Yoga Improves Your Longevity


Yoga is an integral part of many people’s workouts. These individuals are hooked on the feeling they derive from daily yoga stretches and its unique breathing techniques.  The benefits are felt almost immediately; the calm state of mind, the relaxed state of your limbs, and the overall lightness of your entire body and lots more, you just need to be cautious if you are a beginner.


Over the years much research has focused on the ways yoga improves and increases life span of those who practice.  Here are 7 of the many ways yoga contributes to a longer life:

(1) Gentle on your joints: Unlike other forms of exercise, the postures of yoga move the joints on a continuous, low-impact basis.  The joints are gently engaged so to protect them from overuse and unnecessary wear and tear.  Moving the joints in the proper manner can help prevent onset of arthritis and reduce injury.

(2)Helps in circulation:  Relaxation increases blood flow and the movements of yoga oxygenate the red blood cells.  Blood can freely flow from the lower regions of the body through the heart, outer limbs and up to the brain. With each breath, blood pressure lowers. By allowing your heart rate to reach increased aerobic range yoga can help prevent stroke, heart disease, and clotting of the blood.

(3)Enhances balance and improves posture: As we age, the body tends to lose its ability to balance.  With this weakening, we are putting ourselves at risk to lose our balance, fall, and suffer injuries.  Yoga permits us to center our gravity, tune into what our body is doing and feeling in a moment, and focus on creating balance.  With proficiency, each pose increases the body’s ability to balance. Yoga strengthens the core, and its poses encourage proper body alignment.  You will notice your posture improving as you walk with your shoulders back, stomach in and neck and head held high.

(4)Helps the immune system work efficiently: The upper respiratory system can be compromised by colds and infections when our immune system is weakest.  Yoga and its breathing techniques have the beneficial effect of ridding bacteria from the lungs and nasal cavity.  The positions of yoga also allow our lungs to work as efficiently as possible by increasing its strength and ability to fight off infection.  Meditation leads to relaxation which in turn reduces stress, a major cause of many illnesses and depression.

(5)Wards off brittle bones: Because many yoga poses are weight bearing, bones and muscles strengthen.  Osteoporosis, a leading disease that results in weak, thinning bones and eventual bone fractures, can be offset with regular practice of yoga.  Similar to weight training, yoga works by stimulating the bone with isometric contractions at different angles for duration of time long enough to gently strengthen the bones.

(6)Restful sleep:  Throughout the day we are met with constant decision making, time management and overstimulation from technology.  Then, at night, we are tired and try to get a full night of restful sleep, but, instead toss and turn. Meditation and yoga breathing exercises reduce the effects of the stimuli we encounter daily. Yoga wards of insomnia, fatigue and aids in naturally calming of our central nervous system so we can rest our bodies a full night.

(7)Aids in digestion: A healthy digestive tract is important to ward off many stomach and esophageal related illnesses. Because stress is a known cause of acid reflux and some digestive problems, yoga relaxes the entire digestive tract: sphincter, esophagus, and stomach. Increase in stress has shown to increase gastric-acid secretion, which is a direct risk factor for developing stomach ulcers.  Due to the relaxation of yoga, the body experiences physiological changes: lowering of the heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate, which are opposite, of physiological stress.

Yoga is more than just another trend. It is a practice that when incorporated into your daily life can have very long term health benefits.

 Author Bio:Sheila Malhotra is an editor and founder of TagFi which provides platform to the people to create and find groups of similar interest in the local area.

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