Yoga brings a number of health benefits to both women and men, because it works the body and mind intertwined with exercises that help control stress, anxiety, body and spinal pain, and improve balance and facilitate weight loss.
To take advantage of all the benefits of this activity, it takes at least 3 months of practice, because the person acquires body awareness and begins to control the mind better so that it influences the body and thus, the whole organism works in a way harmonious and balanced. Check out Bioginástica, which combines Yoga, Meditation, Animal Movements and Breathing.
So, some of the benefits that yoga can bring to health are:
1. Decreases stress and anxiety
Meditation practiced in yoga causes the person to focus on the present, clearing the mind of past or future problems, which provides emotional balance, inner peace, well-being, and balance of mind to day-to- day.
In addition, it also helps in the treatment of depression, due to the sensation of relaxation, with increased self-confidence, optimism, concentration, decreased irritability and improved interpersonal relationships.
2. Promotes physical fitness
The exercises, techniques and postures of this activity can improve the resistance and strengthening of the muscles, more or less intensely, depending on the style and modality of practiced yoga.
This helps improve the body's performance for physical activities and daily tasks, increases lean mass and leaves the body in shape with higher definition and toned muscles.
3. Facilitates weight loss
One of the main reasons that the practice of yoga causes weight loss is due to the control of anxiety and willingness to eat, decreasing the amount of calories consumed in the day.
Exercises and positions performed also help in fat loss, but this varies according to the style practiced, less in the more tranquil, like Iyengar or Tantra yoga, or more in the dynamic ones, like Ashtanga or Power yoga, for example.
4. Relieves body aches
With yoga, the person becomes more aware of his body, which means that he will have a greater perception of posture, the way he walks, how he sits, and signs of muscular tension. In this way, it is possible to correct changes, such as contractures, so that any changes are resolved and the muscular structure is relaxed without causing damage to the spine and joints of the body. Check out some yoga exercises to improve back pain.
Posture and stretching exercises also help release tension and give flexibility to muscles, relieving pains from scoliosis, disc herniation, fibromyalgia, and muscle contractures, for example.
Learn, in the following video, some simple and practical Pilates exercises to help correct the posture:
5. Controls blood pressure and heart rate
Yoga improves the functioning of the heart and lungs by regulating the nervous system and improves blood circulation, heart rate, blood pressure, and balances the endocrine system by controlling levels of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline.
Respiratory capacity also improves, due to lung expansion exercises and breath control. In this way, yoga improves physical fitness, but in a different way from conventional physical exercises such as bodybuilding or sports.
6. Improve sleep
In addition to causing relaxation and tranquility, facilitating a good night's sleep, yoga increases the production of melatonin, the hormone that regulates the sleep cycle, leaving you with more quality and depth.
Having a more relaxed body also makes the rest better at night, providing more energy and mood the next day.
7. Enhances Pleasure in Close Contact
Sexual performance can also improve with yoga as the couple becomes more sensitive during intimate contact because of the greater ability to relax and to be more receptive to the partner.
In addition, with concentration control and anxiety relief, problems such as difficulty reaching orgasm, erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation can be controlled.
Elderly health benefits
Seniors can benefit greatly from practicing this activity, as it strengthens muscles, alleviates body aches, improves balance, flexibility and attention.
Control of pressure, heart rate and breathing are also effects of yoga that can bring better quality of life and well-being to the elderly, as well as help control diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. In addition to yoga, know which are the best exercises for practicing in the elderly.
It is important to remember that the exercises practiced in this activity must be adapted to the conditions and needs of each person, so that they are made in a natural way and according to the benefits that the person seeks, thus avoiding injuries, twists or feelings of discouragement.
Health benefits of pregnant women
In addition to being beneficial to any woman, yoga can also bring great benefits during pregnancy as it improves flexibility and facilitates adjustment to body changes in this period, toning muscles, lengthening joints, and making pregnancy less painful and tense. In addition, the respiratory movements also become more synchronized, reducing the sensation of shortness of breath that happens in the final periods of gestation.
On the other hand, the relaxation provided by being active can also reduce anxiety and worry, which is very common in pregnant women, making the woman calmer, and facilitating the development of the baby in a healthy way.
In this period, the practice of physical exercises should be guided by a health professional and released by the obstetrician, and should preferably be light and relaxing. Learn how to do yoga exercises for pregnant women.
