Yoga is a very old practice and is believed to have originated some 6000 years ago in India. The practice of yoga has since slowly been picked up by other cultures, and yoga today is now a widespread phenomenon and practice. You will find yoga classes happening in almost every country, and in some countries, it is strongly promoted like Nepal, India, and Myanmar to name a few. Some people are still skeptical about the benefits of yoga because it is just different poses, but thankfully, there is now a large body of science present to back up these claims. You can look into Marianne Wells Yoga RYT in case you are interested in taking classes, and if you are interested in knowing about the long term benefits of yoga, you can keep on reading below:
- Yoga practice can alter an individual’s brain chemistry and activity positively. Mindfulness, an activity promoted through yoga, has been found to improve brain activity in areas that promote positive thinking, and it also reduces activity in parts of the brain that are involved in anxious thinking. So, yoga improves positive thinking and reduces the frequency of anxious thoughts.
- Yoga can improve an individual’s lung capacity, which is the amount of air a person can take in at a time. Individuals with larger or better lung capacities tend to live healthier and even longer lives than people who do not have good lung capacity.
- Yoga improves an individual’s balance and posture in the long run, both of which are incredibly important as we grow older and are more susceptible to falls and back issues.
- People that practice yoga almost every day, especially yoga that focuses on strengthening the body have better metabolisms and immune systems. They are also likely to maintain a more youthful appearance of their bodies as they grow older.