The Benefits of Yoga

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Behavioral

  • Reduced weight
  • Reduced Nervousness
  • Reduced Health complaints
  • Increased clinical assessment of psychiatric patients
  • Reduced psychological complaints

Physical

  • Increased Hand steadiness
  • Reduced reactivity to stressors Increased memory
  • Increased flexibility
  • Increased relaxation
  • Reduced muscular electrical activity (EMG)
  • Increased muscle tone
  • Increased fitness

Mental

  • Increased Concentration
  • Increased memory
  • Increased intelligence quotient
  • Reduced mental fatigability
  • Increased performance quotient
  • increased shift in sequence of ideas

Physiological

  • Increased Concentration Increased EEG Alpha
  • Increased respiratory efficiency and competence
  • Reduced oxygen consumption
  • Reduced respiratory rate
  • Increased lung capacity
  • increased breathe holding time
  • Increased tidal volume
  • Increased cardiovascular efficiency
  • reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure
  • Reduced heart rate
  • Increased blood flow
  • increased immune system

Personality

  • Reduced Anxiety
  • Reduced depression
  • Increased conflict resolution
  • Increased openness to experience
  • Reduced defensiveness
  • Reduced guilt
  • Reduced tension and instability
  • Reduced hostility
  • Reduced submissiveness
  • Reduced self-criticism
  • Increased assertiveness
  • Increased body image
  • increased self-esteem

 

Students who did yoga 4 times a week which included 10 mins of breathing exercises, 15mins of warm ups and 50 mins of posture work.

After just 8 weeks of yoga:-

  • muscular strength had increased by 31%
  • Stamina was up by 57%
  • flexibility had increased by 188% !!
  • Breathing capacities were also up by 7% which is very high for only 8 weeks of yoga.

 

Source: University of California Venice 2002

Ref Structural Yoga therapy by Mukunda Stiles