I could probably list 100 health benefits that result from a consistent Yoga practice. Some are pretty obvious/well-known, such as: better posture, more flexibility, better balance, and improved respiration, to name a few. But, here are 4, not so obvious benefits of Yoga, that may surprise you:
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Positive impact on Epigenetics
I recently took an online course from NYU called Engineering Health: Introduction to Yoga and Physiology. In the course, they dive into the study of Epigenetics: what it is, and how what we do can impact our mental and physical health for better or worse, through gene expression.
MedlinePlus states, “Epigenetics is the study of how cells control gene activity without changing the DNA sequence. Errors in the epigenetic process, such as modification of the wrong gene or failure to add a chemical group to a particular gene or histone, can lead to abnormal gene activity or inactivity. Altered gene activity, including that caused by epigenetic errors, is a common cause of genetic disorders. Conditions such as cancers, metabolic disorders, and degenerative disorders have been found to be related to epigenetic errors.” (Want to know more? Click MedlinePlus to read the rest of the article.)
Things like our environment, diet, exercise, stress, and the way we respond to stress all influence which genes get turned on/off and how the genes are expressed, accordingly. Yoga can help to reduce stress by encouraging you to become more mindful: in how we breathe, move, think, and feel. When we move with intention, and focus on proper alignment, we create more strength and stability in the shapes. This works the body more efficiently and conserves how much energy you expend during practice. When aligned well, you can hold the poses longer, with less effort, and you can also reduce your chance of injury, by loading your muscles vs. your joints.
Practicing breathing techniques helps you to recognize the way you breathe naturally, and how the quality and depth of your breath can affect your energy levels, mood, and your posture too.
Your brain and muscles need a constant supply of oxygen to work effectively. If you’re holding your breath, you will not only tire out faster, but your reaction time will be slower, and it can also affect your ability to judge when safety is compromised due to a misalignment. The way you move and breath affects how you think and feel as you practice. When you connect the two, you become more present and can recognize more quickly when one or both are out of sync.
Proper breathing + Well aligned poses = less stress in the mind and the body, due to the focus it requires on both to achieve it. More awareness of how one affects the other helps you enhance the quality of your breath and posture off the mat, too.
The movements, breathing exercises, and meditations done in a Yoga practice all help to reduce stress, improve cardiac and respiratory function, increase circulation, etc. and all of this together helps to strengthen your immunity, relieve chronic pain, and reduce inflammation from other epigenetic factors that affect your genes like diet, environment, relationship health, etc. In other words, yoga can help reduce blood pressure, decrease joint pain, improve digestion, positively affect your mood, regulate your stress response, and so much more. A regular practice can also help decrease your risk of diseases like: diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, etc due to healthier gene function.
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Greater Body Awareness
One of the things I love most about yoga is that it gives you the time and space to focus specifically on YOU! Through a series of poses, you learn what parts of the body are open, and which ones need a little extra TLC. Maybe you have open hips but super tight shoulders, or a lot of strength to hold poses, but struggle with balance. The goal is to get you to engage with all parts of yourself, uncover patterns, and use the practice to maintain and improve your range of motion, stability, and so much more. In short, you learn to “use it, so you don’t lose it.” And, you discover not only your strengths, but expose your weaknesses so you can strengthen them too!
During a yoga class, certain poses can help to shine a light on the areas of the body you have been “sweeping under the proverbial carpet” and allow you to work on them to relieve/improve these imbalances. The better awareness you have of these patterns, the more mindful you become during day to day activities, as well, and the more consistently you may practice to avoid pain/strain/aches/injury.
At work, you may sit up straighter and practice better posture, or you may notice how you tense your shoulders and breathe shallowly when you get stressed. The more you pay attention to these small details, the more you notice them in everyday actions. It may help you recognize faster if you’re slouching your shoulders, rounding your back when you sit, letting your knee cave in when you lunge, or turning your feet out when you walk, squat, etc. This awareness ultimately helps you course correct so that the benefits of yoga extend beyond the mat. Improving your overall mechanics when moving not only reduces your risk of injury, but helps you move more efficiently so you use less energy to do the same poses/activities. Less energy used = less stress on the body overall, and it’s amazing how these small details can really make such a big impact on the way you move and the way you feel.
