What is Yoga?
While many people are enticed by the multitude of exercise programs that offer amazing results with little effort, one form of exercise that has withstood the test of time is yoga. Yoga began in India over 5000 years ago, but most of the yoga that is practiced today has developed over the last 150 years. More than just a set of exercises yoga is a set of techniques that teach the practitioner how to relax and strengthen their body while also attaining a tranquility of the mind and spirit that makes this holistic practice highly beneficial and can produce many positive health benefits. Yoga is popular because it can be done by anyone, anywhere without expensive equipment or gym memberships.
15 Anti Aging Benefits of Yoga
Tone Your Face
Your face is made up of several muscles and since we don’t use all of them all the time as you get older you may start to notice parts of your face sagging. Instead of running out and spending money on Botox or having an invasive and expensive facelift, try facial yoga. Facial yoga is simple and can be done anywhere and will help to tone your facial muscles, release tension, and help increase self-esteem. (Facial Toner)
Mental Sharpness
As we age one fear that may enter your mind is that of developing Dementia or Alzheimer’s. There’s nothing more frightening than the thought of not remembering who you are or who you loved ones are. One way to help decrease your odds of developing these debilitating disorders is with yoga. If you chose to do yoga on a regular basis you can help to increase brain activity and cognition, enhance focus, and increase gray matter. Many adults go the gym or workout at home, but many forget to exercise the most important part of their body, the brain. With some simple yoga exercises, you can help to keep your brain active and healthy. (Mental Sharpness)
Blood Pressure
Millions of people have been diagnosed with high blood pressure and need to take medicine and/or monitor their diet to make sure it does not get any worse. High blood pressure that is not treated or monitored can have serious effects on the human body that include, narrow arteries, aneurysm, coronary artery disease, enlarged heart, heart failure, stroke, dementia, and kidney damage. One catalyst for high blood pressure is stress and an easy and healthy way to help fight stress and the effects of high blood pressure is through yoga. Yoga is a great way to keep your entire body healthy and practicing yoga helps to reduce stress hormones that affect blood pressure, therefore, helping to relax your entire body. (Blood Pressure)
Arthritis
As we age the wear and tear our bodies have undergone throughout our life can often lead to joint pain and stiffness referred to as arthritis. The severity of arthritis has a wide range but often causes joints to swell, become stiff, painful, and have loss of range of motion. One way to help relieve the symptoms of arthritis is to do yoga. Yoga has been shown to help reduce joint pain and help to improve the flexibility and help the joints to work better. Many yoga poses can be modified to help those who have arthritis and still allow them to get the rewarding effect so the exercise. (Arthritis)
Weight Loss
Many older adults struggle with weight gain due to the slowing of the metabolism and unhealthy eating habits, one way to help control your weight is through yoga. Since the purpose of yoga is to connect the mind and body it will enable you to reduce stress and make better decisions including those regarding eating. Yoga is also great for helping improve muscle tone and increased flexibility leaving you feeling better and more energetic and helping to reduce body weight. (Weight Loss)
Beautiful Skin
As we age many people look to creams, injections, lotions, or other ways to help make their skin look young again. There is no need to waste your time and money on these products when you can benefit from yoga. Practicing yoga helps to get the blood flowing through the body and since blood carries oxygen and nutrients, yoga is a great way to help rejuvenate your skin. With better blood circulation your skin can repair itself and the result is great looking glowing younger skin. (Beautiful Skin)
Hormonal Changes and Hot Flashes
As women age, they face the time when they will go through menopause and have to deal with the drastic changes that dropping hormonal levels produce like hot flashes. Many women experience hot flashes for a lengthy period of time without a healthy way to deal with them. One great way to help minimize the effects of menopause and those dreaded hot flashes is through yoga. There is specific yoga poses that are meant to be calming, cooling, and relaxing. The great thing about yoga is that it can be done anywhere and does not require any extra equipment so if you begin experiencing a hot flash, relax and take the time to do some menopause relieving yoga poses and you will begin to feel better naturally and in a healthy way. (Menopause)
Boosts Immune System
One way to fight the effects of aging is to have a healthy and properly functioning immune system. A properly functioning immune system not only is better equipped to fight off diseases and infections, it also helps to promote healing. Practicing yoga helps the body to become stronger, more flexible, and help your immune system with lymphatic circulation allowing your body to better heal and protect itself. (Immune System)
