15 Reasons to Try Yoga

Whether you need to be convinced or reminded, my 15 Reasons To Try Yoga should offer you just that. Many little birdies have likely told you how great yoga is for you. Yoga has exploded in popularity, and one has to wonder why. Well, perhaps this will help you understand.

Alas, I have gathered, all in one place, the reasons I believe yoga is worth — at the very least — approximately 15 tries.

Let’s dive right in.

1. Yoga helps us connect our mind and body.

The average person is shockingly disconnected from their body. This can look like an inability to read what your body is telling you it needs, creating stress, all without realizing it.

If you are disconnected with what your body needs - food, drink, rest, a long hard cry, quality breaths, sunlight, a deep stretch - and you ignore it for long, you can imagine how the accumulation of that stress will effect your mind, body, and spirit. I’d go as far as to say — ignoring your body’s signaling can become a form of self-abuse.

Yoga helps us connect our body and breath (while still, and while in motion) and wakes up our mental awareness, i.e. mindfulness. In yoga, we learn how to feel the movement of our very bones, how to mindfully release and fire up our muscles, how to notice our breathing and thinking patterns, and then, how to receive and be grateful for all that God is - His Love, Grace, Truth, Healing, Hope, Peace, and so much more - over our whole selves, including our limited, broken and aging, yet beautiful and miraculous bodies.

Mind-body connection is basically a healthy relationship between your mind and body. It allows you to be aware of what your body is communicating to you. To find healing, understanding what our body is telling us is a necessity.

2. Yoga lowers stress levels.

Since chronic stress and adrenal fatigue have taken our modern-day world by storm, this reason is high up on the list.

Somehow, we have come to believe the lie that we can do everything, be everyone and everywhere, all of the time. We strive, and then strive some more. We are addicted to busy, and we resist rest and stillness until we wake up with some autoimmune disorder or endocrine imbalance, wondering how we got there at all. The impact of stress on not only the body, but the human spirit and mind is heavy.

Yoga makes sweet space for stillness, presence and re-centering. It creates balance in the body, slowing down the heart rate, breath and mind, giving the body a fighting chance to de-stress in this crazy world.

Remember that not all yoga classes are cut from the same cloth. Some styles of yoga are meant to be super intense and sweaty, while others keep you far from breaking a sweat and might even call for you to bundle up.

Whichever flow you go for, the yoga class best fit for you should always lower your stress levels.

3. Yoga helps us build strength.

Ever talk to those people who tried yoga for their first time last week, all sore and wide-eyed in surprise because they thought yoga was just some stretching and funny looking postures? I certainly have.

Physically, yoga is not a walk in the park, dear friends! (Although, it can be, if that is what you want to make of it.) Generally, yoga requires some serious strength! Maintaining an isometric hold (a static muscle contraction) and balancing on all or one of your limbs is guaranteed to produce some shaking. (“Embrace the shake!”, I often say to students. “It is a sign that you are building strength!”)

Yoga is, in part, a form of calisthenics. Standing and balance poses build real strength with bodyweight alone. Since yoga is a constant pursuit of a sweet, harmonious balance — rooting down to rise up — this deep strength develops with an artful lightness. It is as though, the stronger we get, the gentler we become.

So, the next time Big Ripped Phil over at your local LA Fitness tells you “yoga is for girls”, perhaps you lead him right here to this blog post for a solid slice of figurative humble pie. Or maybe even make a friend out of Big Ripped Phil and drag him into a yoga class yourself. :)

4. Yoga develops our balance.

If you have absolutely no familiarity with yoga, I will level with you and let you in on the gist of it. Physically, yoga consists of a lot of holding and breathing through postures where your limbs are probably somehow tucked, bound, or scattered here and there, in some form or another.

Okay, good. Now that you are looped in, it should be obvious that our bodies’ ability to balance would be put to the test and developed in yoga. Yoga implores us to work with our body weight, navigating its place in space accordingly, lest we fall. Talk about a practice that builds trust!

