Benefits of a Consistent Yoga Practice
1. Physical Strength, Flexibility, & Mobility
Improved physical strength, flexibility, and mobility are the most recognizable benefits of a consistent yoga practice. Yoga enhances full-body functional strength and flexibility, making everyday movement easier. The sun salutation postural sequence, common in Vinyasa/Hatha yoga which The Dancing Fern offers, is a great example of full-body movement that builds strength and flexibility. We start in mountain pose (standing tall), move through a forward fold (hands to the ground while standing), into downward dog (hips in the air), and lower ourselves down to the ground (chattaranga) before coming into a backbend (upward facing dog). While adding weights or increasing the speed can provide additional benefits, body weight and guided movements are sufficient for these improvements.
2. Bodily Awareness
In addition to physical development, yoga enhances bodily awareness through mindfulness, breath control, and whole-body movement practice. This includes interoception (sensing internal sensations like heart rate and hunger) and proprioception (sensing body position and movement without visual cues). Developing these often-neglected senses is vital for understanding our bodily needs and moving through the world effectively.
3. Improved Immunity, Digestion, & Sleep
Yoga soothes our nervous system (see emotional regulation, below) and improves blood circulation, which supports immune health and better sleep. Enhanced blood flow also aids digestion and stimulates digestive muscles through various asanas (yoga postures). Certain yoga asanas, like the feet-on-the-ground low squat (Malasana), are especially effective for stimulating bowel movements.
4. Positive Habit Formation & Discipline Development
Maintaining a regular movement practice can be challenging, and I am no stranger to feeling resistance towards my yoga mat. Whatever the source of the resistance might be, setting aside even 5 minutes for movement each day can be transformative. Charles Duhigg's book The Power of Habit highlights the importance of consistency and frequency in habit formation. Rolling out a yoga mat can act as a cue for a habitual routine. Overcoming initial resistance and committing to daily practice builds self-trust and reinforces personal control, even amidst external challenges. I also find that I develop a sense of curiosity about the resistance I feel on a particular day, which transforms my pessimistic mindset into the mindset of a learner. (You can read more about the importance of habit formation in my other blog post, linked HERE!)
5. Emotional Regulation
Breath control (pranayama) is crucial in yoga for regulating the nervous system and managing stress. The sympathetic nervous system, responsible for the “fight or flight” response, can become chronically activated due to constant stimulation that is a feature of our world, regardless of our positionality. This chronic activation can lead to short-term physical symptoms (e.g., excessive sweating, rapid heartbeat) and emotional issues (e.g., anxiety, rage), though also lead to long-term health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Yoga practices can help regulate these responses. For example, restorative yoga can help us release tension after a busy day, and high-intensity yoga can help us boost our serotonin and energy levels to be able to face other challenges in our life. If we are holding a challenging inversion, our sympathetic nervous system might be firing off stress hormones, signaling danger to our body— by maintaining the pose, breathing steadily, and assuring ourselves we will be okay, we can effectively practice the emotional regulation techniques of meditative breathing and self-affirmation. This practice happens on the mat, though applies off the mat as well!
6. Spiritual Connection
Yoga’s historic roots lay within the Hindu tradition, however modern day yoga practices have been adopted worldwide and by people of all spiritual faiths and dispositions. Regardless of your religious beliefs, the calm mind and body that yoga develops is primed for reflection, gratitude, devotion, and love.
7. Joy!
A daily movement practice can infuse joy into your life. It breaks up the monotony of a busy schedule, revitalizes you after a long day, enhances creativity, and reinforces your sense of vitality and autonomy.
