If you’re looking for a way to take your health and wellness to the next level, regular yoga should be on your radar. While there is no hard and fast rule as to how often you should practice yoga, we believe that twice a week is the sweet spot. Of course, you can enjoy it more or less but bi-weekly is a good idea if you’d like to reap the full benefits of yoga. Speaking of benefits, here is a brief overview of what they are.
Improves Flexibility
When you engage in routine yoga, you gently stretch and relax your muscles. In addition, you hold stretches for long periods of time and allow your muscles to go deeper into them.
This can do wonders for your flexibility and in turn, allow your joints to move through their full range of motion, reduce your risk of injuries, and boost your fitness performance. You’ll be pleased to learn that flexibility is one of the benefits you may notice pretty quickly, often within a few months of regular practice.
Builds Strength
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to lift weights or perform bodyweight exercises to become stronger. By moving your body through yoga poses, you’ll slowly but surely build muscle and improve your strength. So why does a stronger body matter? It can keep your heart healthy and lower your chances of serious health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease. If you’d like to build strength through yoga, we suggest you try poses like downward facing dog, warrior I, triangle pose, plank pose, crow pose, and tree pose.
Helps Reduce Stress
Let’s be honest. We all experience stress, either on a regular or occasional basis. After all, we lead busy lives with long to-do lists. Since yoga helps clear the mind, encourages relaxation and regulates the nervous system, it can keep your stress levels at bay or even eliminate them altogether. As long as you commit to regular yoga practice, you’ll find it easier to lead a more peaceful lifestyle. You can think of yoga as a total release for your mind, body, and soul.
Gives Immunity a boost
Being sick is no fun. Believe it or not, regular yoga can keep you healthier as it’s been suggested to increase immunity. Here’s how: It helps reduce the stress hormones that often compromise the immune system. Plus it conditions the lungs and respiratory tract, encouraging the lymphatic system to flush toxins out of the body and bring oxygenated blood to various organs so that they function at their optimal levels.
Improved Sleep patterns
If you struggle to get a good night’s sleep every night, consistent yoga can help. It can calm your nervous system and relax your state of mind so that you fall asleep easier and stay asleep. You’ll find that yoga helps you wake up more energized and ready to tackle anything that life throws your way. It’s important to note that not all types of yoga are beneficial for better sleep and we highly recommend hatha yoga or restorative yoga, as these varieties place a greater focus on stretching and relaxation.
Enhances Balance
Aging can make it more difficult to maintain balance. That’s where regular yoga comes in. Yoga can stretch and strengthen your muscles so that you’re able to improve balance and mobility. With better balance, you’ll reduce the risk of falls and injuries. If improving balance is your priority, we suggest poses such as the half moon pose, chair pose, dancer pose, and warrior III. All of these examples can challenge your musculoskeletal system and as a result enhance your balance.