Yoga... often thought of as a holistic hobby for the more spiritual audience, but did you know that there are tons of potential physical and mental benefits to doing yoga?

The history of yoga

The origins of yoga traced back thousands of years ago in India. Yoga has roots in Buddhism, Shamanism, and other religions. Yoga is mainly focused on the belief in connecting your mind, body, and spirit through breathing exercises.

Yoga is based heavily on connecting with consciousness through your mind and breathing. Meditation is often tied into yoga practice and in most cases, yoga exercise is known as a relaxing and spiritual type of exercise. Yoga is typically considered for creative minds.

Let's look at the potential physical benefits of yoga... 

Strengthens flexibility and balance

Let's start on the first and most obvious one... flexibility and balance! Yoga practice usually requires holding deep, challenging poses. In one study, it was found that people improved their flexibility by 35% after only 8 weeks of yoga (1).

 

 

May help with sleep 

Yoga is a form of meditative movement, that focuses on creating a relaxed and mindful environment for our minds. Its believed that slow, controlled breathing stimulates your vagus nerve, which controls your parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), which controls your body's rest function, helping you get better sleep (2).

May help better posture 

For many, sitting stationary at a desk is an everyday occurrence. A sedentary lifestyle can have various negative effects, such as affecting your posture. Yoga focuses on alignment, core strengthening, and flexibility, which may be beneficial for posture. Core strengthening typically involves the spine, which is essential for good posture (3). 

May promote good heart health 

Although more research is needed, studies have shown that yoga may have benefits for heart health. Practicing yoga may help with lowering blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and blood glucose levels (4).

The British Heart Foundation discusses the benefits of Yoga on heart health, click this link to read more 

May help with Digestion 

Many like to refer to our gut as our 'second brain'. There's a direct link between our gut and brain, called the vagus nerve (think of it as the communicator between the two) this can play a role in stress, and mood (5).

Studies have shown that one of the contributing factors to Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Irritable Bowel Disease is stress (6). 

The vagus nerve passes many bodily functions, one of them being the lungs. Since our lungs control our breath, the vagus nerve picks up on slow, relaxed breathing, and communicates with your body that all is calm (7). Yoga focuses heavily on connecting through our breath, which may be helpful for those dealing with stress. 

A study in Switzerland found that young people who suffered from IBS saw an improvement in managing their condition after practicing yoga. This concluded that yoga was promising for those who suffer from IBS (8).

May help with anxiety/depression

Yoga focuses on connecting the mind, body, and spirit, giving people an opportunity to disconnect from busy lifestyles which have been found to deduct stress (9). Research also suggests that some types of yoga have been found to help with anxiety & depression (10).

Caution:  Content included in this article is provided for information purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice/medical advice. Please speak to your GP before trying any new remedies. 

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Sources & blogs:

1.  The Health Benefits of Yoga	https://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/the-health-benefits-of-yoga
2. What to Know About Yoga for Better Sleep	https://www.webmd.com/balance/what-to-know-yoga-better-sleep
3.  The Health Benefits of Yoga	https://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/the-health-benefits-of-yoga
4.  The Yoga-Heart Connection	https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/the-yoga-heart-connection
5. The Yoga-Heart Connection	https://www.northernpaincentre.com.au/wellness/chronic-pain-nutrition/gut-health-and-pain-part-3-your-gut-and-stress
6.  5 Helpful Yoga Poses for a Happier Gut	https://www.realsimple.com/health/fitness-exercise/stretching-yoga/yoga-poses-for-digestion
7.  How to stimulate your vagus nerve to reduce stress and anxiety	https://www.ekhartyoga.com/articles/wellbeing/how-to-stimulate-your-vagus-nerve-to-reduce-stress-and-anxiety
8. Yoga for digestion: How it works	https://www.livescience.com/yoga-for-digestion
9.  A systematic review of randomised control trials on the effects of yoga on stress measures and mood	https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S002239561500206
10.  Study Finds Even More Proof That Yoga Can Help Decrease Anxiety	https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/yoga-for-anxiety-study