With the world as chaotic as it has been over the past year, both balance and self-soothing exercises are needed now more than ever. If you’ve been here for long, you know that I’m a big advocate of yoga for this very reason! Yoga does WONDERS for inner balance, and it works great as a grounding exercise that will leave you feeling more connected to your body the more you practice! And since it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything around yoga, I figured it was well past time to do another advocating post. 😉
Of course there are many different avenues you can take if you’ve already tried yoga, and you’re thoroughly convinced that it’s not your thing–but I would encourage everyone to give it another try if you haven’t already. And if you need a little more convincing, look no further, because in this post, I’m going to be giving you 5 reasons yoga is for you!
- Yoga Increases your Concentration
Coming in at number one is the fact that yoga increases your concentration. I don’t know about all of you, but this one can be so hard for me! Even when I’m doing my best to stay engaged and focused, I find my mind wandering away without my permission. Don’t even get me started on reading books–I will be halfway down the page before I realize that I have no idea what I just read and end up having to read the whole page over again (and maybe again).
One of the key focuses in yoga is the concentration of the mind and the body. As you find your mind drifting down other paths you don’t want to be taking, you gently direct it back and refocus on the present moment. Doing this over and over again through an extended period of time can be great practice for the brain! The more you follow this pattern, the easier it will become over time.
2. Yoga Works to Increase Your Mind and Body Connection
In my opinion, this is one of the most important benefits of practicing yoga! While especially important for survivors of any emotional or physical trauma, establishing the connection between mind and body is something that is great for everyone.
While yoga may seem like just a bunch of stretches and movements from an outside perspective, yoga has a lot to do with the internal side of things as well. With the focus being placed on each movement and breath, it allows for a greater connection to be made between your mind and your body. This has shown to help in a variety of mental health areas as well–including any sort of dissociative disorder or tendency.
3. Yoga Improves Balance and Stability
Have you ever tried to stay standing on one foot while your eyes are closed? It’s a lot harder than it sounds! Unfortunately, balance can be tricky to establish and maintain if we are not working on it regularly. This is where yoga can come in extra handy!
There are many different types of poses and stances that can can be held for extended periods of time within a yoga sequence. This can work wonders on your overall balance and stability. The more you work with your body in this way, the easier the poses become! It is amazing to see how quickly our bodies adapt and change to support our daily activities!
4. Yoga Can Reduce Stress
This one is HUGE when you think about the world we are living in today. I don’t even think it’s possible for someone to wake up and go to bed in the same day without experiencing AT LEAST one area of stress in their life. With so many different demands, it can be easy to become so thin spread that we end up stressing ourselves out to a point we just can’t bear. This type of stress can be overwhelming if we don’t find ways to handle it.
This is where yoga can help. Finding ways to manage stress is a must, and yoga just happens to be a great way to do that! Practicing yoga on a regular basis has proven to soothe the mind and lower overall stress levels from day to day. It does this by helping us to focus on the present moment and to give our minds and our bodies something to focus on other than the stress.
5. Yoga Reduces The Risk of Injury
Because the very nature of yoga is a lot of stretching and holding positions, it can be a great way to reduce the chance of bodily injury. If you’ve ever played a sport or participated in any level of competitive racing, you’ve probably been told a time or two about the importance of stretching out your muscles before you get too far into your workout or your race.
With yoga, many types of sporting injuries can be reduced and even avoided altogether. The more you stretch out those major muscle groups, the more flexible you become. And as flexibility increases, the risk of injury tends to decrease. With all the other benefits already on the table, this is like a cherry on top for why yoga is for you!
If you found this post helpful, be sure to subscribe and share it with someone you love! Thanks for reading!
Mind & Body 