JiggaRoo

Despite the popularity of yoga over the years, I know there are still some of you out there who are reluctant to give it a shot.  Here are my top 10 reasons to Yoga.

1. Flexibility - ever since I incorporated yoga as a complement to my running routine, my flexibility has increased dramatically.  I commit the cardinal sin of running – I don’t stretch!
2. Strengthening - yoga will tone you.  You are engaging in muscles you didn’t know you had whenever you hold poses for minutes at a time.
3. Lengthening – a big part of yoga is a focus on spinal twists and posture improvement.  You will find yourself standing straighter and experiencing less backaches in no time at all.
4. Injury Prevention – with yoga, you are working multiple parts of your body in a holistic way.  Your joints are engaging with your muscles and your muscles with your tendons.  Yoga is a great low impact exercise that helps to achieve balance in your body.
5. Increased Lung Capacity - as a runner, I thought I had pretty good lung capacity, but yoga really took me to another level.  Because yoga involves a lot of controlled, deep breathing… you will find yourself learning to take in and hold in more air than you thought possible.
6. Cardiovascular Conditioning - yoga gives you a great cardiovascular workout, especially if you choose the vinyasa or power yoga classes.
7. Improved Circulation – the types of movements done in yoga ensures blood flow to the tissues of our body.
8. Focus and Concentration - yoga stimulates blood flow and brings oxygen supply to the brain.
9. Stress Relief - yoga helps with breathing and control, allowing you to calm your body and mind.
10. Body Awareness – because yoga is such an integrative exercise – engaging your core, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints, you become aware of your body and its capabilities and its strength.  You’ll be amazed at what your body is capable of after a few sessions of yoga.