9 Yoga Benefits & Life Hacks To Gain From Starting A Yoga Practice

Here’s Some Quick Yoga Benefits To Get You Excited About Starting A Practice

Russell Simmons has been praising the benefits of yoga for over a decade, but it seems that many in the urban community still haven’t taken heed to his message. When Janelle Monae does an empowerment anthem about yoga it’s more than a damn good song, it’s a call for wellness, fitness and health. If done right, there are many yoga benefits. Yoga is fun, and it’s a way to relieve stress. Plus, if you hate the idea of doing cardio or working out at the gym, yoga is a quick way to enjoy all those benefits and then some.

Still not convinced ? Here are 9 life hacks you can get from starting a yoga practice…

Make Your Heart Stronger!
Regardless of what type of yoga you try out, your practice is always centered around breath control and linking your breath to movement. Want to reduce your risk of a heart attack? Start here.
Look Better Naked!
One of the most obvious yoga benefits of a regular yoga practice (3 or more times a week) will be weight loss, increased strength and muscle tone. In a typical yoga class you can expect to burn calories with the high energy fluid sequences and build muscle and boost endurance with longer static holds in the asanas.
Turn Back The Clock!
As we age, bone density begins to decrease. Weight bearing exercises are one of the most effective ways to improve bone density over time!
Become More Flexible!
No, you don’t have to be able to touch your toes to start a yoga practice. But if you do- you’ll be closer to those toes in no time!
Get Taller!
Ditch the hunchback of Notre Dame look, the slumped shoulders and rounded backs that come from sitting at a desk all day can be fixed with the posture correcting benefits of a regular yoga practice.
Watch Your Back!
In addition to all of the outward benefits we can see from a regular yoga practice, there are also many preventative benefits. Beat low back pain before it starts by counteracting it’s top causes: tight hip flexors and hamstrings that put pressure on your lower back.
Stop Stressing!
For most of us, our one-hour yoga class can be the only time in our day where we can step away from the computer, phone, tablet, watch, obligations… and just focus on breath. Just by unrolling and stepping on your mat with no distractions, you’re working to reduce excess levels of cortisol in your body!
Ramp Up Your Sex Life!
Studies have shown that a regular yoga practice can improve sexual desire, ability to become aroused, quality of orgasm and general sexual satisfaction. Talk about a Win-Win!
Roll With It Baby!
As you become more and more accepting of your body and embrace the daily changes and fluctuations in your practice (balance, flexibility, stamina), you’ll experience a shift in perception. Rather than “losing it” and reacting to the outward stressors around you, you’ll learn to go back to your breath to find stillness in the center of what can sometimes be a crazy storm. With that you’ll be able to chose to make the more positive decisions for yourself.
Namaste,
Adesina