Yoga, fully embodied, is known to create seriously strong cores, leading to impressive postural expressions. These are often balancing acts, and the most popular among them are the inversions. The standing poses of yoga, with one or both feet planted, lay the foundational groundwork for the more advanced balancing postures.

Those with strong balance lessen their risk of injuries, most commonly due to falls, a benefit that is of particular value to the older population. A strong sense of balance in the body is invaluable to our ability to perform regular daily living activities more effectively, and it even makes other recreational activities more enjoyable.

5. Yoga increases our flexibility.

Of course, flexility is a pinnacle benefit of yoga. It is one of the primary reasons so many people jump in on the practice! Although people know, on some level, that stretching is important, they will still often skip it altogether. This, of course, is a mistake.

The lack of flexibility is the root of many problems, which could all be evaded with a little bit of yoga. When muscles remain tight, their ability to fully activate and move through a full range of motion (ROM) lessens. Tight, inflexible muscles make it easy to unintentionally develop faulty biomechanics that lead to a host of other problems.

Flexibility releases muscle tightness, allowing for healthy biomechanics and fuller ROM. This is great for healthy movement across all activities, whether it is activities of daily living, weight training, or the fun volleyball nights you look forward to each week.

More than this, it is worth noting that relieving our muscles and joints from strain and tension, creating more openness in the body, feels amazing!

It both relaxes and strengthens us — a beautifully healing phenomenon! Is it any wonder that people flock to yoga?

*Flexibility takes time, consistency, and proper execution.

6. Yoga can relieve [chronic] pain.

Countless people tragically walk around living with pain in their body for years on end, not knowing anything different. Pain puts stress on our body’s systems, shortening our breath and overall quality of life — ripple effects atop ripple effects.

Once you experience relief from chronic pain, there is no going back. Suddenly, you find you are sleeping deeper, realizing you had forgotten what that felt like. You can now breathe deeply, relax sweetly, and take in the world around you — all the sights, sounds, smells. You can now be present.

As a teenager, piercing low back pain would keep me up at night. After I started practicing yoga, it went away completely. If ever it creeps back up because life gets too busy for yoga, I know exactly which poses offer me relief.

In adulthood, my shoulders took the brunt of all my adulting stress and tension. I was not aware of the tension that was building until the pain suddenly grew unbearable. It was in yoga that I was able to pinpoint the problem and figure out how to work, stretch, and open up my shoulder girdle, ultimately relieving the pain in my shoulders.

Find a good yoga teacher who understands anatomy, proper form and correct alignment to guide you in your practice, and chances are you will escape and prevent unnecessary pain in your life. Talk about sweet relief.

*There are many reasons for pain, as well as types, and yoga is not the perfect answer to every single instance of pain. Remember, always consult with your doctor before starting any new exercise program.

7. Yoga promotes proper posture.

Do you stand up straight? Be honest - do you? How about sitting up properly? What does sitting properly even mean?

Standing and sitting up properly is hard work! But not a worry is to be had because yoga helps with posture in a mighty way. Yoga movement and postures develop both flexibility and strength in the entire core musculature, lending to the structure needed to stand and sit up properly.

Without this, trying for proper posture after years of slouching can feel painful and not worth it. I am here to tell you that the fight for good posture is worth it!

Among many negative impacts on the body due to poor posture is the effect on our digestive and respiratory systems. The compression of our organs under the weight of slouching means these essential systems are unable to function optimally. People can also experience headaches and difficulty with concentrating due to a lesser amount of oxygen reaching the brain. The longer this goes on, the worse it gets.

Clearly, proper posture is totally worth the energy. Not only is it good for overall health, but you look amazing with the boost of confidence that comes from a tall spine and an open heart. See you in class!

8. Yoga champions the breath of life.

You can eat all the kale, do all the fitness, drink all the water, and practice all the yoga, but if you’re not breathing quality breaths, you are robbing yourself of one of the most basic necessities for a healthy way of life. Breathing is paramount. It is the most simple and transformative form of detoxing - oxygen in, carbon dioxide out.

