What are the Physical Benefits of Yoga?

Yoga has so many different benefits it's hard to name them all. There are a few favorites of mine that I would love to share, however.

Yoga, has been proven to help lower blood pressure. Creating oxygenation through your body by becoming more flexible creates better circulation, resulting in lower blood pressure. Breathing exercises are also very common, because it strengthen your lungs and helps you to control your breathing pattern. Once you have established breathing properly, you will notice that other daily activities, such as walking, or climbing up stairs are easier to do just from breathing exercises.

I have seen the most change in my posture from doing yoga. I am 5'11 and very slender so most people are shorter than me. Because of this, growing up I would slouch down and never stood up correctly. From doing this, the muscles in my back got so weak, before yoga, it actually hurt to hold my back up straight. Yoga, strengthens your muscles in areas that have been neglected for some time, thus making you feel amazing once rehabilitated.

Another favorite thing about my yoga experience is how much energy I have now! In fact, most yogis state that when you perform your yoga correctly, you will feel energized after your yoga session rather than tired. Doing yoga gives you the ability to become more aware of your body. In yoga, you are requested to make subtle movements that will improve your alignment. Over time, this will increase your level of comfort in your own body. This can lead to improved posture and greater self-confidence. Everyone desires self confidence, right?

Most importantly, stress. I know that I am referencing physical benefits, but haven't you noticed a difference in how your body feels when you are stressed in comparison to when you are relaxed? Yoga demands high concentration when trying to hold a pose that is quite difficult. Because your focus is so attentive on this one thing, other problems that you may have await you after class. Once class is over, you feel so energized and relaxed at the same time, (if you are anything like me) you feel like you can take on the world!



Walker, M. (n.d.). 77 surprising health benefits of yoga.Nursing Degree.com.Retrieved February 21, 2010, from: http://www.nursingdegree.net/blog/24/77-surprising-health-benefits-of-yoga/.

What is Yoga

Initially when I thought of yoga, I pictured a bunch of people doing very little to just say they are trying to get in shape. When I had my first class, I realized that yoga was a lot harder than I thought! The type of yoga that I have been taking is called bikram yoga. This style means that you do your exercises in a heated room. Yoga helps you become more flexible and it also will tone certain areas that you want to focus on. When in a heated room, naturally your body can stretch more than usual, impacting your ability. During the class, I thought I was going to vomit. I should have listened to the instruction package the company provided me that stated not to eat heavy foods within the first three hours of class, and to drink plenty of water. It was an hour and a half non-stop of different poses to hold and I was sweating along with everyone else. It started off focusing on consistency of breathing.

Then the class continued into different types of poses. Poses in yoga mean different types of postures that are quite difficult to hold, or, stretching areas of your body you didn’t know needed to be stretched. After my first class was over, I couldn’t have been happier. Once I stepped out into the cooler room I immediately felt relieved because needless to say I was not prepared for the class at all.  And on top of everything, the next day I felt terrible. Places of my body were sore I didn’t know could be sore.

My next class, I decided not to eat a bunch of food right before, and not drink any water! I completely hydrated myself and surprisingly the class went by much faster, and I didn’t feel dizzy or nauseated. It was a huge difference just by drinking water so I started to drink water even when I didn’t have a class. When starting the second class, I promised myself not to overdo it. Whenever I began to feel a bit funny, I would just sit down until I got myself under control again. I felt like a million bucks once the class was over. I was sore the next day of course, but I didn’t feel like I had been hit by a bus.

Bikram yoga is not a specific type of yoga, rather there are 26 poses that are done in order to tone everything in a heated room up to 100 Fahrenheit degrees. These twenty six asanas (meaning poses) were selected because you can be a beginner, or an expert for years to attend on of these classes.

Ardha Chandrasana - Half Moon Pose was surprising the hardest pose for me. It is the third posture and it really feels awkward when you do it. It is actually nick named the “Awkward Posture”. Holding your arms straight up and holding them together, lean to the left or right as far as you can and hold it. From experience this posture really worked the muscles on the sides of my stomach and chest. The fifth posture is Dandayamana – JanuShirasana. This posture you stand on one leg for balance, and raise the other leg to a 90 degrees. Then you try to reach for your toes and touch your head to your knee. This one really stretches your legs.

Ardha Chandrasana: Half Moon Pose

Dandayamana – JanuShirasana: Head to Knee Pose

26 poses of Bikram Yoga. (n.d.). Yogiclogic. Retrieved February 6, 2010, from
http://www.yogiclogic.com/bikram-yoga-poses.php