The Phenomenal Benefits of Yoga

“Yoga doesn’t just transform the way we see things. It transforms the person who sees” — B.K.S Lyengar (1918-2014), Indian yoga instructor and author

One of the first things I do when I arrive in a city for a short stay is to locate a yoga studio. That is what I did when I arrived in Lisbon last week, and found a studio recommended by friends here on Day 1. They offered a 10-day unlimited pass for newcomers. Their specialty is Power Yoga, and quite honestly, it makes me feel powerful! (I don't think that's why it's called Power yoga.)

The moment I sit my first class in a while, I am reminded of just how incredible it makes me feel. Normally I'll energise at the start of my day after breathwork with a type of workout. I can't help but think of the Body Worlds Museum seeing a comparison of someone who had practiced yoga, compared with someone who hadn't. Virtually everything was healthier, including muscle fibers, tendons, the spine, even organs, with the yogi. (Body Worlds is a museum of preserved bodies, so you can see get see inside.)

Yoga has that edge on High-Intensity workouts for me (which I do love), in that it goes beyond strengthening and lengthening your whole musculoskeletal system and detoxifying your organs, to a full embodied practice connecting your mind with your body, during which one can even process and release emotions, as I found this morning. A little by surprise, I found myself feeling emotional, a little teary-eyed. In that instance, I was reminded of two interviews on my podcast in which my guests shared how effective yoga is in releasing trapped emotions, which can get stored and lodged throughout our whole body, including the muscle fascia. I can't continue now without quoting one of my favourites:

"The organs weep the tears the eyes refuse to shed" - Sir William Osler.

Here I outline some key benefits of yoga, and I excerpt this from The Vitality Code.

“Yoga, where have you been all my life?” These are the words that came out of my mouth after my first-ever yoga class in 2014 in Los Angeles.

When I moved to L.A. in 2014, a friend of mine invited me to her yoga class. It was called vinyasa flow. She told me it would be similar to a workout where we get cardiovascular benefits (which I couldn’t imagine based on what I knew about yoga at that time), that we’d be moving a lot, getting our heart rates up, stretching, holding poses, and how afterward I’d feel amazing. I accepted the invitation. I was a little nervous the first time. The room was absolutely packed with maybe 50 people, with barely an inch between the yoga mats. Most were there stretching, preparing for class, putting their bodies into positions that I didn’t know were possible. I did some basic stretches, looking like a complete novice, as I could barely touch my feet.

I fell in love with it the first time I did it, despite not being able to achieve some of the moves. I did not let that stop me and I persevered through a little self-consciousness to the end. At the end, I thought to myself, “Yoga, where have you been all my life?”

Yoga is not a competitive sport and knowing this at the start put my mind at ease. It is an individual experience in a group setting — unless you do it at home. My personal preference is a group setting led by an instructor. When you have a good one, they will correct your poses, and guide you through the different movements and poses.

The Benefits of Yoga

Yoga has numerous benefits. It's a practice that addresses almost every need of the human body to keep it vital, from strengthening and lengthening your musculoskeletal system, to organ detoxification, to improved blood flow and oxygenation of every cell, to improved mental and emotional wellbeing. I’d like to credit Yoga Bliss[1] for these 10 insights.

Simply put, the reason so many people fall in love with yoga is because they discover how wonderful it is for the physical body, the mental body, the emotional body, and the energy body.

Increases your flexibility. Many people start yoga because of this benefit. Range of motion improves, with flow, postures, and sequences. Because yoga is done in a mindful manner, it ensures stretching is done safely. Risk of injuring ligaments and tendons is minimized which can occur through more aggressive approaches to flexibility training.

Builds strength.?It's highly unlikely you’ll become Arnold Swarzenegger doing yoga (or ever!), but you can absolutely tone, strengthen, and build muscle. Strength training is always done using one’s body weight and is fantastic for core strength. The importance of core strength is undervalued, yet it helps with every form of movement, which helps functionality in everyday life. This also improves athletic performance, keeping you safe from injury.

Improves your posture.?Yoga is a balancing practice. It’s not unusual to lose a healthy posture as we age, causing the body to fall out of alignment due to poor habits. Yoga helps to address muscular imbalance. It lengthens tight areas and strengthens weak ones. Yoga can help you to stretch out the chest and strengthen the muscles of the back. Yoga can also make you far more aware of your posture, so it’s not unusual to find yourself automatically correcting your posture, to come into a healthier alignment throughout the day.

