The Health Benefits of Yoga
by Niamh Lonergan | 24th Jun 2021
As International Yoga Day took place this week, we thought we would talk about the science behind this practice and why it’s good for our health. What we eat is so important for our health but how we nourish our body and mind is just as important too!
What is yoga?
Yoga is an ancient form of exercise that focuses on strength, flexibility and breathing to boost physical and mental wellbeing. The main components of yoga are postures (a series of movements designed to increase strength and flexibility) and breathing.
Why is yoga good for our health?
Physical movement: stretching and movement can help with the passing of trapped gas, therefore helping to alleviate gut related symptoms like bloating, constipation, and abdominal pain- like giving your tummy a little massage!
Mindfulness: yoga is about focusing on the present moment and learning how to embrace uncomfortable feelings in the body, which can also be applied when you have tummy aches and pains. Focusing on the present moment can also help to alleviate feelings of stress or anxiety.
Breathing: breathing is one of the main components of yoga practice and activates the “rest and digest” (parasympathetic nervous system)
Relaxation: yoga practices have been shown to activate the parasympathetic nervous system helps us to relax, rather than using the sympathetic nervous response which is the fight or flight (stress) response. This is particularly important because stress dramatically affects how the body absorbs nutrients, which can negatively impact the composition of our gut microbiome and in turn the functioning of our digestive system.
Stress: Increased levels of cortisol, the stress hormone can lead to lowered immunity and reduce your body’s’ ability to fight off infection. We can tend to overeat when we are stressed, conquering stress with yoga or meditation practice may prevent overeating and indirectly improve our nutrition and eating habits!
What is the evidence behind the health benefits of yoga?
Gut Health: There are many studies now that show that yoga can significantly reduce gut symptoms. One study found that practicing yoga twice a week for 12 weeks was just as effective as a low FODMAP diet in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. 80% of IBS patients reported improvements to their gut symptoms!
Depression and anxiety: Several randomized control trials (clinical trials) have found that yoga is effective in reducing symptoms of depression and/or anxiety compared with just regular treatment alone.
Aches and pains: Yoga has been found to be as effective as physiotherapy exercises in reducing pain and improving mobility in patients with chronic lower back or neck pains. There is also some early evidence that yoga may also be helpful for osteoarthritis pain, but more research is needed on this.
Sleep: If you struggle with sleep, adopting a regular yoga/meditation practice before bed may help. Several studies have found that yoga interventions can be beneficial in managing sleep and lead to increased sleep time among many population groups including cancer patients, postmenopausal women, older women and individuals with sleep problems.
Not sure where to start with yoga?
The first step is creating a practice that works for you. That can look like a 10-minute daily meditation and/or 20 minutes of regular movement.
Yoga is just like any other form of exercise; it takes practice and commitment! The more you practice, the more flexible and comfortable you will become and in turn the more benefits you will get from the practice.
While yoga isn’t considered a form of strenuous exercise, it is a great strengthening exercise and can also be used as a gentle form of exercise on rest days. Try swapping a few workouts for yoga flows, meditation, or Pilates classes and see how it makes you feel!
Whether you’re new to yoga or a regular, it’s a fantastic way to increase your physical activity levels, improving flexibility, strength and balance. Yoga can also help to boost energy, mood, manage stress and relax your mind and body!