Yoga is more than exercise

Many people begin yoga simply for the physical practice. Often it is a matter of weight-loss, injury healing, or a new years resolution that first brings someone into a yoga class. Without question, yoga has incredible benefits for the body, including increased flexibility, strength, balance, coordination, and overall improved athletic ability. Yet yoga is so much more. Once you have spent some time on your mat, the greater benefits of yoga will begin to show up in your life in a variety of ways.

Calmer mind

Practicing yoga benefits your brain just as much as your body. Consistently returning to your yoga mat has been scientifically proven to combat anxiety and depression by increasing serotonin and decreasing cortisol levels. Using yoga as a moving meditation, and especially when combining yoga with a seated meditation practice, allow your focus and attention to come to the here-and-now. By learning not to avoid, but to work through challenges on your mat during yoga practice, you also learn how to work through stressful situations and problems in daily life more easily. True inner peace and life-long happiness are discovered in this way.

Improved health

There are many different styles of yoga. Some are faster, some are slower. Whether you are engaging in a fast-paced vinyasa flow, or an extremely soothing yin, yoga changes your body and your relationship to it. Twisting in and out of poses, or asanas, helps to drain your lymphs and improve your immune system. Yoga benefits your heart rate, blood pressure, and circulation. Bodyweight bearing exercises improve bone health and can help keep the spine and joints in optimal condition. As yoga begins to open and strengthen your body, and the more you witness the changes, the more likely you will be to start treating your body in a kinder way. Healthier food options will be an easy choice instead of a struggle. Staying properly hydrated and getting enough sleep will become the norm. The small changes will eventually give way to larger ones and your overall health and quality of life will improve dramatically.

Stronger relationships

The eight limbs of yoga are a pathway to true inner peace and self-actualization. It all begins with ahimsa, or non-harming. And ahimsa starts with ourselves. Through yoga, we practice true self-care, and begin to treat our own minds and bodies with more love and compassion. We work to improve our truest relationship first - our relationship with ourselves. As this greatest relationship reaches new heights, the positive effects will spill over into all other relationships in our lives. It is said that our “issues live in our tissues,” and stretching deeper into our fascia in longer-held postures can release more than just physical tension. We can actually work deeper into and through our past traumas. This too is part of the pathway of improving our self-understanding, which will lead to our better relationship with ourselves and with others.

Better life

The physical, mental, spiritual, and relationship improvements and returns are just are small pieces of the bigger picture. Creating and celebrating the life you are truly meant to live. As you grow stronger in your body and your mind, new possibilities will unfold around you. A whole new world is awaiting, and all you have to do is take one step onto your yoga mat.