Better Flexibility
As we age we may lose some of the range of motion that helps with movement making it restrictive and painful. Unfortunately, our muscles will begin to decrease and become less flexible and make the movement more difficult. One way to help regain the flexibility that age has taken away is through the practice of yoga. Yoga is a great way to stretch and become more flexible without putting unnecessary stress and strain on your body. (Flexibility)
Hair Loss
Hair LossOne sign that you are getting older is hair loss, there is no way to gloss over this once it’s gone it's gone. Many individuals suffering from hair loss or thinning of their hair may turn to expensive creams or transplants, but one easy and less invasive thing to try is yoga. Yoga has many beneficial effects on the body and helping with and hair loss is one of them. One major factor that can cause hair loss is stress and since yoga is calming and helps relieve stress it can also help prevent hair loss. Yoga also stimulates blood circulation helping your hair get the nutrients it needs to stay healthy. Yoga is an effective way to regulate hormones and an imbalance of hormones can cause hair loss. So before you try some drastic or expensive measure to combat hair loss, try some yoga exercises that are free and a healthy alternative instead. (Hair Loss)
Osteoporosis
As we age our bones may become weaker and more brittle and may lead to osteoporosis. Many adults take supplements to help with their bone health, but one easy and natural way to help our bodies stave off the effects of osteoporosis is through yoga. When you practice yoga you are stretching and pulling your muscles and bones and this helps to stimulate your body to grow bone mass helping to strengthen your bones. (Osteoporosis)
Spinal Stenosis
As we age our spine can become damaged due to years of wear and tear or from the effects of osteoarthritis and become narrow causing spinal stenosis. Spinal stenosis can cause pain, weakness, tingling, and numbness. While severe cases may need surgery, one less invasive and healthy way to help with spinal stenosis is yoga. Through the stretching poses of yoga, you can help increase the flexibility of the spine as well as strengthened the muscles around the spine helping to elevate some of the symptoms associated with spinal stenosis. (Spinal Stenosis)
Asthma
Asthma restricts the amount of air that can reach the lungs and since oxygen is an important component to stave off the aging process asthma suffers can suffer the ill effects of early aging. One healthy way to help alleviate the symptoms of asthma and help you feel better is yoga. One of the main components of yoga is concentrating on inhaling and exhaling, so it only makes sense that those who suffer from asthma would have beneficial effects from practicing yoga. Along with the concentration on breathing techniques, yoga also has the ability to reduce anxiety and relax muscle tension which are triggers for asthma sufferers.
Reduced Anxiety and Depression
Anxiety and depression can have harmful effects on our body that include high blood pressure, increased heart rate, and increased respiration. These conditions can cause our bodies to age more quickly and put undue wear and tear that our bodies don’t need. One safe and effective way to help reduce the effects of anxiety and depression is through yoga. Yoga produces a calming effect as practitioners concentrate on breathing and poses and in turn, helps to reduce stress and anxiety. Yoga is a safe and healthy way to help reduce anxiety and depression and the effects they have on the body by helping people learn to regulate and control their stress. (Anxiety and Depression)
Insomnia and Sleep Issues
One way to help combat the signs of aging is by getting the proper amount of sleep each night. If you find that you are experiencing insomnia or other issues that affect your sleep one way to help is with yoga. Studies have shown that individuals who do yoga daily have the ability to fall asleep faster, sleep longer, and have a better quality of sleep which in turn gives them more energy and helps them to feel better the next day. The better you sleep, the better your body is able to recover and heal itself which helps keep you from aging too quickly, so before you reach for those over the counter sleeping pills try some all natural and healthy yoga to help you sleep. (Insomnia)
Nobody enjoys getting older and they are even less excited about looking older. Many people will go to extremes and spend large amounts of money on surgeries, injections, creams etc., to try and stay looking and feeling younger. One healthy alternative that is less expensive and less invasive is to start practicing yoga. Yoga has a multitude of health benefits and is beneficial to adults of all ages. There are many types of yoga and poses they can be enjoyed by those of all ages and health conditions, in order to enjoy a longer and healthier life. Since yoga requires no extra equipment or devices and can be done virtually anywhere at any time it is a great way to help improve your health and combat the aging process.