Most people think that yoga is a fad for hippies that inhabit several regions of California. Those people couldn’t be more wrong. Yoga has been practiced for over 5,000 years and is currently being practiced by some 11 million people in America. Yoga focuses on learning physical poses, which are called asanas, while including some form of breathing technique and in some cases meditation. In fact some yoga classes are designed purely for relaxation. Now before you shake your head no to yoga here are some amazing health and fitness benefits that yoga provides.
Fat Burning Yoga
When most people think about burning fat they think about various cardio exercises like running or kick boxing. That is not always the case. Depending on the sequence and asanas of your yoga class you can actually burn up to 500 calories an hour. There are specific yoga classes that will help you squeeze into those skinny jeans you’ve been eyeing!
Strengthen Yoga
Yoga can help you get nice lean muscles without picking up a single dumbbell. Poses, such as downward dog, upward dog, and the plank pose, build upper-body strength. Standing and squatting poses strengthen and tone your legs. “Power Yoga” like most forms of yoga, is very focused on the core muscles.
Relaxing Yoga
Yoga done effectively can relieve tightness and pressure in your body. Yoga safely stretching your muscles. This releases the lactic acid that builds up with muscle use and causes stiffness, tension, pain, and fatigue. Yoga stretches not only your muscles but all of the soft tissues of your body. That includes ligaments and tendons.
Heart Yoga
Yoga has been known to lower blood pressure and slow the heart rate. A slower heart rate can benefit people with high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. And yoga has been associated with decreased cholesterol and triglyceride levels as well as a boost in immune system function. (webmd.com)
Results Yoga:
It doesn’t matter what level of yoga you take, you will probably see results of yoga’s benefits in a short period time. In one study, participants had up to 35% improvement in flexibility after only eight weeks of yoga. The greatest gains were in shoulder and trunk flexibility. In a study conducted by a doctor on Seattle Overweight subjects who did yoga at least once a week over the course of a decade lost eight pounds – while their non-yoga practicing peers gained an average of fourteen pounds during the same time period.
Yoga like most exercises require commitment and focus in order for its results to show. Also if you have certain medical problems make sure consult your doctor before starting yoga.
But if you are a beginner or an expert let us know! Leave us a comment below or on facebook or twitter!
Well&Chic. 