The history of yoga goes back thousands of years, and the many benefits of yoga are probably why it’s still very relevant today. In fact, the popularity of yoga is on an uptick, with the latest studies on yoga revealing as much. According to the Yoga In America study conducted by the Yoga Journal and the Yoga Alliance:
- 36 million Americans practice yoga
- 300 million people practice yoga worldwide
- 72% of women practice yoga
- Over four years (2012 – 2016), the number of men practicing yoga increased by 150%
- 14 million people who practice yoga are over the age of 50
- Americans spend $16 billion annually on yoga classes, equipment, and clothing
- At any given time, 60 million yoga posts are trending on Instagram
The beauty of yoga (and perhaps one of the reasons for its popularity) is that yoga is not a one size fits all practice, nor does it have to be. Yoga is easily adaptable to meet the individual where they are at, whether their needs are the result of age, body type, health, or spiritual beliefs. Beyond its adaptability, yoga also comes with plenty of health benefits to those who regularly practice it. Here’s a closer look.
Yoga Improves Balance And Flexibility
Flexibility plays an important role in our overall health and quality of life. Flexibility often takes a turn for the worse as we age. For many people, improved flexibility and balance are just two of the many benefits of yoga. According to the Yoga In America study, increasing their flexibility is the number one reason participants gave for starting the practice in the first place.
Moreover, some studies have shown that those who practice yoga can expect to see an improvement in flexibility in as little as six weeks, while others have shown that yoga can indeed improve balance.
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Yoga Builds Muscle And Strength
While yoga is often associated with stretching and flexibility, you may be surprised to learn that yoga can also build muscle and strength. Anyone who’s ever done yoga can tell you that the asanas can be quite challenging. Holding a pose requires a tremendous amount of strength in some cases. If you can’t hold a pose when you first start practicing yoga, that will all change in no time.
Yoga Helps With Back Pain
Because yoga does so much to improve your flexibility, and many of its poses rely heavily on stretching, yoga can be quite helpful for those suffering from lower back pain. Yoga is so effective for back pain relief that the American College of Physicians recommends yoga as an effective first-line treatment for chronic lower back pain.
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Yoga Helps Manage Stress
The Yoga in America study showed that stress relief was the second most popular reason people gave for starting yoga. Not surprisingly, there’s plenty of research to show that yoga is a powerful stress buster. While yoga poses or asanas are great for reducing stress, it’s worth noting that meditation and breathwork are also great for relieving tension and stress.
Yoga Improves Heart Health
By acting upon common markers of cardiovascular health, such as reducing stress levels, lowering inflammation, and decreasing blood pressure, yoga can lead to improved heart health.
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Yoga Improves Mental Health And Cognition
With an emphasis on breathing practices and meditation, yoga also offers its practitioners a slew of mental health benefits. While yoga has been shown to improve symptoms of depression, it can also boost alertness and decrease anxiety. Furthermore, research also shows that the benefits of yoga extend to the structure and function of the parts of the brain that play a key role in cognition, memory, reasoning, reaction time, and mental acuity.
Yoga Helps With Weight Management
It’s tempting to think that most people practice yoga as a form of weight management, interestingly, that’s not the case. The Yoga In America study indicated that only about 20% of people started practicing yoga for that reason. Flexibility, stress reduction, and mental health outranked weight loss as a motivating factor. That said, it’s worth noting that yoga can help with weight management. One study even showed that yoga might prevent the average 1lb/per year weight gain that many begin at middle age.
It helps with weight maintenance. According to research, a regular yoga practice may prevent the average one pound per year weight gain seen during middle-age (age 45-55) and help promote weight loss for those who are overweight.
To learn more about the benefits of yoga, or to bring the practice to your team or workplace, connect with us now to schedule a virtual yoga class![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
