body’s sensations.
- Equal Breath (Sama Vritti Pranayama) promotes calmness and focus by taking 4-6 deep breaths for each inhale, then counting 4-6 deep for each exhale. This is to help you keep your attention.
- The Cooling Breath (Sitali Pranayama) uses slow, deep, and long breathing to cool the body. This is done by sucking in air through a rolled tongue or pursed lips.
Mindfulness and Mental Peace
- Yoga asana is intensely physical. Focusing on your body’s movements can bring calmness and peace to your mind. Yoga also teaches you meditation techniques such as how to pay attention to your Breath and not let your thoughts distract from it. 10
- Scientific research supports the mental health benefits of yoga. Research has shown that yoga can have mental benefits. For example, a 2018 study published in the International Journal of Preventative Medicine showed that Hatha yoga for 12 weeks significantly reduced anxiety and stress levels in 52 women who took part in the study. 11
- There is increasing evidence that yoga has many benefits for those who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 12 A 2014 study found that yoga can be used to help traumatized people cope with any sensory and physical experiences that are associated with fear or helplessness. 13
Try these Poses
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- Triangle Pose (Utthita Trikonasana). Strengthens the hips, hamstrings and groins. As you balance and stabilize your body, the opening of your chest and shoulders can help to create a calm feeling.
- Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana) provides deep hip openers and calms the nervous system as you fold forward.
- Corpse Pose (Savasana) is the final resting position that concludes a yoga practice. It is deeply relaxing and does not require any physical effort. This is a great way to absorb the physical practice and allow the mind to relax.