8 Benefits Of Yoga And Meditation

Yoga and meditation exercises have been around in for centuries with the goal of reinforcing the connection between the body and the mind. The goal of yoga and meditation is to establish a healthy mind and overall well being. Here are some of the benefits of practicing yoga and meditation for the human body and mind:

1. Manage Stress and Anxiety

A daily yoga session for as much as 15 minutes can significantly reduce anxiety levels and help the body cope with stressful situations. A mediation session can also alleviate stress levels and keep anxiety at bay. Yoga has proven to be beneficial in the prevention of hypertension and other cardiovascular illnesses related to chronic stress.

2. Flexibility and Fitness

In today’s fast paced world where we have been reduced to working for long hours in front of a computer desktop establishing a mindful healthy routine is non-existent. Yoga and meditation sessions are a good way of establishing a fitness routine, and great for people on a time crunch. Staying stationary for long periods of time can significantly impact the flexibility of our joints and cause back and spine problems as time passes by. Yoga helps in stretching the body muscles, and maintains the elasticity of joints.

3. Emotional Well Being

As mentioned before, yoga and meditation helps the body cope with certain stressors and modifies the way we respond to certain situations. In a widely conducted study, it is said that people who indulge in regular yoga and meditation sessions tend to be happier, healthier, and appear calmer and composed as opposed to those who don’t practice yoga at all. Just a quick 10 minute session offers intense emotional relaxation and deep calmness, thus increasing overall mental and physical wellbeing.

4. Fight Diabetes

As for most lifestyle diseases, stress appears to be the number one causative factor in the etiology of most diseases including diabetes. It has been observed that regular yoga practice significantly reduces blood sugar levels, lowers blood pressure and slows the progression of diabetes. It also lowers stress and anxiety levels further preventing diabetic onset.

5. Better Sleep

In order to function in an orderly manner from day to day, good quality sleep is absolutely integral to the smooth functioning of the human body and brain. If you suffer from low quality sleep or insomnia, practicing yoga and meditation on a consistent basis can greatly help you in achieving just that. Doing yoga even bi-weekly significantly improved sleep quality in chronic insomniacs. Deep breathing exercises involved in mediation helps reduce stress levels and rids the mind of continuous thought processes thus promoting better sleep.

6. Boost Your Mental State

Establishing a consistent routine of yoga and meditation has been linked to elevated mood and overall mental wellbeing. Not only can yoga and meditation reduce stress levels, it also helps the mind in coping with certain mental state disorders such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, insomnia, mood swings and menopausal symptoms. Yoga helps the body in producing higher levels of oxytocin and serotonin that promote happiness and emotional wellbeing.

7. Promote Mental Clarity

Practicing yoga and meditation sessions on a weekly basis helps promote mental clarity and clears brain fog. Yoga reduces cluttered thought patterns, keeps your thoughts balanced and organized and allows you to think clearly through a difficult situations. Meditation sessions help improve focus and reduces the probability of indulging in mindless distractions, which ultimately promotes better decision making.

8. Improve Digestion

If you are the type of person who indulges in eating out and a low fiber diet there are certain powerful poses, twists and bends in yoga practice that help massage the internal organs and cause food particles to digest properly in the alimentary system.

In summary, yoga and meditation are powerful tools to establish long term emotional and physical wellbeing along with a beautiful skin and slower aging process.