The Health Benefits Of Practicing Yoga: What The Latest Yoga Research Says
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We all know about the usual health benefits of yoga. It keeps you fit, de-clutters your mind, improves your flexibility and keeps you miles away from stress and similar mental conditions. But are there any new benefits to this ancient practice? Advantages we, as of yet, don’t know about? Is there more to yoga than the usual mental and physical benefits?
Well, if we take recent studies into account, we can answer all three of the above questions with a resounding – “Yes!” There’s a lot more to yoga than meets the eye. And the latest research can back that up.
Here are 5 scientifically proven benefits of yoga we bet you didn’t have any idea about.
1. Yoga Can Give Your Immune System A Major Boost
According to a study conducted by Norwegian researchers, yoga can help your immune system function better (1). The study stated that regular practicing of yoga improved the gene expression of immune cells, thereby boosting the function of your immune system at a cellular level.
Researchers of the study analyzed the effects of yoga on the body’s immune system by sending 10 participants to a yoga retreat for a week. In this retreat, participants were made to practice yogic postures, breathing exercises and meditation. The blood of the participants was examined both before and after the retreat and samples showed a marked improvement in immunity after the retreat was over.
Yoga improved the blood circulation of the participants, helping sufficient amounts of blood reach every organ. So, even if you do a little bit of yoga every day, you can expect your immune system to work much better than before!
2. Yoga Can Cure Your Migraine
If you’re a migraine patient, you know nothing can help you get rid of that searing pain apart from medication. However, as per an article published in the American Migraine Foundation, yoga can also be effective in providing relief from mild to excruciating headaches (2).
The report explains that headaches are generally caused by stress and musculoskeletal tightness. Besides, those who frequently get headaches turn out to have bad postures that prevent relaxation. Yoga poses can correct both of these issues. They can improve one’s posture, reduce musculoskeletal tightness, and release stress, thereby helping heal headaches! We think it’s better to practice yoga than be dependent on medications for your headaches.
3. Yoga Can Fix Insomnia And Other Sleep Issues
Sleeping disorders can disrupt your entire life and throw it completely off-balance. While cures exist in the form of sleeping pills and other drugs, they general pack in side effects with parasomnias like sleepwalking being one of them (3)! This makes it necessary to look for an alternative remedy and yoga happens to be just the perfect one.
Harvard University researchers conducted a study on yoga and discovered that insomniacs who practiced yoga every day for 8 weeks witnessed a significant improvement in their sleep quality (4), (5). Most sleeping disorders such as insomnia are caused by mental health issues such as stress and anxiety. Yoga aims to eliminate both stress and anxiety, consequently improving your sleep quality.
4. Yoga Can Improve Your Bedroom Life
If your between-the-sheets life is in the doldrums, don’t fret and just do yoga! Different kinds of sexual dysfunction can affect both men and women, which can obviously lead to a strained bedroom life. However, if you practice yoga, you can regain exciting times between the sheets, according to a research published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine (6).
A total of 40 women between the ages of 22 and 55 years took part in this study. Each of them suffered from some or the other type of sexual dysfunction such as lack of lubrication, low libido, problems with climaxes, pain during lovemaking, and more. The women were made to enroll in a 12-week long yoga program where they practiced many poses that raised the blood flow to their sexual organs. Once the program ended, researchers found that yoga tremendously helped in improving sexual function in the women.
5. Yoga Can Lead To Better Eating Choices
At the core of yoga lies mindfulness, which is the same principle behind meditation. A sense of self-awareness can naturally lead you to make better choices when it comes to the foods you eat. At least that’s what a University of Washington study proved (7).
The research states that both physical activity and inculcation of self-control in yoga help people in eating better. Yoga helps individuals break away from food dependency so that they can make the right eating choices. This not only aids in weight loss but also contributes to the prevention of obesity.
Sleep, immunity, lovemaking, and food – these four aspects of life are extremely important, and these are what yoga can enhance. So, if you haven’t started yoga classes already, it’s time to get yourself enrolled in one!
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