I would like to share a list I have
read on the internet about benefits of yoga practice. Unfortunately, they
didn’t mention the source. I will add it later if I find out.

“A central premise in yoga is “everything
is connected.” That’s clear when looking at the health and fitness benefits of
yoga that have long been reported by practitioners and are now being confirmed
by scientific research.

1. STRESS RELIEF: Yoga reduces the
physical effects of stress on the body by encouraging relaxation and lowering
the levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Related benefits include lowering
blood pressure and heart rate, improving digestion and boosting the immune
system, as well as easing symptoms of conditions such as anxiety, depression,
fatigue, asthma and insomnia.

2. PAIN RELIEF: Yoga can ease pain.
Studies have demonstrated that practicing Yoga asanas (postures), meditation or
a combination of the two, reduced pain for people with conditions such as
cancer, multiple sclerosis, auto-immune diseases and hypertension as well as
arthritis, back and neck pain and other chronic conditions.

3. BETTER BREATHING: Yoga teaches
people to take slower, deeper breaths. This helps to improve lung function and
trigger the body’s relaxation response.

4. FLEXIBILITY: Yoga helps to
improve flexibility and mobility, increasing range of movement and reducing
aches and pains.

5. INCREASED STRENGTH: Yoga asanas (postures)
use every muscle in the body, helping to increase strength literally from head
to toe. Yoga also helps to relieve muscular tension.

6. WEIGHT MANAGEMENT: Yoga (even less vigorous
styles) can aid weight control efforts by reducing the cortisol levels, as well
as by burning excess calories and reducing stress. Yoga also encourages healthy
eating habits and provides a heightened sense of well-being and self-esteem.

7. IMPROVED CIRCULATION: Yoga helps to improve
circulation and, as a result of various poses, more efficiently moves
oxygenated blood to the body’s cells.

8. CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONING: Even gentle
yoga practice can provide cardiovascular benefits by lowering resting heart
rate, increasing endurance and improving oxygen uptake during exercise.

9. BETTER BODY ALIGNMENT: Yoga helps to improve
body alignment, resulting in better posture and helping to relieve back, neck,
joint and muscle problems.

10. FOCUS ON THE PRESENT: Yoga helps us to
focus on the present, to become more aware and to help create mind body health.
It opens the way to improved coordination, reaction time and memory.”