5 Benefits of Practising Yoga

International Day of Yoga 2022

On the 21st of June 2022, the world is celebrating the International Day of Yoga. We thought this is a good occasion to take a moment and learn about the many benefits of practising Yoga. A big shout-out to Healthline.com for putting together a great list of Yoga benefits. There is still a lot of research needed to make scientific claims, but we selected a list of benefits that we can definitely subscribe to from our own yoga experience. 

Improving flexibility

One of the many reasons, people get motivated to practice yoga is to increase flexibility. While babies have no issue putting their foot in their mouth, the older we get, the less flexible we become. Maintaining flexible muscles and tendons is however important for being able to move. Many Yoga poses help with stretching our body and ensuring we stay flexible.  

Increase in strength

There are of course many forms of Yoga, of which some will also help build up your body strength. Building up strength through yoga depends on a few elements such as the yoga pose, the level of intensity, your teacher, and their approach. There is already some research available that has shown that yoga can improve strength. In our opinion, anyone who practices the Four-Limbed Staff Pose knows the strength it takes to stay in that position and continue breathing 😉

Better posture and body awareness

Sitting is the new smoking, meaning in today’s world we sit far too much in front of our computers, our phones, TVs, and cars. Practising yoga can help reverse the effects on our poor hunched backs and help us improve our posture and be more aware of how we carry ourselves. 

Stress relief

Life gets busy and many of us tend to feel stressed from time to time. Any form of exercise can help with relieving some of this tension. Interestingly, when asked why people practice yoga, a large majority of them mention stress relief as a reason. Research has also shown the effect of yoga on stress. This is the case for active yoga exercises as well as more meditative practices.

Improving sleep

Like with any type of exercise, yoga also helps to improve our ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. This is due to the after-effects of exercising and the mental calming and stress relief achieved through practising yoga. So, if you have trouble sleeping, try to lie down on your yoga mat and get active. 

There are of course many more benefits of practising yoga, what is your reason to practice yoga on a regular basis? Do let us know in the comments below, we always love to hear from you. 

International days such as the International Day of Yoga are a good reminder to regularly exercise and motivate us to stay healthy and fit. At least, we now have itchy feet to get onto that yoga mat after finishing these paragraphs. 

Finally, it does not matter what you wear when practising yoga, as long as you do it and feel comfortable bending and stretching in it. But, if you do want to give yourself a treat, have a look at our yoga collection. https://coremerino.com/merino-wear/women/yoga/