Famous for her Bond girl role in the 1977 blockbuster The Spy Who Loved Me in which she starred opposite silver screen veteran Roger Moore, Sue Vanner is an advocate for healthy living. Having beaten cancer she maintains a healthy lifestyle, avoiding sugars and alcohol, adhering to an alkaline diet and regularly practicing yoga. This article will explore a selection of important health benefits of yoga in terms of both mental and physical wellbeing.
Helps to Relieve Stress
According to various studies, many adults around the world are experiencing prolonged stress. Against this backdrop, yoga presents an excellent opportunity for alleviating stress.
In addition to the physical health benefits of taking part in regular exercise, auditory rituals and breath work have been shown to have a positive effect in terms of improving mental health by reducing stress levels.
Increases Strength
Yoga incorporates a multitude of different stretching exercises. Depending on the particular class level and approach of the yoga teacher, it can be a great way of building physical strength.
Studies involving armed forces personnel have revealed that yoga can help to build stamina and strength among participants from many age groups.
Improves Flexibility
In 2016, Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance joined forces, the two leading yoga organisations collaborating on an international study. Amidst a period of soaring popularity of yoga, the organisations conducted a global review of statistics to try and quantify the value of yoga. The review revealed that the most commonly cited reason for participating in yoga was to ‘increase flexibility’.
Improves Mental Health
Across the world today, depression is a leading mental health disorder. Incorporating both movement-based practices and breathing exercises, yoga is believed to substantially relieve the symptoms of depression.
Alleviates Inflammation
Experts suggest that inflammation is a common precursor to whole host of chronic diseases, including arthritis, Crohn’s disease, diabetes and heart disease. Numerous studies suggest that yoga can reduce the biochemical markers associated with inflammation.
Enhances Quality of life
Learning opportunities, relationships, creativity, material comforts and health all impact quality of life. For some time now, researchers have regarded quality of life as an indicator of a person’s likelihood of improvement following treatment for a chronic illness or injury, as well as being an important indicator of a person’s likely lifespan. According to a review carried out in 2019, for individuals affected by chronic pain, yoga shows potential to substantially improve quality of life.
