6 Reasons You Should Take Up Yoga

A quick Google search of Phoenix yoga studios yields 27,700,000 results in under a second. There is no doubt about the popularity of yoga as part of self-care these days. Here is a guest blog by Ethan White that shares 6 reasons you should take up yoga.

Yoga is a relaxing past-time and can have a profoundly positive impact on your wellbeing. An estimated 20.4 million people practice yoga on a daily basis. They can’t all be wrong, so why not give it a try and experience the benefits, too? If you need a little convincing, here are six good reasons to practice yoga:

1. Yoga helps you sleep better

Yoga relaxes the mind and relieves stress. When you’re not feeling stressed, you sleep better. Yoga helps us to achieve this by increasing our melatonin levels so that we gently drop off. Why not slip into something comfortable and do a little yoga before you go to sleep?

2. Yoga boosts flexibility and mobility

Flexibility is good, but mobility is even more important. Yoga enables you to complete everyday movements such as bending, kneeling or reaching much more easily. These are movements that allow us to perform daily functions. By practicing yoga, you’ll start to feel much less stuck in your body and more mobile.

3. Yoga improves concentration

We live in a fast-paced world in which multitasking, unfortunately, is the norm. There are so many different things competing for our attention and our mind shifts from one thing to another and then to another. The focus on breathing in yoga helps you to concentrate on just one thing at a time. As you concentrate on your breathing, it slows down and the mind follows its lead. As time goes by, yoga will teach you to be restful but aware. This can help you to improve your mental facilities and become more creative.

4. Yoga can make you stronger

Yoga provides you with an all-over body workout and includes static and dynamic movements. You’re working with your own body weight and building strength for everyday life in areas where you’ll need it. This isn’t strength for the sake of it; yoga has a real purpose.

5. Yoga builds self-confidence

If you’re not the confident type, yoga will change that by encouraging you to challenge yourself. Don’t worry about how you look when you’re performing yoga exercises, or whether you fall out of poses. No one will be judging you. They’ll all be too busy concentrating on their own practice. Just keep practicing and you’ll gradually improve; and as you improve, you’ll feel more confident and able to break out of your comfort zone and take on new challenges on or off the mat.

6. You build an attitude of gratitude

The world could be a much nicer place if we all showed a little more gratitude, couldn’t it? By focusing on your body and what it is capable of and by clearing your mind, yoga helps you to see the things that are important in life. You realise how many good things you have in it and for which you can be grateful.

Above are six good reasons to practice yoga, but there are plenty more. Relief from chronic pain, a release from negative emotions, assistance in weight management and improved posture are all additional reasons you may wish to take up this inspiring past-time. See you on the mat!

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