The benefits of yoga

By Erin Warnett

Yoga is an ancient practice that has been around for more than 5000 years: a practice of mind and body combining breathing techniques, stretching, meditation and relaxation. The combination of movement, meditation and breathing techniques aims to promote mental and physical well-being.

There are a number of physical and mental benefits to practising yoga, some of which can even compliment weight training and will enhance your performance and results in the gym.

Some of the physical benefits of yoga include:

• improved flexibility
• improved muscle strength
• improved energy levels
• weight loss
• improved cardiovascular fitness
• prevention of injury
• improved chronic pain symptoms like arthritis or back pain
• lower blood pressure

Yoga is also a great tool to help manage stress through its use of both meditation and breathing techniques. As stress can be a leading cause of certain physical issues including neck and back pain, headaches, lack of concentration and even sleeping problems, keeping it well managed is really important for both our physical and mental wellbeing. In addition, these practices help achieve calmness and mental clarity, create awareness within our bodies and give us sharper concentration.

At Halo we hold a yoga class every Sunday morning at 9am before the gym opens, taught by our wonderful yoga instructor Margarita Anderson. If this sounds like something you could benefit from, why not come along and give it a try! Or click here to learn more about the class Margarita teaches.