What are the benifits of yoga. This year I am aiming for a better healthier me. Anyone got tips on how it helps mind body and soul?
Love yoga.
What is improves the most for me is core strength. It looks like it's all about stretching, but it really works those ab muscles. After 2 c-sections, I can use all the help I can get in that area!
I dont use it so much for the mind part since I'm a Christian and already have someone to hear my meditations, but the yoga poses are so awesome for core stregnth. Can you stand on one leg for 5 minutes without flinching? Try it.
I first took yoga a little over 2 years ago, when it was offered at my work during lunch. I was skeptical at first, but after one week, I could already feel the difference in my flexibility, body awareness, and relaxation (at work, no less)! Sadly, in only lasted for about 5 months, then it was determined that we couldn't have "outside vendors" offer that service to us... but I started exercising and the benefits of yoga made that transition so much easier!
I've taken my daughter to a "baby and me" yoga class and that was fun. But, I don't have the time (or money) to dedicate to a set schedule--wish I did!
I'll say that if you have the time and money, GO! Even if you can't make a long-term committment, try it for a few weeks! I bought a yoga for relaxation DVD and really hope to find a way to fit it into my bedtime routine! You can't just go straight to DVD, though, you really need a good "beginners" class & instructor to make sure your body alignment and form are good!
EVERYTHING! Go for it and you willbe amazed.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/yoga/CM00004
http://www.self.com/fitness/2012/03/benefits-of-yoga-slid...
I get benefits from all of it, including the mind and soul. I use it to focus on God, and get rid of all the stress and worries I might have been holding on to.
It's also great for the body. I use it to work my arthritic joints, as well as keep my muscles moving and stave off the issues of fibro/lupus. It's great! My muscles are strengthening, it's low impact...all around awesome!
Meditation doesn't work on me at all. (I can't concentrate like that anymore anyway, not after the menopause!!) But the stretching and work on the floor is the best part of yoga for me. Start with a very basic and gentle class, give it a month at least and see if it makes you feel better. I felt a lot better when I was taking yoga.
Dawn
I didn't like it at first, but now I love it. Mostly it helps me stretch muscles that get tight and sore from lifting weights. It also helps me with balance and core strength. I don't really focus on the breathing and meditation aspects.
I did yoga for a couple years when I was in high school, stopped for 25 years, and then came back to it about 2 years ago when I was dealing with major insomnia. I had the feeling that it might help by reducing stress, as well as adding another form of activity to my life. It didn't cure the insomnia (though that IS much better now), however I can see all sorts of benefits. Physically, it helps me with joint and muscle flexibility as well as building stamina and balance. It hasn't prevented the growth of some stomach flab (though maybe there would be more flab without the yoga?), and it isn't a 'quick' intense workout--my routine takes about an hour when I do it myself, and I don't think it does the same type of conditioning as aerobic activities. I also swim 1/2 mile three times a week, and for me, the two exercises accomplish different physical goals.
Yoga does help me SOOO much mentally. After a session, I feel very focused and relaxed--as the yoga folks say it, centered. I do have an active religious life, and I see yoga as adding to that part of my life, not competing with it. The activity really emphasizes just connecting with how I'm feeling and being fine with where my balance or flexibility is at any given moment--there is no competition. [By the way, I do think that when/if you try out an intro yoga class, I am almost certain you will find that the instructors emphasize that it is really about gentleness. I have heard a rumor that sometimes instructors can be high-pressure or intense, however I have never met any like that, and I really think they are not the norm, at least for non-Hot-Yoga practices.]
I finally bought my own yoga mat, which was a big step for me in terms of deciding to do it on my own sometimes, and I have felt great when I do set aside the time for it. So I encourage you to look for a beginners' class and try at least three or four sessions before making up your mind. Enjoy!
I can't do yoga.
I have a dance & gymnastics background... Which usually makes yoga a nonstarter. Both groups of people dancers/gymnasts AND yoga-types tend to be athletic/flexible... But with totally different sets of muscles and tendons/ligaments.
Yoga stretches muscles and ligaments dancers and gymnasts NEED tight (because they've stretched the others), or they start dislocating joints and tearing soft tissue. Conversely, people who do yoga typically cannot do upper level dance/gymnastics because of injuries caused by those sports (same kinds of injuries).
So one RARELY finds dancers or gymnasts in yoga, or yoga practitioners in dance or gymnastics.
Yoga tends to be AMAZING for
- runners
- bikers
- weightlifters
- sedentary folk
http://expansiveexpressions.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/expa...
Here's a blog/article from my children's former Sensei who has been studying martial and meditattive arts for over 30 yrs. Hope it helps a little in your decision.
