Amelia Grant

Yoga is an ancient practice that combines precise physical postures, deep breathing, and mental focus, dating back over 5,000 years. Today, yoga is still popular since it is available for everyone. You don’t need to be skilled or have some expensive tools to practice yoga. Moreover, it has a lot of health benefits that can help improve your well-being. Here is a list of the top nine weighty reasons to practice yoga every day that you should know about. 

1.  Yoga helps alleviate depression

All kinds of physical exercises can help improve your condition if you suffer from depression and yoga is not an exception. Increased cortisol levels reduce your body's capacity to produce serotonin (the happy hormone dopamine), which is responsible for reward and motivation. Yoga can help lower cortisol levels and positively affect your depression.

2. Yoga increases flexibility

One of the most widely claimed advantages of yoga is increased flexibility. You may notice a difference in your mobility after practicing yoga daily for a few minutes whether you're quite bendy or rigid as a board. Slow movements and deep breathing help to warm up muscles and boost blood flow, while maintaining a position can help you gain strength.

3. Yoga helps lose weight

If you want to lose weight but visiting a gym is not for you, you can start practicing yoga at home. For example, restorative yoga is practiced at a very slow pace with long holds and lots of deep breathing. So you may lose extra pounds and make your muscles stronger without exhausting workouts. 

4.  Yoga helps cope with stress

Yoga can give you peace of mind and help you feel less stressed. It helps you to be present at the moment and to approach life with calmness. You may enhance the way you deal with stressful and worrisome circumstances by training your mind to think more optimistically and calmly.

5. Yoga eases back pain

Do you suffer from lower back pain? If yes, then it’s high time to try yoga. Regular practice can help reduce muscle tension that can make your back hurt. However, if you have some spinal conditions, it is better to consult your doctor beforehand. 

6. Yoga improves posture

Poor posture can have a lot of negative effects on your health like back pain, breathing issues, headaches, problems with digestion, and spinal curvatures. Practicing yoga daily encourages you to walk taller and sit more straight at your work, which helps to improve posture.

7. Yoga helps improve heart health

Yoga is a heart-healthy practice, especially if you do it daily. When paired with dietary adjustments and stress management, yoga has been shown to lower cholesterol levels and even prevent the development of heart disease. It also helps to improve blood circulation and decrease blood pressure.

8. Yoga helps sleep better

Another advantage of regular yoga practices is that they help you fall asleep faster. Including a regular yoga exercise program in your schedule can help you cope with the stress of everyday life. Additionally, any type of physical activity (including yoga) promotes a good night's sleep. This is because exercising boosts endorphin production that promotes the release of a sleep hormone called melatonin.

9. Yoga reduces migraine headaches

A migraine is an episodic headache characterized by acute head pain that can be accompanied by impaired vision, slurred speech, and nausea in severe cases. Episodes can range in length from an hour to many days. As mentioned above, yoga improves blood flow throughout the body. The more oxygen enters the brain, the more it can assist the body in performing at its best.