21 health benefits of yoga, backed by research

https://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/fitness/a28508/yoga-health-benefits/

From honing flexible muscles to building mental fortitude, the benefits of yoga encompass both mind and body. The best bit? You don't have to practice for hours on end to achieve them. In fact, the benefits of yoga are so potent, even a simple 15-minute daily routine is enough to totally transform your health.

Derived from the Sanskrit word yuj, which means 'to join', yoga is a combination of mental, physical and spiritual practices that, when woven together, deliver a potent dose of wellbeing. Not convinced yet? Here are 21 evidence-based benefits of yoga that'll make your time on the mat worthwhile:

1. Improve flexibility and mobility

Improved flexibility is one of the most frequently touted benefits of yoga, and for good reason. By spending just a few minutes each day in poses like Warrior and Downward Facing Dog, you can expect to see a difference in your mobility pretty soon, regardless of whether you're pretty bendy or stiff as a board.

You don't have to be super flexible to start your practice – the beauty of yoga is that it can be adjusted and progressed across all ability levels. When male college athletes took part in biweekly yoga sessions for 10 weeks, they experienced 'significant gains' in flexibility and balance compared to a control group who didn't practice at all, US researchers found.

2. Build strength

Lifting heavy weights isn't the only way to build muscle – it's entirely possible to boost your strength with a daily yoga practice. In a study by The Chinese University of Hong Kong, men and women who participated in a 12-week Hatha yoga course demonstrated 'significant improvements in muscular strength compared to the control group.

3. Correct posture

Daily yoga helps improve your posture, making you walk taller and sit up straighter at your desk. In a study of 80 women published in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science, a program of intense, short-term yoga posture sessions contributed more to improving spine mobility – especially bending – than any other conventional exercise program.

4. Support heart health

It's one of the lesser-known benefits of yoga, but yoga is heart-healthy. Studies show that making time for the mat can reduce your cholesterol levels and even slow the progression of heart disease when combined with dietary changes and stress management. It also improves your circulation – people over 40 years who'd practiced yoga for five years had lower blood pressure and pulse rate than those who didn't, one study found.

5. Weight loss

If weight loss is your goal, you don't have to practice intense Hot Yoga every day to see results. After all, when it comes to shedding excess fat, exercise is just a small piece of the puzzle. In a study by the University of California, restorative yoga – practiced at a very slow pace with long holds and lots of deep breathing – helped overweight women lose belly fat.

A review published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine concluded that yoga can boost weight loss by several mechanisms, including burning calories, reducing stress levels, enhancing other forms of exercise, and helping you feel more connected to your body – which enhances awareness of satiety, preventing over-eating.

6. Cultivate self-awareness

Since yoga strengthens your mind-body connection, it helps you manage unpleasant emotions rather than reaching for external distractions to suppress those feelings. In a small study of 20 people who had lost weight through yoga by the National Institutes of Health Clinical Centre in the US, 90 per cent reported an increase in mindful eating, positive changes in food choices, and decreased emotional eating.

7. Increase your energy

From a spiritual perspective, daily yoga practice is said to awaken the main energy centers (called chakras) in your body. Great poses for extra energy are those that extend the spine, such as the tree pose, allowing energy to circulate throughout the whole body and poses that open the chest, like the cobra pose, encouraging the intake of more breath.

Scientific research suggests that yoga can, indeed, invigorate your mind. Practicing 25-minute sessions of Hatha yoga can improve your energy levels 'significantly', according to research by the University of Waterloo. This is thought to be due to the release of endorphins, increased blood flow to the brain, and reduced focus on ruminative thoughts.

8. Reduce stress

Yoga is a bona-fide stress buster, so there's good reason to squeeze in a lunchtime session. Research has shown that people who practice yoga regularly have low levels of cortisol, one of the key stress hormones. Not only does yoga improve internal bodily markers of stress, but it also improves your subjective wellbeing, which means you actually feel better, too. This is according to research published in Frontiers, which assessed participants on a three-month yoga and meditation retreat.

9. Sleep better

Another of the more everyday benefits of yoga involves a better night's kip. In a study by the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation, participants who practiced yoga fell asleep quicker, slept for longer and felt more well-rested compared to people who didn't. The next time you're struggling to drift off, try practicing relaxing postures such as forward fold (uttanasana), or lying on your back with your feet up the wall.

10. Breathe better

Yogic breathing techniques (called pranayama) focus on slowing down the breath and breathing from the pit of your stomach to the top of your lungs. As well as sending a message to your brain that soothes your sympathetic nervous system – responsible for the 'fight or flight' response we feel when stressed – these exercises have been shown to increase vital capacity, which refers to the total amount of air your lungs can exhale.

11. Reduces inflammation

While inflammation is a normal – and necessary – immune system response, the chronic kind is associated with serious health conditions like heart disease, diabetes and cancer. A regular practice improves chronic inflammation in the body by lowering the levels of pro-inflammatory markers like cytokines, a systematic review published in the Journal of Behavioural Medicine found. It also appears to enhance immunity, the researchers wrote.

12. Be happier

One of the most mind-blowing benefits of yoga? It can change your brain chemistry in under an hour. Just one session of yoga is enough to increase the amount of mood-boosting gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) – a calming neurotransmitter that decreases activity in your nervous system – by 27 percent, researchers from Boston University found.