Personally, I absolutely love yoga! Last December I finally joined a yoga class at my local gym because I hoped I could increase my flexibility to help prevent injuries from running. I fell in love. I must admit, at certain points towards the beginning of my experience, I wanted to laugh at a few of the poses and movements we did. They were just so funny! But once I got used to the silliness, I started to really get into it and I have been faithfully going every week for almost a year now! It has substantially improved my flexibility and even my strength. There are a lot of poses involved in yoga that strengthen the legs and arms. My class also includes a bit of Pilates, so I get a little extra abs in there too! All around I feel stronger and more aware of my body and its limits. Each pose we do shows me how far I can go, and how far I have yet to come. It is very encouraging for me to see growth in myself in the depth I can bend or stretch in a pose now versus how far I could go a month ago. I have learned (and am still learning) how to accept my body for what it is on any given day. Some days I can go deeper into a pose than other days, and it took me a while to realize I don't have to be the best every single day.
Coming into yoga with my back ground of participating in all different competitive sports and activities like competitive soccer, basketball, track, gymnastics, cross country, music competitions, academic competitions, ect, I had the mindset of "push till it hurts" because that's what I was trained to think in order to become the best. In cross country season, we do miserable work-outs that make me want to pass out, throw up, and then quit. But I have to push past my bodies perceived limitations so that I can become as great as I can be. With yoga its different. The concept of yoga took me a long time to figure out and is still hard to grasp in my competitively hardwired mindset. You don't compete in yoga. Not with others, and not with yourself. When I heard this I was like "What!!!????" "Then what is the point of doing it then!!!??". The point of yoga is to reach your bodies limitations and accept them. Rather that find your limitations and push past them like one would in soccer or basketball, you find them, and then settle in with them. If I am doing some intense pose, if I cant quite get that far into it, I don't push until I hurt myself, I realize instead that my body isn't capable of doing that pose to its full extent right now and then I work with my body gently for the next few days or weeks until it can reach that full pose. Believe me, this is the most confusing part of yoga to any competitive athlete. The fact that you don't have to push and push, but instead just be okay with where you are at is the oddest idea ever.I must admit though that I like it a lot. After having to exceed my limitations in every other activity I do, it is so relaxing to be able to go to my yoga class and not have to worry about reaching some standard because it doesn't matter to anyone. It is amazing to have a break from the stress of meeting an expectation set on me.
There are countless benefits to yoga. Some people treat yoga as sort of a personal religion. Through meditation and dedication, they find their peace and tranquility through the practice. I though, do not participate in the holistic aspects of yoga and instead treat it as a way to relax, stretch, and pamper myself. I do it mostly from an athletic and healthy point of view; a way to benefit my body. There are countless intensities and levels of practice in yoga. No matter from which standpoint you enjoy it, and regardless of how serious and dedicated you are to it, the rewards from it are endless.
Here are some of those rewards:
*Happier outlook in life
*Decreased aches and pains
*Better sleep
*Improved confidence
*Toned body
*Improved flexibility
*Improved balance
*Improved lymph flow
*Better posture
*Increased energy
*Better reaction time
*Improved concentration
*Attention span increases
*Lymphocyte count increases
*Thyroxin increases
*Healthier looking skin
These are not all! check out these two websites to learn even more!
http://www.self.com/fitness/2012/03/benefits-of-yoga-slideshow
http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/beginnersguide/yogabenefits.asp
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