You wake up in the morning to aching muscles.
You almost always fall over when bending down to pick something up from the floor.
Your brain seems foggy and slow.
Maybe you’re a mom, or maybe you just need to move your body in a healthy way.
You’ve been told that practicing yoga can positively affect the brain, but how can yoga change your body?
Here you will learn what happens to your body when you start doing yoga and the positive body transformations you may experience.
• What Happens to Your Body When You Start Doing Yoga? • How Does Yoga Change Your Body? Here are 11 Different Transformations You May See • How Long Does It Take to See Changes Within the Body From Yoga? • Experience Yoga for Yourself With Body & Brain Yoga Tai Chi
• Better posture • Muscle toning; or • Improved mobility
• Decreased stress levels • More energy; or • Better cognition and focus.
Body & Brain Yoga Tai Chi exists exactly for these reasons. We know physical exercise can positively influence both your body and your brain, which is why we promote practical techniques to help you live a yoga lifestyle.
You’ve decided to try yoga and are hoping to notice some changes — both mentally and physically. But what does yoga do to your body immediately after a session?
• You feel more relaxed, both mentally and physically. • You’re refreshed and ready to take on the rest of your day. • You’re less tense. • Your joints feel loose and your muscles feel well-worked.
These are common immediate effects of a yoga class. But if you’re consistent with your practice, you’ll likely notice more positive changes over time.
Can you experience a body transformation through yoga?
If you practice consistently, you should start to notice some positive body changes. At Body & Brain Yoga Tai Chi, we recommend practicing yoga twice a week for an average of three months before you begin to notice significant body change.
• More lean muscle • Better mobility • Improved balance • Improved joint support • Increased energy levels
Are you contemplating beginning yoga? Are you intrigued by how yoga changes your body?
We know yoga is a great physical exercise, but exactly how does yoga change your body over time? There are a multitude of transformations you are likely to experience with a consistent yoga routine.
Poor posture is far more common than we might think. Many of us spend long hours sitting behind a desk, holding babies, or simply living a sedentary lifestyle.
• Slouching • Arching of the low back • Locked or bent knees; and • Forward head tilt
… can compress muscles around your spine, leaving it in unnatural positions. Not only is this uncomfortable, but it can lead to bigger problems.
Yoga is a fun and natural way to help lengthen your spine and can help bring your bones into proper alignment.
Studies have shown that regularly practicing yoga two to three times per week for three months can reduce stress. How does this work?
The levels of your stress hormones, adrenaline, and cortisol, are reduced through yoga, as well as c-reactive proteins in your blood that contribute to inflammation.
Conversely, yoga increases your “happiness hormones” — serotonin, oxytocin, and dopamine — as well as GABA-neurotransmitters that tell your brain and body to relax.
Yoga is a great physical exercise because it promotes strengthening your mind and body to help them move better. Think about it:
• Better joint mobility • Stronger muscles • Improved balance; and • Improved mobility
… the likelihood of your flexibility increasing is higher.
Having good balance is more important than you might think. Not only does having good balance help to maintain the body’s correct position, but it also helps you to:
• Walk without staggering your steps • Stand up without falling • Climb stairs without tripping; and • Bend over without falling
If you’re struggling with any of these issues, practicing yoga to help strengthen your core is a great way to help.
When practiced correctly, yoga can help to reduce pain. How?
One Doctor of Philosophy has discovered through research there are simple ways to help people with both chronic and acute pain beyond pharmaceuticals. Instead, with mind-body practices — yoga and meditation — pain perception may be reduced because an increase in gray matter can help your brain regulate its response to pain.
Yoga can sometimes be more difficult than many people tend to think.
• Balance • Mobility • Core strength; and • Flexibility
… takes both mental and physical work.
• Building strength • Toning; and • Building lean muscle.
1. Yoga helps to improve your range of motion, which is helpful for you to complete simple daily tasks. 2. Weak joints could be due to weakness in the muscles surrounding them, so yoga helps to strengthen muscles that support your joints. 3. When joint cartilage is immobilized, it can become unhealthy and weak. Yoga can help to keep cartilage moving, healthy, and strong.
An important part of yoga is teaching you how to think about breathing. More often than you probably think, you’re holding your breath or not taking quality breaths. How is breathing associated with energy? We aren’t living if we aren’t breathing, so quality breath allows our bodies to work properly.
Even more, yoga can help to improve your sleep, which can result in increased energy. Because yoga regulates your hormones and changes your neuroplasticity, you’ll have better sleep and focus as a result.
Practicing yoga has both short-term and long-term effects on your brain.
• Smarter • Stronger; and • Faster
… resulting in better decision-making, test scores, and memory.
Similar to balance and flexibility, consistently practicing yoga can improve your mobility.
• Getting off the couch • Getting in and out of your bed or car • Walking; or • Bending over
Having high blood pressure can be a result of many different factors, some that yoga simply cannot address.
• Stress • Diet • Lifestyle; or • Weight
… a consistent practice of yoga may be helpful for you.
Consider this study:
A review of yoga and cardiovascular disease that studied participants ranging from young and healthy to older people with health conditions found that overall, participants who took yoga classes three times a week for six months saw improvements, including:
• Losing an average of 5 pounds • Dropping an average of 5 points from their blood pressure; and • Lowering their levels of harmful LDL cholesterol by 12 points
• Your age • Your health and ability to move • How often you practice
Body & Brain Yoga Tai Chi instructors recommend practicing yoga twice a week to begin seeing results in as little as four-12 weeks.
Are you interested in getting started? Check out our yoga classes and locations today.
To some, yoga might not seem like a challenging way to move your body.
• How does yoga change your body? • What happens to your body when you start doing yoga? • Is there a mental benefit to practicing yoga?
Yoga may lead you to a greater body transformation than you could’ve ever imagined.
• Practicing balance • Working on core strength • Focusing on breathing; and • So much more
… you’ll quickly notice both a positive physical and mental change.
Body & Brain Yoga Tai Chi knows the importance of physical exercise and is confident that with consistent practice, you’ll experience these changes. That is why we allow practitioners to practice both in-person in over 100 locations or online. If you’re interested in starting, contact us today.