Yoga and meditation bring physical, psychological, and spiritual benefits. Thanks to growing awareness, millions are integrating both into their fitness and wellness practice. But there are still a lot of people who aren’t mindful of the benefits that yoga and meditation promise. 

In this blog, Ekattva Yogshala will share the physical, psychological, physiological, and social benefits of practicing yoga and meditation on a regular basis. Let’s just cut the small talk and put the spotlight on those health benefits. 

Physical benefits of yoga and meditation

Check out these surprising physical benefits of practicing yoga and meditation: 

#1 Treats back pain

Men and women suffering from backache should 100% give yoga and meditation a go. Studies have found that yoga and mindfulness exercises give emphasis to stretching, strength, and flexibility to relieve back soreness. If practiced regularly, it might even reduce the need for pain medication. 

Yoga strengthens back and abdominal muscles. Both are important for keeping a good body posture. It also stimulates blood flow throughout the body, which in turn, nourishes lumbar muscles and improves softback tissues.  

#2 Increases flexibility 

While yoga helps men and women increase their body’s range of motion, meditation ensures that yoga postures are done safely. It allows your nervous system to alleviate the muscle into mellow, effective stretches. 

Releasing tension in your muscles helps them to relax and let go, which in turn, lets your body open up more. Yoga and meditation also promote ROM and joint health that will help in averting repetitive-use damage and physical injuries. 

#3 Improves heart health 

One of the biggest physical benefits of yoga and meditation. When it comes to heart health, men and women need to be cautious and maintain a healthy lifestyle. This especially becomes urgent when new virus variants pop up after every 3 months. 

Yoga and meditation reduce the risk of heart disease, thanks to its cardiovascular advantages that eliminate heart inflammation as well as arterial plaque. Meditation helps in lowering heart rate and improving blood circulation. It also reduces stress hormones, controls BP, and promotes finer blood flow. 

#4 Builds strength 

Many people overlook the strength aspect of yoga and are ignorant of the fact that yoga is a strength-based practice. It uses your own body weight to make you stronger and enhances your muscle tone. 

Now some of you might think, “can’t we just hit gyms to build strength?” Well, yes but weight training isolates movements; yoga is a whole-body workout. It builds strength that you can use in everyday activities. It is also fantastic for building core strength. 

Yoga can help improve your athletic performance if the gym and fitness centers are closed!

Online meditation classes in India to learn the basics 

Psychological benefits of yoga and meditation 

If you have been reading about yoga and meditation for a long time, you might have noticed that not enough is mentioned about their mental, psychological, and cerebral benefits. We don’t blame anyone as psychological benefits have never been hullabaloo in the yoga world. Don’t worry, we will tell you about those advantages today! 

Here are some psychological benefits of practicing yoga and meditation: 

#1 Boosts your mood 

Yoga and meditation can help you cheer up your mood. These ancient practices have been associated with emotional health boosts in vedic texts. They not only improve cognitive-behavioral performance but also help you tackle mood swings, menopause, schizophrenia, insomnia, depression, and anxiety. 

If performed in groups, yoga and meditation could also stimulate the production of oxytocin – a love hormone and produce higher serotonin levels – a happy hormone. On the whole, these hormones carry the potential of dramatically improving someone’s mood.

#2 Combats migraine 

The never-ending rivalry relationship between brain and migraine is for real. For those who aren’t aware of it, migraine is a neurological disorder that causes recurring headaches ranging from moderate to high intensity. When under a migraine attack, one may become extremely sensitive towards light or noise.

Practicing yoga and meditation is beneficial to fight off the migraine. They promote holistic living through an intermixture of postures and breathing techniques. They make you address your body movement and breath which aid in minimizing excess noise in your mind. Yoga and meditation let you achieve clarity over what is really troubling you. 

#3 Teaches mindfulness principles

A less known psychological benefit of yoga and meditation. As humans, we worry about almost everything. From monthly rent to office assignments, our worries have no end . 

Yoga and meditation brief us on how to be in the present and focus at this juncture. They teach us about mindfulness principles and make us ask what things we can possess and make use of right here, right now?  

Become a yoga teacher with yoga teacher training in Rishikesh

Social benefits of yoga and meditation

By now, most of you have probably got a clear understanding of the physical and psychological benefits of doing yoga and meditation. It’s time to discuss the social benefits! The social benefits of yoga and meditation are as plentiful as the physical and psychological advantages. 

Here are some of the social benefits of yoga and meditation: 

#1 Support and admiration 

While yoga and meditation are all about looking internally and keeping yourself fit externally with the best knowledge and gaze, you might still notice others doing breathwork and asanas. When you acknowledge an individual’s strength, flexibility, or focus with admiration, you will notice your own flaws that you need to change or improve. 

Being able to learn or – more importantly – being open to learning is a remarkable quality of highly successful people. Yoga and meditation will not only make you open-minded and attentive but also help you find supportive friends who admire you without getting jealous.  

#2 Alleviate social anxiety 

Social anxiety is a fast-growing phenomenon that is believed to one-sidedly affect men and women these days. No, we are not exaggerating! A report by the World Health Organization states that 264 million adults around the globe have anxiety. Of these people, 63% are females and 37% are males. 

A recent study has revealed that regularly enjoying yoga and meditation classes can actually help men and women alleviate social anxiety and make their perception of viewing society a lot more positive. 

Final words on yoga and meditation 

There you go! 

We told you about the physical, psychological, and social benefits of performing yoga and meditation regularly. With the growing body of research supporting yoga and meditation health benefits, doctors and psychologists are recommending these ancient practices to more and more people. 

Yoga and meditation can be a nice compliment to physical therapy and a powerful medium to use outside the 8-hour sitting job to deal with stress and anxiety and heal emotional injuries. Join relaxing online yoga meditation and breathwork classes with Ekattva Yogshala if you struggle to do them all by yourself. 

Got any queries to ask? Send them to info@spiritualpunditz.com and have them answered by our yoga experts. 

Also read: 

Reasons to do yoga to fight corona and more

4 core and back yoga poses to get stronger 

Ultimate guide to becoming a registered yoga teacher in 2021