Yoga: the Pros and Cons

What is Yoga?

The etymology of Yoga is “yuj”, an ancient Indian word which means yoking. In the practice today, it means union. The purpose of yoga is to unite the body, mind, and spirit.

This union is achieved by meditation, but the body has to be prepared as well for the strenuous stretching and poses you are required to execute during the sessions.

People enrol in yoga because of its health benefits. Want to find out what are these benefits? Read on.

Yoga is...

A very Powerful Workout

There is also a thing as hot yoga, where you will be performing yoga routines in a humid or hot conditions; hence, the name “hot” yoga. This will make you sweat excessively. However, even if it is just yoga (and not the hot one), it is still a great way to exercise and lose weight.

It also improves your stamina, flexibility, and strength. Also, it helps tone your muscles.

Yoga is a Workout that Relieves Stress and Anxieties

It has been proven that people with anxiety who do yoga are calmer and can keep their cool. It may require deep breathing and the execution of strenuous postures, but it is guaranteed that you feel a lot better after every session.

Yoga is Detox

And we all thought that detox is synonymous with juiced vegetables. Yoga has the ability to massage your internal organs and detoxify your body as well. It also helps you build immunity.

Yoga is Good for the Mind

Because yoga requires a lot of meditation, yoga can improve your inner strength, helps you focus, improve your memory, and increases blood flow through your brain.

Yoga Gets You Back to the Basics of Breathing

One of the emphasis of Yoga is breathing. Some of us forget how to (not “breathe”) but properly breathe. When we do not breathe properly, we do not sue the full capacity of the lungs. Yoga will teach you how to breathe from the stomach.

There are also “cons” of yoga. Here are the following:

It Needs Supervision

While yoga is a very helpful exercise with all its benefits, it can be harmful to the body if it is not performed well. You will need to enrol to a class, so that your routines and executions are supervised, which leads us to the next “con”...

Yoga can be a Little Expensive

A yoga class can be worth a little more than what you expect to pay for every month. But you can expect the best results. It will be nothing compared to constantly getting ill.

Starting Off Issues

Because yoga is getting popular, finding a studio can be easy, but finding the best studio to fit your specifications (in terms of teaching, atmosphere, etc) can be a little frustrating, especially if you are a little intimidated at first.

Which leads us to another point: is the atmosphere friendly? When we enrol in yoga, the other people in the same class are most probably adept in executing the routines because they may have been doing them for quite some time already- a good head start, but you shouldn’t feel that way. They also felt like how you’re feeling. They started off the same way as you did.

If you think about it, there are no really cons in yoga- if we plainly talk about health. The cons cannot possibly offset the benefits.

Are you ready? Pack your gym bags, and start looking for a yoga class that suits you.

*Photo Credit to the Owner