General Benefits of Yoga

Yoga leads to a spontaneous lightness of  body and mind, a sense of natural energy, wholeness, vitality,  joy, peace – a wonderful sense of  wellbeing on all levels.   Yoga cultivates states of centredness,  balance, clarity and focus.

Physical Benefits:

– Improves flexibility

– Improves strength & stamina

– Improves posture

– Excess weight is reduced

– Movement becomes easy & graceful

– Cleanses & regulates body systems (including the skeletal, muscular, circulatory, nervous & digestive)

– Good for the heart

The yogi regards the physical body as an instrument for his journey towards perfection. –  Swami Vishnu-Devananda

Yoga and Sports Performance

Today, yoga is influencing all sorts of mainstream sports and exercise: professional soccer and rugby players, dancers and runners.  Many have learned the lessons of the longtime dangers of over-training , violent weight-training and unbalanced exercising and are adapting more and more to the wisdom of yoga.

A Few Benefits

– Yoga postures stretch, strengthen and lengthen the muscles

– Yoga postures release tension and reduce build up of lactic acid

– Postures also increase range of movement in joints and muscles

– Postures strengthen core muscles and assist in balance and stability

– Muscle fatigue is counteracted through proper breathing and relaxation

– Holding postures builds stamina needed in many sports