What are the Benefits of Yoga?

In the modern world the benefits of yoga can be seen everywhere; we’ll come across pictures with thin bodies, sunsets and sunrises with people in fancy poses, we will read citations by Ram Dass, Buddha or Gandhi with a pink lotus flower. Instagram is filled with photos of  expensive yoga wear on women in exotic locations. Are the benefits the looks and the exotic locations?

Yoga is sold to us as health, energy and youth. And this really does come from the practice of yoga. You may even end up in an exotic location like the Doron Yoga & Zen Center, with nice outfits doing yoga. Furthermore you may actually eat better and feel better after such a retreat or after a yoga class.

The Benefits of Yoga Beyond Instagram

The pictures and citations themselves are not exactly the practice of yoga. The do not really express the health state or even inner state of the practitioner. Also, beyond the physical practice, yoga is also a philosophy and a mind training. Thus, it is a system for liberation. It includes ethical and moral guidelines (how to practice yamas in business life), meditation and pranayama; breathing practices as well as theoretical studies.

However, practicing the physical yoga – asana – is a practice intended to lead us to a more blissful life. More than just physical, as we learn to control the body, we learn to control the mind as well. By a committed practice for a long time,  we will changes in our life; a life of calmness, a healthy body, deeper concentration and overall feeling more content and joy.

Samadhi

Through Asana, meditation and mindfulness practices, will eventually attain Samadhi. In other words, we would see reality for what it is, and experience our true self. We will shed the layers of conditioning and bad habits, and liberate ourselves from the ego self and attachments to unfulfilled desires.

When we see the world, not tainted by the colors of conditions, we live life with no more suffering. A blissful life. This may be the greatest benefit of yoga, however, most of us – at least at first – practice for the physical benefits of yoga.

Benefits of Physical Asana Practice

              Body:

• • Keeps the spine supple and helps relief of back pains and stiffness: Yoga stretches the back in all six directions as well as the connections to the spine such as the hips.
  • Better posture: stretching and lengthening the spine and the opening of the chest and shoulders help improve posture.
  • Flexibility: increasing our range of motion through out every single joint.
  • Better sleep: Not only thanks to the physical activity, but also thanks to the breath work and calming of the mind.
  • Improved stamina and energy: Doron Yoga challenges the body to stay fit and powerful.
  • Improved digestion. Twists and Pranayama massage our internal organs, as well as deeper exhales which invite the parasympathetic system to work (one of its functions is to improve digestion).
  • Cleansing: Stimulating the lymph system to help rid the body of waste.
  • Stimulating the Breath and Increase energy: through breath work such as Kapalabhati  and Bhastrika breathing, we cleanse and stimulate the body as well as increase lung capacity and energy.
  • Toned muscles: yoga tends to extend the muscles as they work, resulting in more of a lean look. 
  • Improved lung efficiency: With pranayama work, we discover how to use more of our lungs in a more efficient way.
  • Improved circulation: twisting, inverting, back bending and all around moving in all direction help impruve circulation.
  • Healthy hair growth: Yoga can help promote healthy hair growth, and slow hair loss. Check out this article for more information
  • Stronger immune system. Yoga helps stimulate the parasympathetic system (one of its functions is to stimulate the immune system)

              Mind:

• • Calming: All the aspects of yoga, but especially deepening the breath, lead the body to relax and the mind to calm.
  • Empowering: when we manifest a new pose, or learn to do an inversion or arm balance, we invite courage and a sense of power to life.
  • Focus: Many poses require focus and awareness. Balancing on one leg or on the arms surely help develop focus.
  •  Mindfulness and Concentration: A good teacher helps develop deep concentration and awareness in class. Moving with mindfulness, while concentrating on one point, helps develop a steady mind.
  • Energetic and Mental Balance: Through the energy channels and balancing of the left and right sides of the brain, we achieve improved energetic balance that can lead to mental balance. 
  • Stress relief: from breath to chanting, yoga allows us to let go of stress. Slowly this becomes part of who we are.
  • The benefits of yoga can be felt in the body, the breath, the mind and beyond. Some of the greatest benefits of yoga cannot be described here (sense of bliss beyond our conscious mind), but are a direct result to these benefits.

Practice videos  not to be missed!

Easy Vinyasa Flow -yoga class
Beginners Yoga Class
20 -Minute Hip Opening Practice

Keep practicing with no attachment to the results, and the fruit will appear on its own.

Share the Benefits

Do you agree with these benefits? Leave us a comment with any we missed! Share this article with your friends who are on the fence about starting yoga, get their practice going!

Join us for a yoga retreat or yoga teacher training at Doron Yoga & Zen Center in beautiful Guatemala.

For a world of information on everything to do with yoga, check out the Doron Yoga Manual!

Blissful Living,

Doron