FTC Disclosure: Delicious Obsessions may receive comissions from purchases made through links in this article. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.Read our full terms and conditions here.

In part 1 of this series, I discussed some of the reasons why I love yoga and why I think yoga is for everyone. In addition to those reasons, I also love the health benefits that come with regular practice.
The Benefits of Practicing Yoga
I normally don’t really like the WebMD website, but when I came across their entry for the “Health Benefits of Yoga“, I found the list to be quite comprehensive. Here are some of the ways that yoga benefits the body:
- Yoga creates flexibility. But, don’t let this make you think you have to be as flexible as a gymnast to practice it. Anyone, and everyone, can improve their flexibility with yoga.
- Yoga builds strength. While yoga improves your flexibility, it also builds muscle strength and helps lengthen and tone your muscles. Some forms of yoga are going to be faster paced and more vigorous than others, but any style of yoga will help develop strength.
- Yoga helps your posture. Good posture comes from having a strong core and back. Strengthening your abs is one of the best ways to improve your posture and avoid a lot of back problems. You can also prevent future injury by having a strong midsection. You will notice over time that you become a lot more conscious of your posture once you start practicing yoga regularly.
- Yoga helps your breathing. We all take our breath for granted. It’s just something that we do without even realizing it and most of us probably don’t give it a second thought. But, paying attention to your breath can help you in many ways. It helps alleviate stress, helps improve your lungs capacity, helps relax and calm the nervous system, and keeps a regular supply of fresh oxygen to your body, which improves your whole body function better.
- Yoga helps alleviate stress. Didn’t I already mention that? Well, this point can’t be emphasized enough in my opinion. This is probably the number one reason that I made myself commit to regular practice. For those of you who know me, you know that I am a Type A personality who tends to always be stressed, anxious, and on the go. While these traits do serve me well at times, they are also a huge burden because I tend to let myself get sucked into them and that creates stress to a point that I don’t function properly. This is the perfect time to shout out to my husband, who is one of the most patient people I know. He is the polar opposite of me and I have to thank him for the years that he has put up with my overachieving, neurotic behavior! I am hoping that he is starting to see some changes in my personality and I feel that I owe those changes to regular yoga practice.
- Yoga improves mood and concentration. I think that this benefit goes hand-in-hand with the alleviation of stress. When I’m stressed, I tend to be moody and unfocused. Alleviating the stress has helped my moods become more stable. I try to do more “glass is half full” visualization, rather than always feeling that the “glass is half empty”.
- Yoga helps the heart. One of the major benefits of yoga is that it has a incredibly positive effect on the cardiovascular system and heart disease. It has long been known to help lower blood pressure and help lower the heart rate. Yoga has also been used as a treatment option in studies, most famously the heart disease program by Dean Ornish, MD. Yoga also has been shown to have an anti-oxident effect as well as improving the immune system.
- Yoga helps with weight loss. Not only does the physical exercise and strength building help you lose weight, over time, you will be more aware of your body’s needs regarding food. This comes from being in more tune with your emotions and cravings. You’ll just start to feel more healthy and in turn, you’ll want to eat better as well. One of the quotes that sticks out in my head came off of a Jamba Juice cup many years ago — “Your body is a temple. Don’t litter.”
- Yoga helps a whole host of other things. Because yoga has started to become more popular in the US, and across the world, medical researchers are starting to pay attention and study the benefits of regular practice. I think that as time progresses, there will be a long list of the benefits of yoga on the human mind, body, and soul. So far, it has helped alleve or reduce asthma and arthritis symptoms. Right now, there are clinical trials going on to look at the benefits for people with insomnia and multiple sclerosis. People with Parkinson’s Disease can also find benefit from yoga.
And to think, these are just the physical benefits of yoga. To delve into the spiritual benefits of yoga would turn this blog post into a thesis paper!
Do you practice yoga? How often do you practice? What benefits have you found? I’d love to hear your stories, so please feel free to leave me a comment below.
Delicious Obsessions is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.Read our full terms and conditions here.

Participating in yoga 2x a week has helped with all the issues mentioned above, but the most surprisingly helpful thing for me has been the improvement in the level of pain in my wrists due to carpel tunnel. Luv Yoga!
That’s fantastic that it has helped your carpel tunnel! I love some of the wrist stretches that I’ve learned and I try to remember to do them often. I work on a computer all day for my day job and then I come home and work on the computer more. Definitely need to keep those wrists in good shape! I had a friend who had surgery for her carpel tunnel and I think it left her worse off than she was before 🙁
I have 2 painful incurable diseases. One being fibromyalgia. I joined a studio 2 years ago at my Dr’s advice. Best advice ever!! I do 5 or more classes a week. I’m not allowed to do aerobic or lift weights (my old way of working out) I’m stronger then ever! I also changed my diet to paleo. I’ve lost 20 lbs and am down to my H.S. weight. I would be crippled without yoga. It’s done amazing things for my insides and out. I also want to add that I’m a follower of Jesus Christ and the Bible. Yoga in noway infringes on my beliefs. I know some people believe that. It’s just an amazing workout!!!
Hi Colleen – Thanks for stopping by and sharing! This is great! 🙂
I LOVE yoga. I have been a horrible insomniac for YEARS. Then I started yoga. I slept, on the nights with yoga, so very well. Now my schedule has picked up again and yoga doesn’t meet at a good time (I’m going to have to go to the 5:30am class…. eeewwwwww. I’m a born night owl.) and man, have I noticed. Doing yoga just made me feel Good. The first day was hard (I never thought yoga would be hard. I mean, how hard could a bunch of stretching BE? Then I went to yoga and learned my lesson….) I’m looking at doing a paleo diet, also, as I suffer from PCOS (Polycystic ovarian syndrome, for those not “in the know”) and that lifestyle change is supposed to help a lot!
Hi Danielle – Thanks for sharing your story! Yes, paleo is supposed to be great for PCOS. I wish you all the best on your healing journey! 🙂
I love to workout. I was born with asthma. Been such a weakling because of this. I also experience fast heart beat, I don’t know how it’s called. Exercise made me strong. Done all different types of exercises. Yoga is one of my favorite. Never thought I could be that flexible. Plus I have a normal heart beat now. My sleep has never been this good. Sticking with yoga together with other sorts of cardio. I just love yoga.
That is fantastic! Thanks for sharing how yoga has helped you! 🙂