When it comes to mindfulness, yoga is one of the best ways to begin practicing being in the moment and more in touch with our emotions. 

If you’re considering starting your yoga journey but unsure if it’s the right fit for you, there are a ton of benefits that may help to decide.

To get you started, we’ve compiled a list of 6.

Benefits Of Yoga

1. Strength, Balance & Flexibility 

Yoga isn’t always easy. It requires focus and persistence. 

Sometimes the toughest flows are the ones that best increase our strength and flexibility. 

They create muscle tone and endurance by requiring your body to hold certain positions for extended periods of time. 

2. Improved Relaxation 

Feelings of inflexibility or muscle tension can certainly lead to stress. 

Yoga, however, is a great way to lower physical tension. By utilizing slow and focused techniques, yoga aligns our mind, body, and breathing to help relieve stress and promote relaxation. 

Remember, you don’t have to do yoga only when you are stressed. Practicing regularly will help you to avoid stressors altogether. 

3. Energy Booster 

While you may think only of relaxation when you think of yoga, recent studies have actually shown that certain yoga poses have the ability to reduce fatigue and increase energy. 

Stretching, in general, can boost feelings of vitality, while active poses like Warrior II, or Full Cobra, stimulate blood flow and increase cortisol levels in the body. 

So next time you’re looking for a boost of energy, ditch the coffee cup and try reaching for your yoga mat instead. By practicing yoga regularly, you may notice yourself gaining an improved sense of desire to live life fully. 

4. Heart Heath 

Yoga has the ability to improves heart health by increasing circulation and blood flow. 

Regularly practicing yoga also help to lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and heart rate; all of which have the ability to lower your risk of heart disease.

Similar to working out or running, you may wish to make use of certain flows or poses to calm the nervous system and increase your general health. 

5. Better Sleep 

Yoga is a good way to improve our sleep because of its ability to put your body in a deeply calm and relaxed state. 

A survey in the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health found that over 55% of people who did yoga said that it helped them get better sleep.

This is likely because it involves a large amount of stretching and muscle work that can, essentially, tire you out to allow for a deeper sleep with fewer disturbances. 

Doing certain yoga poses may help you quiet your mind and prepare to sleep. There is also a slew of guided practices available on the internet specifically geared towards bedtime. 

6. Community 

One of my personal favorite things about yoga is the community of positivity and acceptance that it provides. 

There are so many amazing practitioners and instructors out there that are waiting to assist in your yoga journey. 

Try taking a group class or even a one-on-one session and I guarantee you’ll see what I mean. There’s just something fulfilling about the nurturing atmosphere that most yoga studios provide. 

Even if you are physically alone during your practice, you may find comfort in a guided video. 

Overall, there are more benefits to yoga than we could ever include on this list. Some others include specific ailments like arthritis or back pain. 

Whatever benefits you are searching for, I recommend you give yoga a try to find out if it works for you.