30 Benefits Of Yoga Asanas For A Healthy Life
Do you know what the greatest asset of a human being is?
It’s not the property or something like that but a healthy mind and body.
Technology and modernization along with hectic work schedules have made it all difficult for an individual to maintain a healthy body.
The more and more dependence on the latest gadgets not only affected our mental health but has also caused structural deformities like lordosis, kyphosis, etc.
To get over all these problems you need to add yoga to your routine.
“Yoga is an art and science of healthy living”. Practicing yoga asana daily even for 15 minutes would prove beneficial.
Yoga asana is a body posture that one has to hold for a minimum of 3-5 minutes to benefit the mind and body.
Yoga asana helps in the better functioning of internal organs and also corrects deformity (if any).
There are various yoga asanas like Hal asana, Bhujang asana, Shirsasana, etc. which one could perform to boost up energy and also to improve health.
Now, let’s go through the benefits of yoga asanas in detail as I have prepared a list of the same.
1. Improves Your Flexibility
Practicing various yoga asanas daily improves flexibility and mobility and all this happens slowly.
During the very first day, you would experience that you cannot touch your toes without bending your knees but slowly and gradually it will happen.
Yoga asanas which help to improve flexibility are Adho Mukhasana, Ardha Chakrasana, Malasana, Svanasana and many more.
2. Builds Muscle Strength
Do you know that to build muscle strength you need not rely on the gym?
Yes, you heard it right. Yoga helps in that too but the thing is you have to do it consistently.
There are various yoga asanas like Hath Asana, Surya Namaskar Cycle which help to build your muscles by focusing on every part right from chest to glutes and ignites each and every muscle.
3. Perfects Your Posture
No doubt technology has made it easy for us to get work done but relying completely on it has devastating effects on our health and has led to postural deformity like flat foot, kyphosis, knock knees.
Yoga Asanas helps to correct postural deformity and the results could be seen within 4-5 months. The asanas beneficial for various postural deformities are Makrasana, Tadasana, Gomukhasana, Trikonasana etc
4. Protects Your Spine
When you practice any yoga asana you are repeatedly advised to keep your back straight which leads to the strengthening of back muscles and spine.
Also, there are many asanas that could be performed to protect the spine like Garudasana, Salabhasana, Ustrasana.
Share this with someone who’s suffering from spinal problems.
5. Supports Heart Health
One out of every 10 individuals is suffering from heart disease. The reason could be anything be it stress, age, unhealthy food, or obesity.
This major problem could be solved and avoided by practicing yoga daily for 15-20 minutes.
The regular practice of yoga can lower anxiety and depression in people suffering from heart problems.
The asanas which could be performed are Vrikshasana, Uttanasana, Adho Mukh Asana, Setu Bandhasana.
Help your near and dear ones by sharing these benefits of Yoga with them.
6. Weight Loss
Obesity and the risk associated with the same has led to various serious diseases and postural deformities like knock knees and flat foot.
Here is one more benefit of yoga – It helps to lose weight and promote good health.
For weight loss one could go for Chakrasana, Brahmacharya asana, Chaturanga Dandasana etc.
Practicing these asanas with long holds and deep breathing has helped a lot of people to lose weight.
7. Cultivate Self Awareness
Next in the list of benefits of yoga asanas is self-awareness.
A study has shown that through yoga and meditation an individual can control stress, anxiety, and emotional changes.
One need not go to a psychiatrist or consume any medical drugs to control chronic stress patterns and emotions, all these could be cured with yoga.
Also While performing yoga asana individual notices how his/her body feels during the asana. He/ she becomes more aware of his/her body.
8. Increase Energy Levels
Yoga helps to decrease stress hormones and in turn, boosts energy levels.
Regular practice of yoga asanas activates the energy chakras in the body.
The poses which help to increase energy levels are the tree pose involving the spine and the cobra pose which opens up the chest.
Other asanas which help in boosting energy are Sukhasana, Anjaneyasana, and Salabhasana.
9. Reduce Stress
Another benefit of yoga asanas is to reduce stress.
Practicing yoga daily reduces the key stress hormone cortisol. Yoga provides relaxation to the mind and body as it involves breathing and meditation through different poses and controls stress.
The asana which an individual can perform to get rid of stress and anxiety are Balasana, Sukhasana, Ananda Balasana, and Uttanasana.
10. Breathe Better
Yoga asanas focus on better breathing and are suggested to people facing asthma.
