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Benefits of Yoga :From enhanced flexibility to a stronger sense of community, of this ancient practice are diverse.
With June 21 marked as International Yoga Day, I set out to explore the reasons behind the surge in popularity of this ancient spiritual practice that has evolved into a modern fitness trend. To gain insight, I turned to Trevor Cassidy, the group fitness manager and instructor at the CU Anschutz Health and Wellness Center.
Who teaches various styles of yoga and other exercise classes, explains the broad range of benefits yoga provides—everything from a calmer mind to more flexible toes.
Mobility and flexibility
Benefits of Yoga : that immediately come to thoughts are mobility and flexibility. Those are two things that everyone understands are essential for good performance. Whether you’re a big runner, you like to hike over the summer, or if you sit at your desk for many hours a day, these activities are all demanding on your body. Getting into the practice of really mobilizing your body is going to help you feel better and perform better with whatever you do outside of yoga .
Balance
Balance is crucial but can be challenging to train since it isn’t like a muscle that you can target directly. However, it becomes increasingly important as we age. Yoga is especially effective at improving balance compared to other group fitness formats. Balance work is useful and connects your brain to your body. It literally rewires your neuro pathways.
Mindfulness
We have a lot of new research about how mindfulness is a very effective tool for boosting your mental health. And I think the expression that has been thrown around since I started doing yoga back in the day that is still perfect is: Yoga is a active mindfulness. Yoga’s unique blend of movement and mindfulness helps many people experience mindfulness more effectively.
A body connection
Benefits of Yoga : connects you to your body in a way that, in my personal experience, has been really recovery in terms of my relationship with my own body. There is something that appear over time – a self-knowing, a self-compassion. When you really calm yourself and feel your body as it shifts, you start to build a sense of deep personal trust in your body and in yourself. Over time you learn to feel a extend as it grows. You might find that it feels a bit easier with each breath or during your next yoga session.
And for me, that has been really special and beautiful and given me a lot of peace with my body. There was a time where I tried with my body image. A lot of people do. Yoga really shifted that for me. Your relationship with your body is the closest and longest one you’ll ever have in your life. It’s important to take the time to really be present in your body and feel what it’s like to be a living. It’s an amazingly beautiful feeling.
Sense of community
Another mental health benefit in a workshop is the community aspect.
I come from a fitness class context, so this is a event I see in all of our studios and classes. There is a feeling of belonging, which can get hidden with all of the other great benefits of yoga, but it’s one that I think is really important, especially coming out of the outbreak. I realized how much people missed the sense of community—connecting with others, getting to know your teacher, and seeing familiar faces. It makes a yoga class feel less like a chore and more like spending time with friends. Before you know it, you have a steady of the yoga practice and you’re feeling the benefits — physical, mental and social.
An array of styles
I skilled in a more strong physical style of yoga, a vinyasa power-flow style. Vinyasa means linking breath to movement. But as I’ve been doing it, and as I’m getting older and creakier, I have really developed a love for the more healing styles of yoga, the ones that feel supportive. Right now, I’m teaching a vinyasa flow class and also a slow-flow class where we get to really do some deep stretching , some relaxing poses and some good meditation.
Many online resources
I love being in-person in the studio setting, but I don’t think there’s a wrong place to start. In my personal journey with yoga, I started in the privacy of my own home on YouTube. There are so many resources online and surely even more so after the pandemic. I was watching videos on YouTube, and it was a way for me to learn some of the basic things. It then helped my confidence going into the studio because it can feel frightening if you’re walking into a class you’ve never done before. And it’s also a reason that we are live-streaming our yoga classes here at the facility Health and Wellness Center.
Beginners are welcome
Beginner poses are those done on the ground, focusing on a restorative approach. I recommend happy baby pose and child’s pose, holding each for 5 breaths. If you have a pillow or a yoga bolster, try supported fish pose before bed—reclining on the bolster with your face up—and then move into a supported child’s pose, hugging the bolster with your face down. This simple two-pose series is incredibly effective.
Rounds out exercise regimen
The official recommendation is to get at least 60 minutes a week of flexibility or mobility exercises. From my experience teaching various fitness classes, I know that incorporating yoga helps protect my body and keeps me moving effectively. For me, it’s a crucial part of cross-training.
Focusing too much on one activity, whether it’s running, sitting at a desk for long hours, or strict weightlifting, can lead to issues. You need to include stretching, mobility, and recovery to avoid injury over time.
A balanced routine should include strength training, flexibility, mobility, and some cardio. Yoga is my top choice for mobility because its benefits extend beyond just cross-training. You don’t have to take my word for it—thousands of years of yoga practitioners would likely agree.