Whether it’s sitting in the office hunched over a computer, driving a car or watching TV, our posture pays the price for our modern-day lives. Greater muscle strength also helps to improve our balance and mobility. As you get stronger, you may notice that you struggle less with aches and pains – many people report having less back pain with a stronger core.

For example, standing and balancing postures build leg strength, while seated postures can build a stronger core. Holding poses requires stamina and, over time, you’ll notice a huge improvement in muscle strength. A study from researchers at Columbia University found that those with osteoporosis and osteopenia who practised yoga every day significantly improved the bone quality in their spine and femur bones, with improvements also seen in the hips. Thankfully, weight-bearing exercises like yoga can help. The NHS says we can lose up to 20 percent of our bone density during this time due to falling oestrogen. Osteoporosis becomes increasingly prevalent in women following the menopause. Builds bone densityīone density is something to be mindful of, especially as we grow older. Researchers from the University of California found that older adults who struggled with sleep disturbances could improve their sleep quality and reduce feelings of fatigue and depression through regularly practising mindful meditation. Meditation is often involved in yoga, and is a popular way to find a relaxed state of mind it has also been found to improve sleep patterns. This helps to support the natural flow of the digestive system. For example, twist to the right first to stimulate the ascending colon, then twist to the left to massage the descending colon. It’s important to work with the natural flow of the body in these twists. There are a number of yoga poses to help with digestion twisting postures, in particular, help to massage the abdominal organs and stimulate the digestive system. Our relaxed state is often known as the ‘rest and digest’ response – when we feel calmer, we’re able to digest our food better. This not only means that we feel less agitated, but it also eases the physical symptoms of stress, including lowering our heart rate and decreasing our blood pressure. A number of studies have found that regular practice helps to decrease our stress response. The combination of physical movement, breathwork and restorative poses helps to calm our mind and soothe our daily stresses. Relaxation is one of the big benefits that’s often associated with yoga, and for good reason. Equally important are the physical benefits: the body’s natural functions and healing abilities are improved you have more energy, flexibility, strength and tone. With regular practice, happiness, self-esteem, confidence and clarity all become much greater. Your overall experience of life will be more peaceful, calm and rosy. Yoga can help you to deal with the emotional upswings and difficulties often experienced through the stresses of modern day living, such as fear, anger, depression, impatience and frustration. On a psychological level, the rewards include a heightened ability to deal with stress, better focus, more self-awareness and a calmer mind. The physical benefits to be gained from a regular practice include: improved balance and strength, lower blood pressure, better posture, stronger bones, more flexible joints and improved cardiovascular health. Ready to explore the many facets of yoga? Then read on… The benefits of yoga It improves our concentration, creativity and can even sharpen our memory. Yoga helps to teach us how we can live our healthiest and most fulfilling lives. In modern-day life, yoga is used for everything: from helping people to de-stress, to strengthening posture and improving sleep.

The idea behind it was that you can train both the body and the mind to reach a higher consciousness. In fact, yoga stems from the Vedas – a set of Indian holy texts written in around 1900 BC. You may think that yoga isn’t much more than contorting your body into different positions, but this practice is embroidered with a history that originates from ancient India.

Tantric yoga sequence