Even if you are in perfect health, you can benefit from yoga. It improves strength, flexibility, coordination and range of motion. And since yoga promotes relaxation, improves circulation and reduces stress and anxiety, it enhances cardiovascular health and benefits the respiratory and nervous systems. Because it promotes relaxation, yoga also aids sleep and digestion.
Yoga can make you more aware of your own body -- more conscious of its strengths, weaknesses and needs.
Yoga requires no special equipment or clothes, though an inexpensive yoga mat may help provide cushion and grip. You can do the exercises at home or at the office. If you have limited mobility, you can even do them from a chair or bed.
The benefits of yoga totally depend on which style you practice. And styles wildly differ from each other. If you're looking for weight loss, strengthening, stretching and muscle tone, try a more vigorous style with the words Power, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, or Flow in the title. Be advised, however, that strong yoga can be as challenging as any workout, so if you're a newbie, start slower with a beginner's or basic class. If you're after a more gentle, restorative experience, then look for those class descriptions, as well as Kripalu, Ishta, Viniyoga, or other styles that focus on relaxation over action. If specific alignment cues interest you, perhaps sample Iyengar or Anusara yogas. Is breathing your bag? Most yoga styles emphasize the breath, and Kundalini Yoga has it in spades. I don't recommend Bikram or "hot" yogas where the room is heated above 85 degrees, as research is showing it to be detrimental to students' health, and sweating more is not an indicator that you're getting more benefits. Most yoga styles are detoxifying on some level, as the movements and inversions support the lymphatic system to clean the body. Yoga also calms the mind and nervous system, and is great for fighting fatigue, gaining energy, boosting immunity, transforming the body in strength and flexibility, and so much more.
Asanas exercise every muscle in the body. Some of my patients enjoy yoga for exercise and stretching; others use it for stress reduction and meditation. Relaxation, flexibility, and muscle strength are all important outcomes of yoga, making it a good exercise for those who are unable to do more aerobic-type exercises. With yoga, there is no high impact or bouncing. Among the health benefits of yoga, it: slows the respiratory rate, increases fitness, reduces blood pressure, boosts relaxation, reduces stress and anxiety, improves flexibility and coordination, boosts better posture, increases concentration, and improves sleep and digestion.

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Yoga Is a Way To Find Internal Stillness. Yoga can be the way you find true peace or stillness in your life. Imagine if you start each day from a place of being centered, still, calm and peaceful. Imagine the kinds of decisions you could make from this place. Imagine the way you might greet your neighbor or loved one.
Yoga Can Be Very Athletic. There are some forms of yoga that are highly athletic. Yoga classes like Ashtanga, Bikram and Power Yoga or Flow are more athletically challenging, but they are not the only kind of yoga. Make sure you know which type of yoga class you are taking before walking in the room. Always consult with your physician before taking a yoga class.
Yoga Can Be For Elderly, Patients in Recovery, Patients in Hospitals, Pregnant Women. We teach a more relaxing, therapeutic, still, mindful yoga to individuals who are elderly, physically injured, or who are pregnant or working through recovery. These yoga practices are more geared toward breathing techniques, relaxation and therapeutic styles of yoga but they are still “yoga” uniting body, mind and spirit.
Yoga Can Be the Act of Helping Your Neighbor. We call this “Kharma yoga.” You are “uniting” with other human beings through generosity and kindness.
Yoga Can Be the Balancing of Sun and Moon (or Yin/Yang) in Our Lives. This is called Hatha yoga which literally translates to mean “Ha” = Sun, “Tha = Moon” or balancing of sun and moon. Most yoga classes are called “Hatha.” There are literally hundreds of different kinds of Hatha classes. Some are: Ashtanga (very athletic yoga), Bikram (“hot room” which elevates your heart rate, so be sure to check with your doctor), Vinyasa or Flow (more athletic), Iyengar (using blocks and straps to help you learn the poses correctly and safely), and some classes are just called Hatha which usually means a more beginning or intermediate level yoga class.
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Important: This content reflects information from various individuals and organizations and may offer alternative or opposing points of view. It should not be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. As always, you should consult with your healthcare provider about your specific health needs.