Psychological Benefits Of Yoga 

3. Inner strength

One of the greatest benefits of regular yoga practice is its effect on your mind and in particular, your inner strength. Yoga helps you to turn your focus inward and can affect your life in an extremely positive way. Yoga philosophy contains eight limbs which strengthen the mind, body and soul over time. One of these limbs – Niyama – focuses on personal discipline. With regular yoga practice, you strengthen these disciplines allowing you to create purity within your mind, body and environment, find contentment and happiness within the moment, become self aware, and develop dedication towards personal growth.

4. Healthy lifestyle choices

Many people are unaware that yoga can help you make healthier lifestyle choices.

In addition to burning calories during yoga practice, yoga helps you to become more in tune with your mind and body. As a result, your emotions become more stable and you naturally begin to eat less, along with becoming more conscious of the types of foods you are eating.

Another way yoga encourages healthy lifestyle choices is through better sleep patterns. Many people struggle with disrupted sleep or insomnia, often due to pain, tension, stress or depression. Yoga helps to alleviate all of these conditions, as well as helping to reduce stimulation. All of this helps your body reestablish its sleep patterns and helps you get a better night’s sleep in the process.

5. Mental health

While many people turn to yoga as alternative method of exercise, the best way yoga can help you is via your mental health.

When you suffer from excessive or chronic stress, your adrenal system releases the hormone Cortisol to help you cope. Unfortunately, regular high levels of Cortisol leads to emotional eating, weight gain, depression, osteoporosis, high blood pressure and even insulin resistance, and can increase your risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Regular yoga practice helps to reduce Cortisol levels by teaching you how to control your emotions and relax your mind and body. Because of the physical natural of yoga, it also increases your levels of serotonin which makes you feel happier and more content. Yoga also helps your mental health by building your connectivity to others. As you become more in tune and self aware, you develop more compassion and empathy, and feel compelled to help others. This gives more meaning to your life and brings you closer to others.

READ Yoga and Spiritual Awareness

As you can see, yoga is more than a fad or an alternative to more traditional forms of exercise. While many people practice yoga solely for the physical benefits of increased flexibility and strength, many more people find the psychological and spiritual benefits of yoga more fulfilling. Whether you choose to practice yoga as gentle exercise or to help reduce pain, stress or depression, yoga is good for you in many ways and can change your life. And with all the different styles of yoga available, there’s sure to be a style to suit you and your goals.