Various yoga poses like Kapalabhati, Matsya asana helps cure short breath and focuses on proper inhaling and exhaling making the lungs stronger.
Do suggest these yoga asanas to people facing breathing problems.
11. Sleep Better
It has been noticed that people who perform yoga or exercise daily sleep better and early than those who don’t.
Yoga helps to relieve stress and makes you feel fresh and active the whole day.
This is how it promotes good sleep.
You can advise your friends who’re facing sleeping problems to perform Uttanasana i.e. forward fold and other relaxing asanas.
12. Reduces Inflammation
Doctors often advise people suffering from diabetes, cancer, and heart disease to practice at least 20 to 30 minutes of yoga daily.
Inflammation is normal and the immune system acts accordingly but chronic inflammation may lead to the above-described diseases.
Yoga asanas like Pranayama, Iyengar yoga, seated bend pose helps to cure inflammation.
13. Increases Your Heart Rate
Next in the list of benefits of yoga asanas is related to the health of your heart.
Basically, yoga asanas are of two types. One is calm yoga and another one is vigorous yoga which elevates heart rate into aerobic heartbeat range.
Yoga builds cardiovascular health and other organs like lungs also work better which boosts blood circulation and builds muscle leading to decrease inflammation which is good for heart health.
The yoga asana good for heart rate are Tadasana, Vrikshasana, Veerbhadrasana, Trikonasana etc.
14. The Increase Of Blood Flow
Yoga exercises help to increase the rate of blood flow in our bodies. Yoga asana stretches our muscles and joints which involves the contraction of muscles leading to increased blood flow.
It provides more oxygen-rich blood to our feet and hands resulting in their better functioning.
The yoga to be performed for better blood circulation is Tadasana, Vajrasana, Sarvangasana, and Ustrasana.
15. Better Bone Health
Yoga involves bearing own weight through stretches like upward and “downward facing dog”. This toughens the strength of our bones which prevents osteoporosis.
The asanas to be performed for improving bone density are Vrikshasana, Trikonasana, and Marichyasana 3.
16. Regulates Adrenaline
Stress becomes adverse when fatigued adrenal glands cannot produce enough cortisol against it.
Yoga asanas help to activate adrenal glands which produce optimum cortisol avoiding the ill effects of stress.
Savasana, Sukhasana, Viparita Karani, Setu Bandha Sarvangasana help activate adrenal glands and reduces stress hormones.
17. Drops Blood Pressure
One of the important benefits of yoga asanas is to maintain blood pressure.
Surprisingly, practicing Savasana alone drops systolic blood pressure to 26 points.
The stretching of muscles and joints increases blood flow and offers a relieving sensation to them which in turn decreases hypertension.
Do share with people who you know are suffering from blood pressure issues.
18. Lowers Blood Sugar
Along with increased blood flow and decreased depression, yoga also helps to lower blood sugar levels.
It lowers the bad cholesterol level through stretching asanas which in turn enhances good blood sugar (HDL).
Diseases like diabetes can be easily cured through yoga as it stimulates the proper amount of insulin in the blood. This leads to lower blood sugar levels.
The asanas which help in these are Ardha Matsyendrasana, Surya Namaskar, Bhujangasana, Setu Bandhasana and few more.
19. Upgrades Your Focus
Lack of attention/focus can be seen in youngsters these days.
A healthy habit of practicing yoga along with good food should be added to their routine as it helps to achieve better focus.
Yoga involves deep meditation which improves our mental health and calms the mind; this will automatically cut off this focus issue.
The yoga asanas which helps in improving focus are Vrikshasana, Tadasana, Natrajasana, Padmasana, Garudasana etc.
20. Self-Esteem Booster
Yoga boosts up positive hormones replacing all your worries, doubts, and dissatisfaction.
But all these can happen only with the regular practice of yoga asanas.
It corrects the postural deformity, removes stress and anxiety, and provides you with a positive outlook. You become more confident and proud.
To inculcate a habit of daily yoga to boost your self-esteem and to remove your insecurities.
21. Increases Lung Capacity
Another benefit of yoga asanas is that it increases the lung capacity.
Just like swimming, yoga too involves heavy breathing which increases the capacity of our lungs.
Yoga is a mixture of meditation and stretching, meditation involves holding a breath and then relieving it.
So the process of inhaling and exhaling clears the dirt inside and makes your lungs stronger and increases their capacity.