And yet, somehow, its importance seems to be lost on the vast majority of us.

The beauty of yoga is that the breath is a pillar of the practice! Yoga wouldn’t be yoga without the breath. In Sanskrit, breath is translated to pranayama which means “life force”, a translation I find to be quite fitting.

We enter this world with an inhale and exit with an exhale. God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life, and here we all are now: living beings. I like to consider breath in likeness to the spirit, to God’s Holy Spirit living in us. The breath of life moving in and out of our lungs right now means that each of us are here on purpose, for a purpose. We must never let ourselves believe any different.

Each breath is a pure gift from God. May we receive each one in its fullness.

9. Yoga gives the gift of better sleep.

Sleep is similar to the breath in that, it is fundamental to our health. Each of us desperately needs quality sleep; it is during our sleep that our bodies most deeply and effectively heal and regulate. The last thing we want to do is push ourselves to do an intense workout/flow while we are sleep-deprived.

Sleep is essential.

Yoga helps us sleep better by gifting us with enhanced blood flow, deeper breaths, relaxed minds, released stress and tension, healthy alignment, absence of pain, and balance in the body’s systems.

Many things outside our time on the mat can keep us from good sleep: busy schedules, children, environment, a physical ailment, stress, worry, screen time, feeling upset, and the list goes on.

The prioritization of good sleep is ultimately a matter of lifestyle, the type of lifestyle that happens to also be a natural outpouring of the yogi way.

Developing a lifestyle that includes lots of natural light during the day and a solid bedtime routine at night is helpful to overcoming these hurdles. For me, a bedtime routine looks like a few calming yoga postures, winding down energy from within and without, lowering synthetic lights, and letting silence fill the home, all lending to a space of calm, thoughtfulness and prayer.

As needed and as time allows, things like calming herbal teas, essential oils, and journaling are always lovely additions to a peaceful night-time routine.

If I can leave you with just one bedtime routine must, it is this: Praying to God before drifting off to dream land is the greatest way to close out each day.

10. Yoga cross-trains the body.

From a personal training standpoint, the only way to achieve peak general functional fitness is by cross training. Cross training includes four components — strength and power, cardio, flexibility, and sport activity — and together, they allow us to perform well in activities across the board.

Translated, according to Simona: Life is a whole lot more fun when you cross train.

Flexibility is interestingly the component that is least developed and taught in a personal training certification program. As we know, many who work out do not set aside the time to stretch, nor do they really understand how to do it exactly.

While yoga does increase our flexibility, it also does far more than that. “Yoga” is not synonymous with “stretching”. What we get out of yoga depends on the style of yoga in relation to our individual fitness level. It is true that yoga often gets our heart rate going (cardio) and builds our strength through isometric holds.

An isometric hold is a biomechanical term for a static contraction or tension developed without movement. Although this type of contraction will not help anyone become good at sports activity, it will certainly help to develop extreme strength.

Fun Fact: Isometric holds are the only muscle contractions that actually measure the true muscle force in the body.

11. Yoga helps balance & regulate our bodily systems.

(muscular, skeletal, cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous, digestive, immune, endocrine)

It is a sweet symphony! The lie that living healthy only concerns the number on the scale or the appearance of muscle tone is a tragic one that robs from the fullness of healthy living. While weight and muscle mass are not be ignored, we must also reach beyond the superficial for whole health.

Our organs need nourishment and care. Toxins are accumulatively heavy on them. The functions of our bodies need to be catered to through non-toxic (organic, non-gmo, free range, etc.) whole foods, water, breath, sunlight, sleep, exercise, and fresh air.

Yoga is special in that — with all the twists and breathing, with the release of toxins and systemic stimulation, with the regulation of nerves and hormones — it has this beautiful way of balancing the way everything works together for your good. Your body is a walking miracle, my friend! And yoga is a gift from God.

12. Yoga calms and refreshes the mind.

Mindfulness, according to the Oxford Lexico dictionary, is defined as “The quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.” A second definition states: “A mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.”

