This might sound cliche, but yoga has so many benefits. Obviously, doing yoga is very relaxing and calming.
Why doesn’t everyone do yoga then?
In this post, I will outline how yoga benefits mental health. I will also reveal why yoga is stigmatized as well.
What Does Yoga Entail?
Yoga is a practice of bridging the mind and the body. You could simply practice your breathing mindfully. That is yoga! Sometimes it is just nice to sit down and be mindful of your being. This does not have to be serious in that you have to focus intently. What yoga intends is to facilitate a stable connection between your mind, body, and surroundings. Better known as peace. Yoga can provide such positive energy to your life because there are so many pressures in this world and yoga just makes them feel more surmountable.
Yoga Is A Workout Too?
Yes, it is! Yoga can burn more calories than a workout. I feel like you don’t believe me. Just to prove it, I am going to show you this awesome program that can improve your fitness. Shapelifter Yoga does a fantastic job at toning your body and improving your mental health. How you may ask? They walk you through so many different poses and exercises that anyone can do. Yoga is a vital part of a healthy lifestyle because it helps improve flexibility, morale, and physical fitness.
The Stigmas Against Yoga
I have already mentioned how yoga can be stigmatized. If you click on the link I have presented to you it does look geared towards females. Anyone can do this though! Anyone can do anything! Yoga is so healthy for your body and mind. Yoga is viewed by many as an activity that is not manly or a weak exercise. I actually just started doing yoga myself and I already feel more flexible and more confident. No type of exercise is weak any type of exercise is great for your mind and body. The term stigma seems to be used to always be a bad thing. This is not necessarily true. Sometimes we use stigmas as defense mechanisms. In the case of yoga, many people do not realize how beneficial yoga is or they feel that there are more socially acceptable ways to work out.
The Bottom Line
Yoga can be done without any experience or qualifications and can be beneficial to anyone as well. One benefit about yoga that I did not mention is that it can as quick as 5-10 minutes. You do not have to be in the gym for hours to do yoga and benefit from it. Yoga can help you do anything from losing weight to gaining muscle mass. Yoga can entail anything from doing splits to simply stretching before you lift weights. The point is that yoga can contribute so much to your mental health in such a short amount of time. This does so much for the sharpness of your mind.
Yoga is something that I have always wanted to try but have never taken the plunge to actually do it. I really should because my knees are not what they used to be, and though I love running, I know Yoga would be a lot more low impact and better for me. I have heard of the mental health benefits of Yoga as well. I think I will look up Yoga classes near me.
Hi!
Yoga is something that I didn’t take a shot at for a while either. I have struggled with weight and I can sometimes feel pressure on my body when I gain weight and yoga has helped me so much in relieving pressure on my body especially when I am working out. Balance is so important and you can still run that’s great! That is great to hear and you can also look up yoga poses for your knees and anything else you can think of.
What a great article. I used to do yoga and followed the “yoga in daily life” program. I never felt more mentally alert as when I was doing that. You have motivated me to take it up again. We used to start with meditation to relax the body, then slowly stretching and then moving into a full routine of asanas and pranayama, postures and breathing. It has been quite a few years since I did it, and am now in my 60’s. But still fit. What would you suggest I start with again?
Many thanks
Stephen
Hi Stephen!
I am really happy you enjoyed it and found some meaning in it! Wow, that sounds like an amazing program! That is so awesome to hear and yeah I would start with whatever you feel comfortable with. Yoga can be as simple as just sitting down, closing your eyes, and just focusing on being in touch with your breathing and posture. Consistency and a gradual working toward a goal make for continued motivation as well. I know for me there are days where it would be so easy to not do anything but for me setting a goal however small it may be serves as continued motivation.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Nick