The benefits of a regular and mindful Yoga practice
Yoga is a potent tool that can transform not only your body, but also the way you see yourself, how you live your life and relate to everything that surrounds you. Yoga makes you healthier, stronger and happier. Yoga makes you calmer, more focused and aware. Yoga helps you deal with adversity and trauma.
Regular Yoga practice offers so many benefits that becomes a bliss to all those that commit to a regular practice. But Yoga is not a magic potion that you take and get instant magical results. Yoga requires time, self-commitment and the humbleness to be willing to learn. Yoga is a journey into your Inner-Self, a continuous process towards a clearer awareness of Everything. Yoga benefits may come slowly, but it's effects will be life-changing and long-lasting.
No mater what your motive is when starting to practice, you'll discover that you'll get to what you were looking for in the first place and end up getting so much more than you expected!
I went to my first yoga class just for fun, but what I discovered was so deep and meaningful that that first class ended up being the beginning of a long new journey that would lead me to never thought of places. Sometimes you look for one thing and end up discovering another more powerful one! That's life's powerful, endless ability to surprise you!
Below I describe just a few benefits that arise from a regular Yoga practice. Maybe achieving some of them would be of significative importance in your life, maybe you'd be happy to achieve just one. Whatever it is that you need, a mindful practice will for sure deliver and fill you with contentment and joy. If you decide on getting into a regular Yoga practice you could:
Body:
Improve posture and body awareness;
Improve flexibility, strength and endurance;
Improve overall health by strengthening the immune system;
Heal/relieve chronic pain (Ex: back pain, neck pain, etc) and stiffness;
Improve movement efficiency;
Increase coordination and balance;
Relieve/delay the showing of symptoms of several chronic diseases
Improve performance for professional athletes;
Regulate body weight;
Improve fertility by regulating the hormonal system;
Increase energy and vitality;
Sleep better;
& more!
Mind:
Reduce/eliminate stress/anxiety by calming the nervous system;
Improve concentration, attention and memory;
Quiet inner-chatter and negative thoughts;
Increase optimism and positive thinking;
Improve mood and overall well-being;
Increase self-acceptance and self-love;
Improve learning efficiency;
Reduce symptoms of depression and sadness;
Reduce the effects of traumatic experiences;
Improve emotional control over adversity;
& more!
Spirit:
Increase self-knowledge;
Potentiate limitless growth in self-awareness;
Increase knowingness of the interconnectedness of Everything;
Increase self-integrity, self-honesty and living by true values;
Gain a clearer perception of life's most profound meanings;
Get a greater understanding of life and death;
Positively integrate mundane life with inner-spiritual life;
Reconnect with your own sacred divine space, a place of silence, stillness and peace
Connect with the Divine and the Source of Everything (God, Universe, Mother Earth, whatever name feels right to you)
& more.
As you see there are a lot of benefits to practicing yoga and in the end it all depends on what your motivations are. Whether you want to get fit, to improve concentration, attain inner-balance, get closer to the divine or just have fun, Yoga will surely help you get there and beyond.
So what do you say? Let's jump into the mat? :)
