The Benefits of Yoga

Numerous people including my doctor recommended that I starting doing Yoga or Pilates as a technique to ease the symptoms of my anxiety. 

 In all honesty again I was quite skeptical about joining a class and just like the stereotype goes I thought it would be all old ladies in leotards who trump a lot. I struggled to find a local class which I would be able to go to until I saw a leaflet for a class starting near by at the beginning of the year. A combination of doing a bit of research and having not done much in terms of exercise for a couple of months I decided I wanted to try something new. Having never done anything like yoga before except attempting a couple of poses on the Wii fit I wasn't really sure what expect. 

So we joined the class in January and have been going every week for 12 weeks. I can honestly say I cannot believe how good Yoga is both physically and mentally. It has without a doubt helped me in a variety of different ways. We have learnt so much in the short time we have been going and they are all little things you can remember and do at home as well. 

Below are a few of the never ending list of benefits Yoga can have on your body, both physically and mentally;

• Although you don't get a sweat on and you don't particularly feel like you are doing anything physical at the time, you stretch every muscle in your body during each class and it definitely feels like you've had a workout the day after. It has definitely made my muscles stronger and improved my strength. The first time I went back to my circuit training class I was dreading how I was going to feel the day after. Surprisingly I didn't ache like I used to at all and during the class I noticed I could do more reps without my muscles feeling tired as quickly. Although Yoga isn’t a direct route to weight loss I have noticed that my stomach is gradually getting more toned. So a combination of circuit training and yoga is the perfect balance for me. 

• Doing also Yoga improves your sleeping. It is never something I have ever really struggled with but I would really recommend it if you are someone who struggles with insomnia. The night after doing a Yoga class I have the best nights sleep and sleep solidly all night without waking up once. 

• Not only does Yoga make you feel relaxed and calm during the class by doing the breathing exercises, relaxation techniques and just generally helping you to clear your mind, I have already noticed a difference in myself, overall I feel much calmer, the amount of 'wobble' days I have had has got less and the extent of my panic attacks has reduced . 

I am thinking of doing a series of blog posts sharing the different poses, stretches and techniques we have learnt at Yoga and I will go into more detail about specific areas. 

Picture from Pinterest