What is the Purpose of Yoga? 7 Incredible Benefits

Nearly 55 million people will do yoga in 2020.

Yoga began in ancient India as a practice that unites your body and mind. But apart from being relaxing, there are many benefits you can get from adding yoga to your daily routine.

If you’re still wondering, “What is the purpose of yoga?” You’ve come to the right place. Here are the top seven benefits!

1. Relieves Tension

One of the most popular benefits of yoga is how it promotes relaxation. In daily life, we have tension in our shoulders, necks, and jaws without realizing it.

Eventually, this muscle tension feeds back into our minds, making us feel uneasy. But when we practice yoga, we notice any tension and can relieve stress by bending into different poses and focusing on our breathing.

2. Helps You Sleep

The purpose of yoga is for your body, mind, and environment to be in perfect harmony.

Yoga posture and benefits include a good night’s sleep. You can practice relaxing asanas (or postures) by folding forward or lying on your back with your feet up on the wall to ease you into sleep.

3. Protects Your Heart

Medical yoga reduces high blood pressure, cholesterol, and stress, which are all linked to heart disease. You should perform savasana (“corpse pose”) as it’s proven to improve blood pressure compared to lying on a couch.

4. Improves Flexibility and Balance

One of the most impressive yoga facts is that practicing yoga improves both your flexibility and your balance.

A study observed the impact of 10 weeks of yoga on 26 male college athletes. Results found yoga increased several measures of flexibility and balance to those who didn’t practice.

Interested in practicing yoga? This course is an excellent entry into yoga regardless of your level.

5. Makes You Smarter

Doing 20 minutes of yoga daily improves the brain’s ability to absorb and accurately process information. Most sports or exercises encourage you to zone out but yoga encourages you to focus on the present.

6. Encourages Self-Compassion

When we’re stressed, it’s easy to get caught in the vicious cycle of not looking after ourselves. But when you dedicate time to do yoga, all aspects of your life improve, like eating healthier and getting enough sleep.

7. Soothes Back Pain

Yoga eases back pain as it improves flexibility and muscle strength. If you suffer from back pain, choose gentler types of yoga to avoid injury.

You should also discuss starting yoga or any physical activity with your doctor especially if you have an existing back problem.