Keep your joints healthy.?Yoga helps to strengthen and stabilize the muscles around the joints. By moving the joints in their full range of motion, which is otherwise not usually done, yoga helps to promote better joint health. Yoga can therefore help with serious joint problems such as arthritis, improving physical function and reducing pain — also a result of its anti-inflammatory benefits and detoxification (aiding inflammation.)

Creates a Powerful Mindfulness Practice.?Yoga is about unification of the mind, body, and breath. By combining movement with breath, it helps bring you into the present moment. A calmer state of mental and emotional wellbeing that it creates is scientifically proven to support your immune system. This also helps to improve relationships, reduce depression and anxiety. The benefits of increased mindfulness through yoga reach beyond the mat.

Reduces stress.?Yoga helps people feel much better mentally and emotionally. Focus, grounding, centering, and breathing in yoga all help to reduce stress and can be the ideal antidote to a fast-paced modern lifestyle. This is also due to increasing the flow of oxygen around the body and brain with movement, along with the relaxation and reduction of physical tension. Yoga can leave you feeling relaxed and refreshed, physically, mentally, emotionally, and energetically.

Lowers blood pressure.?High blood pressure is a serious medical condition and is associated with increased risk of both heart attacks and strokes. Since stress is associated with high blood pressure, and yoga helps to reduce stress, it can help for that reason alone, and there are more ways, too. Yoga entails deep breathing, inducing a relaxation effect, particularly when through the nose. This helps to reduce high blood pressure even after the practice is finished. Certain postures are particularly beneficial for those with high blood pressure and require very little effort!

Make healthier life choices.?I find this occurs with exercise and working out in general, but something about yoga makes it even more powerful in this regard. Yoga helps you to tune into the needs of your body because you become more “in your body” and connected to it. Accepting the self and self-love come with yoga, which can have a profound impact on the way one treats one’s body off the mat. This might mean better nutritional choices or reduced reliance on alcohol or tobacco.

Improves breathing.?Yogic breathing incorporates a number of different breathing techniques, the basis for which lie in pranayama. These techniques can be powerful for restoring balance and vitality to the body and the mind. Controlled and conscious breathing has a profound effect on increasing energy levels in the body, helps to relax muscles, and reduces stress, anxiety, and depression. On a physiological level, a regular yoga practice can improve lung capacity and breathing in healthy adults as well as in those who suffer from asthma or any respiratory condition.

Encourage your body’s natural healing process.?The body is designed to heal itself, given the appropriate environment within as the science of epigenetics states. Yoga practice can be a powerful method to create a harmonious environment that ignites the body’s innate healing abilities.

There are many reasons to do yoga, and a number of different types of yoga. My personal preference is vinyasa flow, where you are always moving, and you do not hold long poses. This form gets your heart rate up as it works your cardiovascular system, and thus stimulates the lymphatic system (the waste disposal part of the immune system) allowing the release of toxins — essential to heal and revive.

Different forms of yoga to consider:

1.???? Vinyasa yoga

2.???? Hatha yoga

3.???? Lyengar yoga

4.???? Kundalini yoga

5.???? Ashtanga yoga

6.???? Bikram yoga

7.???? Yin yoga

8.???? Restorative yoga

9.???? Prenatal yoga

10.?? Anusara yoga

11.?? Jivamukti yoga

If you’ve not tried yoga, I highly recommend it! There are classes for all levels. I suggest going to a yoga studio to get started. You can begin easily and progress to, say, vinyasa flow. It's difficult to not enjoy the process and the feeling afterwards. It’s a wonderful way to get connected with yourself and align your body and emotions.

My Three-Step Process to Getting Started

1.???? Buy yourself a yoga mat. You’ll feel like a pro already. And make sure you have clothing that allows flexibility.

2.???? Find a yoga studio near you and book yourself into a class. If you'd prefer to do this in private, you can search for beginner yoga practice video online. Recommendations on my website.

3.???? Do it. Just start.

Et voilà! Go to VitalitySecret.com/codes for links and more information on yoga. You might end up saying what I said: “Yoga, where have you been all my life?” (No need to become an Instagram yoga model doing handstands on tops of rocks with magnificent backdrops where they clearly aren’t practicing yoga.)

[1] https://www.yogabliss.co.uk/Top-10-Benefits-of-Practicing-Yoga ?