Some yoga asanas are breathing exercises like Kapalabhati and Pranayama.
22. Releases Tension In The Limbs
Constant practice of yoga helps to release tension in the limbs.
Reasons could be due to holding or doing a particular work for many hours. This creates tension in between the limbs leading to muscle fatigue and soreness.
This can be cured by practicing a particular yoga asana which locates and remove the problem.
23. Improves Balance
Next benefit of yoga asanas is that it improves our balance.
Do you know about proprioception?
It helps develop a sense of where your body is in space. Through yoga, you can achieve it.
Yoga exercises are a set of poses where you learn to balance your body along with proper concentration.
Asanas like Tadasana are the most recommended for improving balance for beginners.
24. Promotes A Healthy Nervous System
Research has shown that practicing yoga daily can even control those activities which are usually controlled by the nervous system.
For ex- changing heart rate, control breathing, and directing blood flow.
All these will take years but are of great help to the body.
25. Lessened Or Buffered Menopausal Symptoms
Yoga poses help to reduce mood swings, hot flashes, and sleep disturbances which are common menopausal symptoms.
Yoga asanas help to increase blood flow to the head and heart.
The asanas which women should practice are Ardha Halasana, Salabhasana, Dhanurasana, and Navasana.
They help to strengthen the lower abdomen area.
Refer these asanas to elderly women around you.
26. Yoga Makes You Feel Good
It makes you feel different, more open, and more confident.
As I have already discussed earlier that it reduces stress, calms your mind and you feel fresh and enthusiastic the whole day.
Add some “me-time” in your routine and enjoy let your body enjoy the relaxation, calmness, and happiness coming through yoga.
27. Boosts Your Metabolism
Another important benefit of yoga asanas is to boost your metabolism.
Yet another benefit of yoga it boosts your metabolism.
It is always advised to practice yoga asanas before breakfast or eating something as the poses include movement of blood, muscles, and breath.
They help absorbing nutrients better which leads to better metabolism.
Your body works better when it gets proper nutrients. This is possible if various yoga asanas are performed daily.
Kapalabhati, Navasana, Ardha Matsyendrasana etc. helps to boost metabolism.
28. Yoga Soothes Your Skin
This benefit of yoga asanas is for all skin lovers.
The most noticeable thing on a person’s body is his/her face. It displays the signs of stress and nutrient deficiency.
But all this can be cured by yoga. Involving Pranayama and meditation helps in better circulation and reduces stress levels.
This is also helpful in curing acne problems.
Yoga will help your skin glow and so is your confidence level.
29. Helps To Clear The Toxins
Yoga clears toxins both physically and mentally.
When I say physically it means through stretching muscles and tissues involving deep breath-hold. This releases all the toxins from your body.
While mentally here I mean, through meditation yoga asanas like Pranayama this removes toxic/negative thoughts from your mind.
30. No space? No worries!
The best benefit of yoga asanas is that they don't require any special place for practice.
Apart from the above-mentioned benefits of yoga, this one is what makes it a choice for millions of people.
You need not worry about any equipment to perform it, it doesn’t need any! It can be performed anywhere like in airplanes, offices, and even in prison.
This concludes my list of benefits of yoga and I hope that after knowing so many benefits of yoga, you would prioritize this in your daily activities.
Some therapists and doctors even recommend yoga above medications. Now I think you have an idea of how powerful and good yoga is for our health.
It is a belief that it was originated in India and saints used to spend over hours on yoga and meditation which resulted in their strong body and mind.
Though people these days can’t afford to spend hours but doing it even 20-25 minutes would make a change.
I developed this habit of practicing yoga asanas from my father whom I’ve seen since my childhood waking up early at 4 a.m. and practicing yoga.
You can choose anyone as your inspiration be it your family member, friend, or any actor/actress or you can yourself become an example for others and motivate them to do so.
A lot of material regarding various yoga asanas is available on the internet and even there are particular apps for yoga promoted by celebrities from where you can learn step by step.
I would like to mention a famous qute by Liza Ciano, "The beauty is that people often come here for the stretch, and leave with a lot more”.
Hope now you’re well aware of the benefits of yoga and how important it is for us to take care of our mind and body from destructing diseases and negativities.
Do let us know in the comment box, if in any way yoga has helped you in living a healthy life.
Don’t forget to like and share the list with your family and friends and spreading awareness about yoga.
Read more: