What is Yoga, What are the Benefits, Who is Yoga for?
Are you considering trying yoga for the first time? Then you must be wondering what exactly is yoga? What are the benefits of yoga? What type of yoga is best for you and how often you should be practicing yoga? Those are exactly the questions answered in this blog.
Yoga is was first derived from the Hindu religion but has now reached the entire world. Yoga is a self-disciplined practice focused on clarity and focus on the present, a part of which, including breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practiced for health and relaxation.
As mentioned, the benefits of yoga are widely practiced for health and relaxation, but how exactly does yoga accomplish that? Two of the main health benefits from yoga are strength and flexiblity. By holding sustained positions, you not only challenge your body’s muscles to build strength but also lengthen muscles to improve flexibility. Holding these positions allows your brain to form a better connection with your muscles; the mind-muscle connection. This allows you to have a better understanding of your body, your muscles, which can help increase proprioception, muscle activation or balance. Certain types of yoga are focused on more athletic movements, while other types are focused more on stretching and relaxed positions. Yoga is great for targeting the core muscles (abdominal muscles), building shoulder strength and flexibility and helping your body attain a stronger and more flexible posture. By being mindful of your own body, focusing on your breath and your current presence yoga has an incredible ability to lower your stress levels, chronically decrease blood pressure, and decrease cortisol production; a stress associated hormone.
There are many types of yoga, so which one is best for you? Luckily, yoga is for everyone.
Yin Yoga: is considered one of the easier types of yoga. It consists of a series long held passive floor poses to work on stretching many of the commonly tight joints and muscles. This would involve movements like cat-camel, child’s pose, cobra pose and downward dog. This type of yoga is great for anyone who is tight or stiff and could benefit from more mobility. Yin yoga classes are commonly frequented by people who want an easy, stretch focused class. This includes beginners, older populations, or anyone who would benefit from increased flexibility!
Vinyasa Yoga: is considered one of the more popular types of yoga and is beginner to intermediate. It involves stringing postures together so that you move from one to another, seamlessly, using breath. Commonly referred to as “flow” yoga. This would involve moving from intermediate positions throughout the entire class. Poses are not held quite as long as yin classes, and you would expect to feel your muscles engage, you may work up a sweat, and you will also feel a stretch as you change positions! Vinyasa yoga is best for students who want to move as they stretch.
Ashtanga yoga: is a dynamic and athletic form of yoga that involves a series of positions which are considered some of the more advanced in yoga. This type of yoga is designed for more athletic populations and students will definitely work up a sweat after finishing a Ashtanga class.
Yoga has a place for everyone, beginner, intermediate, advanced, young or old. The amount of yoga an individual should practice varies on the other activities in the persons life. Incorporating yoga into your exercise routine is an excellent way to make sure you are decreasing stress and improving your flexibility and mobility. Benefits from yoga can be seen with a frequency of just once per month, however, once per week is often even better! Taking the time weekly to put the rest of the world on pause, and focus on your body, your mind and the connection between the two is incredibly valuable. We hope to see you in one of our upcoming classes at Seek Health!
