10 Unexpected Ways Yoga Keeps You Healthy, According to Science

Written By Guest User

We hear them say all the time: When you’re stressed, try yoga! When you’re feeling sluggish, try yoga! When you want to get fit, again, try yoga! Yoga is mostly perceived as a path to wellness and this is why we often hear experts rave about it again and again. It improves one’s muscle strength, endurance, and flexibility. 

But… did you know that yoga has other health benefits aside from that?

Yes, you heard that right.

Below are the 10 ways that Rage Yoga can keep you healthy, backed with scientific evidence.

1 - Yoga can lower your blood pressure.

An article in Harvard mentioned that there were several studies that associated yoga with improved cardiovascular health. Researchers indicated that the physical activity done with yoga improves the “baroreceptor activity”.

Now, before you roll your eyes with the technical jargon, let me explain.

Simply put, it’s a bodily system responsible for balancing the blood levels.
This is good news for those with hypertension and those with borderline high levels of blood pressure. Rage yoga can be an easy, low-impact transition for beginners who want to improve their cardiovascular health.

2 - Yoga can relieve menopausal symptoms.

Ah, the golden years. Sometimes, it’s hard to see it as golden when you experience the discomforts of menopause. If you’re someone in your 50s, you know what I mean!

For seniors, menopause is a challenging period in their lives.
They can experience physical symptoms such as muscle pain, hot flashes, and extreme fatigue. Experts recommend physical activity, but some exercises are just too taxing to the body, to begin with.  

And the solution to this problem? Thankfully, yoga can be your therapy.
A study found in the National Center of Complementary and Integrative Health suggests that yoga can relieve the symptoms of menopause. Compared to Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) for menopause, yoga is a natural approach that may help you achieve the same results without the side effects.

3 - Yoga helps in arthritis relief.

Arthritis is a killer. And by killer, I mean it can really stop you from enjoying many things in life. When you have mobility issues along with chronic pain, it’s hard to go out with friends, do some active hobbies, or even do some grocery shopping. Ouch!

Again, yoga intercedes!

Aside from aiding in muscle pain, yoga was also discovered to relieve symptoms of joint swelling in arthritis patients. A study found in the National Library of Medicine revealed that yoga eases problematic symptoms such as joint pain, swelling, and inflexible movements associated with arthritis. A gentler type of yoga is recommended to achieve these benefits.

4 - Yoga improves addiction recovery.

Did you know that many drug and alcohol treatment centers recommend yoga as an option for their physical activities? That’s true!

Even if you don’t qualify as someone with a substance use disorder, yoga can also help in curbing cravings you don’t want to have!

This is because several studies point to its effectiveness in addiction recovery outcomes. Researchers have discovered that including yoga relieves the stress and other mood symptoms stemming from addiction triggers, allowing patients to cope better. Thus, yoga is known as an option when creating a fitness regimen in drug and alcohol rehab.

5 - Yoga helps in emotional release.

…If you think that yoga is just all about ‘calmness’ and ‘serenity’, think again!

A lot of us are not aware that we are bottling up negative emotions left unreleased. Whether it’s anxiety, depression, anger, guilt, or any other toxic feeling, these emotions can slowly eat us up and diminish the quality of our lives.

Yoga is a path to practicing emotional release according to science. The research suggests that some poses facilitate the release of tension, thereby allowing people to express their emotions through crying, shouting, or use of words, as what Rage Yoga represents.

That’s right, you can let it out. Any type of emotional release is therapeutic, and it allows you to face another day by letting past burdens drift away.

6 - Yoga can boost your metabolism.

Can’t seem to keep the pounds from piling? It could be a slow metabolism you’re having. 

There are several things that contribute to one’s metabolism, such as age, gender, weight, and physical activity. Out of all of these factors, there is one you can take control of: The amount of physical activity you engage in. 

How can yoga help?

Yoga can be a way to “stroke the fire”, meaning that practicing yoga daily may help turn up the gears of metabolism and promote better health.

A faster metabolism is associated with weight loss, lesser digestive issues, and a better quality of life. That’s hitting multiple birds with a single stone!

7 - Yoga can make you breathe better.

Do you have a habit of breathing shallowly when you are anxious or nervous?
Or maybe you’re having trouble with endurance in other exercises? 

Believe me, I’ve been there. It can take your breath away (literally!).

The practice of yoga is a combination of meditation, breathing control, and the use of physical postures.
Constant use of deep, slower breathing improves the endurance of the lung muscles. Studies suggest that including yoga as a part of a fitness plan helps people with breathing issues, especially those who habitually display shallow breathing.

8 - Yoga prevents insomnia.

Who doesn’t like a full night’s rest? Apparently, sleeplessness is a problem that 35% of Americans face. Imagine how the world can change when everyone had better sleep--more productivity, fewer mood swings, and even brilliant ideas can come to life!

The meditative qualities of yoga are also beneficial for sleep, according to John Hopkins Medicine. Several poses are attributed to relaxation and meditation, which allow students to have less physical and emotional tension. The relaxed state after having a yoga session makes people more sleepy late in the day. 

Researchers suggest that the use of yoga is a natural way to cure insomnia, as it releases brain chemicals that fight away stress and tension that prevents people from falling asleep. That’s one reason to stay away from those pills that can give you a hangover, ugh.

9 - Yoga reduces inflammation.

Inflammation is the culprit of many health woes. It’s not just muscle swelling we’re talking about here.

This can range from asthma, Crohn’s disease, peptic ulcers, and even cancer.
Researchers published a study in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience which explores the inflammation-fighting benefits of yoga. It was discovered that the poses, meditation, and breathing practices help lower oxidative stress while keeping anti-inflammatory markers at high levels.

10 - Yoga can help prevent a hangover.

Don’t you just hate that morning after a round of drinks?
You’re teary, dreary, and everything hurts! Hangovers suck. Period.

Aside from those using yoga during alcohol addiction rehabilitation, there is also evidence that practicing yoga in the morning can reduce the symptoms of a hangover after a night of drinking. Yes, you can use yoga to stop those morning-after blues.

Experts suggest that the increased blood flow of doing yoga in the morning helps prevent the headache, fatigue, and sleepiness associated with alcohol consumption the night before. The heightened blood flow helps remove the toxins of alcohol, bringing the substances faster towards the kidney for filtering out. -

NO WONDER, THESE SCIENCE-BACKED ADVANTAGES ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO GIVE YOGA A TRY!

You may join the yoga bandwagon just to include a fitness activity during the day, but it is possible to also reap these less-known physical and mental health benefits. 

Yoga is a natural way to battle stress and improve physical health. 

…Don’t believe me? Just look it up. You can thank me later.

-Patrick Bailey

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Patrick Bailey is a professional writer mainly in the fields of mental health, addiction, and living in recovery. He attempts to stay on top of the latest news in the addiction and the mental health world and enjoy writing about these topics to break the stigma associated with them. 

Website / Blog URL: http://patrickbaileys.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Pat_Bailey80

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-bailey-writer

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