Hey there my fellow Yogis. As we all know, Yoga is a very popular pastime the world over with many benefits and something I like to do. But what are these? Let’s check out my 5 yoga benefits for women. The benefits of yoga are endless as there is so much to learn and so many ways you can practice. However regardless of the type you choose, Yoga has a lot of benefits that are great for women such as improvement of flexibility and strength, increased blood flow and the release of stress to name a few! Let’s check them out below:
What is Yoga?
Before we get started, let’s just be clear on what we mean when we talk about Yoga. In short, Yoga is a mind and body practice that originated in ancient India. It’s been around for thousands of years and provides many benefits which we will discuss below.
There are many different types of yoga, such as Hatha, Bikram and Vinyasa which vary in areas such as poses, flow and intensity. Some, such as Hatha, focus on breathing techniques while certain poses known as “asanas” are held. Other focus on postures to increase flexibility and improve circulation or to integrate movement with the breath.
Benefits of Yoga For Women
The explanation above outlines some of the reasons why yoga is perfect for all women – no matter their age or skill level! Let’s investigate these a little further below:
1. Strength and flexibility
Yoga is a fabulous way to increase strength and flexibility via the focus on poses that target certain areas such as the hamstrings or shoulders while strengthening muscles. Each pose works on bending the muscles backward or forward thus increasing range-of motion in specific parts at varying levels.
Part of the reason for this is it that to perform this style correctly one must follow along very precisely which can seem difficult when learning but once mastered, an individual will find themselves developing more power from their own body weight alone.
2. Get better sleep
Yoga is helpful for improving sleep quality as it can reduce stress and relieve tension, which are key factors in poor sleep patterns. Yoga does this by combining physical postures and breathing techniques with a focus on health, mind-body connection as well as relaxation.
In short, if you can immerse yourself into your yoga practice, you will find yourself naturally calming down after each session. Research in this area also shows that brains release endorphins during strong poses which also aid with relaxation, contentment and sleep. And of course a good pair of pajamas will not go astray either!!
3. Ease backpain
Yoga helps alleviate back pain by providing a plethora of benefits based around the use of muscles and correcting posture (I get a lot of back pain if I go fishing for a long amount of time) Much as with the benefits listed in benefit #1 above, it does this by stretching and strengthening muscles that support the back and spine such as the glutes and upper back.
In fact, the postures in yoga can be moulded to suit any specific need and they also stimulate the body’s natural healing process meaning that sore muscles can be worked and then healed a lot faster.
4. Increased blood flow
As discussed above, the poses and breathing movements of Yoga increase strength and relaxation. This work also means that there is more oxygen getting into our muscles which assists blood flow as well. Increased flexibility also makes moving easier on joints while calming tense muscles from stress or injury – both of which open them up to these benefits too.
Oh, and increased blood flow also assists in those with higher blood pressure as well. Just make sure that your yoga pants are not too tight haha.
5. Weight loss
The practice of yoga can help people to lose weight by decreasing their appetite, increasing metabolism and reducing stress levels. Of course it does not have the power that higher cardio based exercise has in terms of burning calories however yoga tends to keep you moving almost constantly, which helps blood flow and hence, the burning of energy as well.
Practicing stronger Yoga variations can also help you develop muscle tone and improve your metabolism. And of course, those that are less stressed tend not to overeat as much either.
Conclusion
And there it is – 5 Yoga benefits for Women. I hope it has been helpful and as usual, please do not hesitate to comment below if you have any questions, need some advice or have any experiences to share.
Until next time
Have fun
Paul
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