The Benefits of Practicing Yoga Part 2

Practicing Yoga is beneficial in many different ways.

When most people think of yoga, they think of stretches and meditative breathing. This is true, however, the benefits of yoga go far beyond stretching and relaxation, and in our last blog, we went over five benefits you can enjoy when you practice yoga on a regular basis. Keep reading to learn about more of the benefits of practicing yoga.

#6. Yoga strengthens the immune system.

There are many different yoga poses that are beneficial for the immune system, including Cobra Pose, Downward Facing Dog, Tree Pose, Chair Pose and Triangle Pose, but some of the biggest immune benefits come from the simple act of meditation, which helps to relieve stress while also improving immunity. Yoga also help to increase your circulation and massage your internal organs, and that will help to detoxify your body, further strengthening your immune system.

#7. Yoga promotes healthy weight.

When most people think of weight loss, they imagine long sessions on the treadmill or stationary bike. And, while yoga may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you want to lose weight, it can be an effective part of a weight loss strategy. As we mentioned in earlier in this blog series, yoga helps you to be more mindful in every area of your life, which can make sticking with a healthy diet an easier feat to overcome. Additionally, many yoga practices can get your heart rate pumping and help to torch those calories, particularly Vinyasa practices. Yoga also helps to build muscle, which helps to increase your metabolic rate — which means that you’ll be burning more calories when you’re at rest.

#8. Yoga promotes healthy joints.

As you get older, it’s not uncommon to experience aches and pains in your joints, but luckily, yoga helps to protect them. Not only does practicing yoga help to improve the flexibility of your joints; it helps to strengthen the muscles that support those joints.

#9. Yoga improves flexibility.

In Part 1 of this series, we talked about how yoga builds strength. When you compare it to other strength training exercises, yoga has one big leg up on the competition: it increases flexibility. Flexibility is not only essential for gymnasts and wrestlers; it’s essential for everyone. Why? Because flexibility helps to prevent injury. Yoga helps to keep your muscles loose, which helps to protect them from undue stress.

#10. Yoga enhances balance.

If you’ve ever seen someone who has practiced yoga for years balance on their hands in Crow Pose or seamlessly move into Dancer Pose, then you probably already know that yoga helps to improve balance. Yoga helps to strengthen both the major muscles and the muscles that often get overlooked in a traditional workout, which includes all 100 muscles in the feet. This helps to improve balance. In addition to improving physical balance, yoga also helps to enhance your emotional and spiritual balance as well.

As you can see, practicing yoga on a regular basis is beneficial in a wide variety of ways, and we’ve only just scratched the surface of the many benefits you can enjoy with a regular yoga practice. However, the right apparel is essential in order to get the most out of every pose and movement in your practice, and with Yoga Culture, finding the right yoga tanks and pants is easy. Our urban yoga clothes were designed for style, comfort, movement and breathability, and every piece is made sustainably and locally. For yoga tanks and pants that are ethically made in Canada, shop Yoga Culture online today!