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Sharper focus aka mental acuity
The awareness you cultivate in a yoga practice does not stop at the body. In fact, the poses just set the stage for you to engage with your other senses, as well. Certain poses may trigger emotions, thoughts, and sensations in your body. Some you may welcome, and others you may want to banish. But, yoga gives you the skills to manage any thought, emotion, or sensation through practice and awareness.
Tools like breathing exercises and meditation help to calm/slow down the mind and nervous system so you are more present and aware in your practice. Affirmations help to anchor you when doubts creep in. Learning to recognize certain cues in the body, teaches you when to take rest or back out of a pose, etc.
You learn what thoughts and feelings come up on repeat. And, just like the body, once you’re aware of the pattern, you can begin to improve it by making small adjustments so that your mental chatter doesn’t take off like a runaway train. Practicing this intentional focus on a regular basis helps you become more prepared for whatever comes up in life, on and off the mat, by sharpening your mental acuity.
Biostrap.com states that, “Mental acuity comprises a person’s ability to reason, focus, and recall information at optimum speeds. Losing mental acuity, or sharpness of the mind, is often referred to as cognitive decline — the key mental change associated with Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s, and other brain and age-related disorders.”
Ok, so I’m going to piggyback off of #1 and #2 on my list. If yoga helps you maintain healthier cells and gene function + paves the way to better spatial awareness, then the practice of “using it so you don’t lose it” applies not just to our physical body, but also our minds and our ability to reason, focus, and remember. This is because we are practicing all of the above in every class.
You are practicing sharpening your ability to focus by paying attention to the way you move, how you breathe, listening to cues, and, by repetition and osmosis, you get better at remembering too. Through repetition, you learn the sequence of a vinyasa, the particular alignment of warrior 2, downward facing dog, etc. You also learn different breathing techniques which helps to calm your nervous system, so you are more present and aware during class. All of these things combined strengthens your mental muscles, so to speak, as well as your actual muscles.
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Self Acceptance/Self Love
Yoga started as just another way to move my body, but soon became a way to “move” my mind and emotions when I felt stuck or was struggling. It made me learn to love and appreciate my body vs. feeling like I had to shape it into something else.
Your poses, body, and life do not have to look like anyone else’s. Focusing on how YOU feel, what YOU can do, and putting the work in every time you step on the mat is loving yourself. Learning to embrace where you are right now and losing the need to get caught up in “comparison analysis paralysis” is, to me, what yoga is truly all about. Yes, it can do so many things to benefit your health and well-being, but I would argue this one is the most important because it has such a ripple effect on the rest of your life, too.
I discovered so many things I could do, with practice, that I once thought were impossible (handstand, crow pose, sitting still to meditate lol, etc). I learned how to recognize thought patterns that were to my detriment, not my benefit, and began to “flip the script.” I uncovered my capacity for enduring challenging poses and thoughts, how to breathe through them, when to rest, and when to let go of the need to have it all add up. Instead I learned to honor my body’s limits, preserve my peace of mind, surrender to the moment, release judgment, and the list could go on and on.
Every time you let go of comparing yourself to others or even past versions of yourself, and practice being where you are, and embrace that version of you, you are actively loving yourself. Ultimately, you will do way more for the person you love than you would for the person you hate. And, the work you put in on the mat leads to so many other benefits.
Loving yourself helps you set better boundaries at work, in relationships, and even with yourself when it comes to setting goals and doing the work to achieve them. It teaches you to embrace the progress AND the setbacks, to open your mind and heart to new possibilities, and overall to be happier in your own skin. You are going to be with you for the rest of your life; I hope you make yourself a home you love to live in!
Want to learn more about how Yoga can benefit you? Click here to view our class schedule or email amanda@spa23.com to schedule a 1-on-1 session today!