Photo:  Kaylee Garrett on Unsplash
Cover Photo: Kaylee Garrett on Unsplash

All your efforts are not in vain. Here are a few science-backed benefits of doing yoga!

Around the world, it is estimated that at least 300 million people practice yoga on a daily basis. This 5,000-year-old activity is used by many as a healing technique that easily absorbs stress, anxiety, and enhances physical strength and flexibility. 

Today, we delve deeper into the science-backed benefits of doing yoga.

Related: 7 Yoga Outfits From Lululemon To Add To Your Workout Wardrobe

1. It Reduces Stress And Anxiety

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Photo: S Migaj on Unsplash
Above Photo: S Migaj on Unsplash

Over the years, yoga has proven to reduce stress and relieve some symptoms of anxiety. Typically, stress and anxiety are caused by the high levels of adrenaline and cortisol that elevate blood pressure. 

According to a study, people who practice yoga every day have low cortisol levels. A 2010 research has also shown that yoga improved mood and anxiety levels more than running or walking because bodies produce higher gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a brain chemical that blocks certain brain signals and decreases activity in your nervous system.

2. Manages Depression

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Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
Above Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Depression is a sensitive and broad topic that is often addressed through medication and talk therapy. However, a 2017 systematic review found that yoga is able to reduce depressive symptoms especially in people with depressive disorder, pregnant, and postpartum women.

The most common signs of clinical depression are loss of interest, a seemingly hopeless outlook in life, increased fatigue and sleeping problems, anxiety, and irritability. 

Read more: Mental Health Check: How To Move Past "Languishing" And Thrive Once Again

3. Relieves Lower Back Pain

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Photo: Carl Barcelo on Unsplash
Above Photo: Carl Barcelo on Unsplash

Lower back pain affects people ages 30 and up. This seemingly harmless symptom of ageing affects people's abilities to do simple tasks such as exercise and sleeping. Good thing yoga helps relieve back pains in just 12 weeks! One study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine showed that yoga, if regularly practised in 12 weeks, lessens the intensity of back pain among military veterans.

The Annals of Internal Medicine also found out that yoga is just as effective as physical therapy in relieving back pains.

See also: Fitness Tips 2021: 6 Easy Yoga Poses To Help Alleviate Back Pain

4. Prevents Heart Disease

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Photo: Online Marketing on Unsplash
Above Photo: Online Marketing on Unsplash

Yoga is more than just stretching. A review of yoga and cardiovascular disease published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology indicated that yoga can actually prevent heart diseases by regulating a person's body mass index (BMI), cholesterol, and blood pressure. 

More from Tatler: Quarantine Routine: 5 Basic Yoga Positions For Total Beginners

5. Builds Strength

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Katie Bush on Unsplash
Above Katie Bush on Unsplash

With regular yoga practice, people can lift their body weight and discover muscles they didn't know they had! One study from the Asian Journal of Sports Medicine showed that 79 adults who performed 24 cycles of sun salutations (a yoga sequence) experienced a significant increase in upper body strength and endurance.

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