I often talk about the importance of aerobic exercise and strength training exercises, but I’m also an enthusiastic advocate for movement-based exercises with a meditative element, like yoga or tai chi, for example. Yoga is a fantastic activity with lots of variants (and they’re pretty easy to find if you live in or near an urban area), so everyone should be able to find one that appeals to them.

Yoga offers plenty of amazing physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health benefits. And one of the greatest things about it is that pretty much anybody can do it and evolve at their own pace.

Take a look at this list and you’ll quickly see why I eagerly encourage everyone to take up yoga.

Reasons to Practice Yoga

If you’re looking for a good reason to sign up for some yoga classes, here are 25. And it isn’t even all of them. Yoga:

1. Increases flexibility and range of motion
2. Builds strength
3. Enhances balance
4. Improves your posture and spinal stability
5. Boosts circulation and heart health
6. Helps you breathe better
7. Promotes efficient metabolism and digestive health
8. Contributes to stable blood sugar levels
9. Contributes to healthy cholesterol levels
10. Lowers your blood pressure
11. Reduces stress, anxiety, and many associated symptoms
12. Relieves physical and emotional tension and their symptoms
13. Lessens chronic headaches, muscle aches, and other chronic pain
14. Energizes you
15. Promotes bone, joint, and connective tissue health
16. Protects you against injuries
17. Strengthens your immune system
18. Lowers your risk for numerous chronic conditions
19. Improves your mood and helps treat depression
20. Helps you focus and perform better—physically and mentally
21. Facilitates more restful, restorative sleep
22. Boosts self-esteem
23. Increases your optimism
24. Encourages greater self-awareness and self-care
25. Brings you more clarity and peace of mind

Interested in Yoga?

As mentioned above, there are numerous different types of yoga. Some of the more popular include hatha yoga (a combination of movement and breathing exercises), vinyasa (based on smooth movements and poses that flow into each other), ashtanga (flowing poses and movements combined with breathing exercises), power yoga (an intense variant more focused on building strength), bikram or hot yoga (performing challenging poses in a hot room), and iyengar yoga (poses and movements using props like chairs, straps, and blocks).

A good yoga studio or trainer can give you reliable advice about which type of yoga might be the best place to start based on your goals. Whichever you decide to try out, you shouldn’t have trouble finding beginner-level instruction. As with any exercise, take it easy when at first and gradually build up.

Enjoy the awesome health benefits! It won’t take long at all to start experiencing them!