Yoga is so much more than just a type of workout, the benefits of yoga encompass everything from building physical health to improving mental health.

Here are our top 5 reasons (if you never have) you should definitely give yoga a try:

Full Body Workout 

Building strength doesn’t always have to be the typical gym or weight training workout. Contrary to what you might think, yoga works all of your body. From planks to push ups, yoga can give you the perfect workout without needing any equipment! In fact, using your own body weight as resistance is a form of resistance training and can be a great (and free) way to build strength across your entire body.

Reduce Stress

Daily life can be stressful - especially with all those emails and social media notifications constantly pinging. Stress makes us tense physically and mentally. Our flight or fight response activates, we get adrenaline rushes and our body releases cortisol which increases our heart rate and sends the blood to the muscles. However, yoga helps us tune in with our rest and digest nervous system response. 

Improved Sleep 

Sleep has been shown to be improved from practising yoga - from how quickly people fall asleep to how deeply they stay asleep. This is partly due to the aftereffects of exercise and the mental calming and stress relief provided by yoga specifically 

Better Balance

As we age our centre of gravity can shift, this can make it harder to maintain balance. This is due to the liquid that lubricates your joints (synovial fluid) declining as we get older. Add into the mix that our ligaments also tend to lose moisture and elasticity and we have an issue of rigidity and stiffness on our hands.

Exercise stimulates the production of synovial fluid, which is why it's so important to stay moving as we get older. Experts suggest working against resistance to build strength and improve balance simultaneously, something yoga is brilliant for.

Cultivate Mindfulness

Yoga and mindfulness work hand in hand because the aim of both is to achieve a high level of connection between your mind, body and spirit.

Yoga teaches you to tune into your body, and to 'be' in that particular moment which we can agree is a struggle in everyday life as we are so busy focusing on what's next. Yoga teaches you to practise being deliberately aware from moment to moment of your conscious experience.