Reasons to train with yoga

Practicing yoga on a regular basis yields a vast array of benefits. As with anything, there will be variations. In yoga, the likelihood of experiencing these benefits will vary according to the frequency with which you perform yoga, the poses practiced, the intensity, and the duration of your sessions.

Although many of the benefits are those that have been claimed by practitioners over thousands of years, modern science is beginning to confirm more and more of these. The benefits can be broken down into five main areas:

• Musculoskeletal Benefits:
  This is the one most westerners think of first, as they are usually doing yoga as a form of physical exercise, rather than for spiritual reasons. Performed regularly yoga can lengthen the spine and improve its alignment, correct bad posture, tone muscles, build bone and thus prevent osteoporosis, help with a variety of back problems, keep muscles flexible and joints movable, and even correct flat feet!
  
  
• Cardiovascular Benefits:
  Although yoga is not a cardiovascular exercise per se, it can have positive effects on the cardiovascular system - for example, in lowering blood pressure, reducing some cardiac disorders, improving circulation, and reducing varicose veins.
  
  
• Respiratory Benefits:
  Yoga places a strong emphasis on controlled, deep breathing. Not surprisingly, this has positive implications for the respiratory system. Adherents claim that yoga will increase breathing capacity, and can also help relieve the symptoms of asthma and various sinus conditions.
  
  
• Hormonal Benefits:
  It is reported that regular yoga can normalize the menstrual cycle, prevent hot flashes, and even increase fertility!
  
  
• Digestive Benefits:
  Yoga is claimed to stimulate the internal organs, and thus improves digestion, and reduces hemorrhoids, constipation and flatulence.