Yoga creates space for mindfulness, where you can be present with your thoughts, as opposed to running away from them with mindless distractions. The mind is a battlefield, and yoga is transformative to the landscape of the mind.

Of course, as a follower of Christ, we know that transformation that is in touch with Life, Love, Truth, and Freedom only happens when yoga is centered on Jesus.

In fact, the Holy Scriptures have much to say concerning our thought lives, and when our thoughts are submitted in obedience to Christ, we become rooted and fruitful.

While it is essential that we constantly renew our minds, whether on or off the mat, a discipline that carves out time to intentionally allow God to renew our thinking with His Word and Spirit is powerful to the walk of a believing and devoted Christian.

If you are reading this and do not believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus, God through Jesus offers you Life, Love, Truth and Freedom. Receiving His Word during a yoga practice is worth the try. :) You never know — the practice may surprise you.

13. Yoga opens us up to feel and release suppressed emotion, grief and trauma within our physical bodies.

Emotion is “energy in motion”. This means that the emotion you feel in response to the joys and pains of life get stuck somewhere in the body when they are not given space to be felt, digested, and released.

Two major places where our bodies hold a great deal of our emotional stress are the lungs and the hips. I have also seen it held in the eyes, jaw, shoulders, and feet.

Our bodies are mysteriously designed by our Creator to be intimately tied to our emotions. It is common for the beginner yogi to feel overwhelming emotions in response to the novelty of movement.

Yoga is not the answer to all things concerning emotional health, grief, and trauma. I highly recommend lots of journaling, a good cry before God, a therapy session with the right type of therapist, and some grief group participation. They are all game changers.

It is not a secret that life is hard, and although we are not able to escape the sorrow of it while we exist here on earth, we can help ourselves along by learning how to more deeply connect with God, allowing Him to flood and heal our emotions as we feel and release them to Him.

14. Yoga leads to holistic health.

Otherwise stated: the very essence of yoga leads us to a lifestyle of holistic health.

Yoga has this way of metaphorically opening up all the doors and windows of our being, allowing in the fresh air and rays of sunlight. This fresh air and sunlight is all that is God, and Jesus fills us with His Presence and Peace that is unlike anything else you could ever experience.

Yoga literally means “to yoke, to unite”, and in redeeming this practice for Christ, we yoke ourselves only to the Living Christ during our practice. When Jesus is Lord over every fiber of our being, a lifestyle of Light is a natural result.

There are many healthy disciplines we can engage in that will allow us to heal and thrive in one sense or another. Few offer such a multi-angled approach as yoga. So while yoga is not the only way to find holistic healing, it certainly is a special discipline that naturally promotes the very essence of whole health.

15. Yoga is a beautiful spiritual discipline that is meditative, prayerful, and worshipful.

There are many different spiritual disciplines we can live out. If you follow Jesus, you may have a daily discipline of prayer and Bible reading. Perhaps you have a devotional you found and really like to read everyday.

Maybe you are new to the faith and just jam to worship tunes in your car on the way to work or you take an occasional moment with the Verse of the Day on the Bible App. Some more examples of Christian disciplines are fasting, fellowship, journaling, silence & solitude (a.k.a. meditation), and serving.

Usually, the more a believer matures in their faith, the more developed their disciplines become. As a child does, so do we each progress from milk to solid food in order to gain the nutrition we each need to thrive in our faith.

Yoga can be added to this list of disciplines for the Christ-follower. This is a topic of debate in the Church, but before you debate it, I would encourage you to first try it, just once. As long as your teacher is theologically sound, you can flow without any reason to fear.

Those who have questions about the Christian faith and are not sure they can believe yet can totally still attend a Christ-centered yoga class to simply explore; you will likely walk away having gained many spiritual riches from the adventure.

In yoga classes soundly centered on Christ, you can expect to receive the spoken Word of God, prayer, and worship music. Worshipping the Lord our God with all our being, including our might, our strength, is Biblical, and it is good.