6 Reasons You Should Start Yoga

1) You don’t have to be flexible

If I had a pound for every time someone had told me that they were afraid to start yoga because they’re not flexible, I would have accumulated a small fortune. You do not, I repeat, do not, have to be flexible to start yoga. Similarly, you don’t have to be thin, fit, tall, short, wide, slim, blonde, brunette, beginner, advanced; yoga is for everyone.

All that matters is that you come to class with a sense of excitement for what you are about to experience. You don’t need a fancy mat, a water bottle with your name embossed in italic gold, or a two piece from gym shark’s newest collection. As long as you bring yourself; the rest will be history.

2) Ultimate mood booster

Many of us rely heavily on caffeine to wake us up in the morning, bleary eyed, having snoozed our alarm seven times, dreading the day ahead. If you want to reduce the amount of coffee your drinking, and need a quick boost any time of day, whether its first thing in the morning or before an important meeting – a quick yoga flow can give you the same rush of energy that you get from your daily cuppa.

The main reason for this energy surge is that yoga encourages us to link prana (breath) to movement, in doing so we are literally breathing life force back into the tired areas of our body. Flows that include back bends and heart opening asanas work best for this as backbends stimulate the sympathetic nervous system by opening the chest, compressing the adrenals, and increasing blood flow, leaving you energised and uplifted. This feeling of vitality also comes from the fact that backbends help us to awaken all of the chakras, predominantly the heart chakra, allowing us to clear energetic blockages and become more in touch with our emotions.

3) Open your mind to meditation

Physical practice (asana) is just one of the eight limbs of yoga. The ultimate goal of yoga is to achieve a sensation of liberation after embarking on a journey of self-exploration. Patanjali explains in the yoga sutra’s, that to do this we must follow the eight limbs of yoga: one of these being dhyana (meditation). Although the concept of sitting alone with your thoughts can seem daunting at first, it will, unquestionably, change your life forever.

4) Stress/anxiety relief

One of the many reasons that people come to yoga is because they are searching for something which will alleviate their stress and/or anxiety. One day I will write a whole blog post on this subject because I feel its so important, but, for now, the main reason why yoga is so beneficial for people suffering with stress and anxiety is the attention that it brings back to the breath. Having to focus on linking movement with breath, takes the focus away from

any negative stimuli and quietens the mind.

Without going into a full-on science lesson, when we are stressed out, our sympathetic nervous system becomes activated; we know this as the fight or flight response. When this happens, adrenaline is released into our bodies causing our heart rate, breath and blood pressure to increase simultaneously. In essence, this is the body ready to survive what it thinks could be a life-threatening situation. In the current global circumstances, people are facing more stress related issues than ever; jobs, relationships, mortality, mental health, meaning that stress hormones in our bodies are at an all-time, constant high.

Yoga stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system which causes the heart rate and blood pressure to fall and the breath to return to normal. I think we can all agree that everyone needs a sense of tranquillity bought back into their lives at the moment.

5) Helps relieve chronic pain

Following on from the above, much of the chronic pain that we experience is linked to stress and anxiety. Research has shown that chronic pain alters brain structure, and that mind body practices such as yoga can prevent us from suffering. The main benefit here is that yoga is a non -pharmacological option which can work long term to combat chronic pain by finding its root cause, as opposed to addictive pharmacological substitutes which temporarily reduce pain, failing to get to the bottom of the problem.

Something that made me fall in love with yoga was discovering that we store trauma and emotions in our bodies, predominantly the hips. This trapped energy often shows up as ongoing pain, and utilising yoga to lean into this pain and release it, not only allows us to let go of this blocked energy, but it also heals the pain that we have been carrying around for years.

6) You will never regret a yoga class

The biggest struggle in life is often just showing up; whether that’s to a yoga class, PT session, uni lecture, 9am starts in the office, therapy sessions, a date or plans with friends – sometimes getting there is the hardest part. So, take a minute to be proud of yourself for the last time you managed to show up for something.

I can, hand on heart, promise you that once you make the effort to show up to a yoga class, no matter how hard it seems, you will continue to show up. You will become addicted to the euphoric feeling of lightness once you have given yourself time to move and breathe. Try it, if it’s not for you then you can walk away, but it will honestly be the best decision you’ve ever made.