I have been practicing yoga for about 6 years. As a runner and a skier, yoga is the perfect balance to both of those sports and many more. I often ask my friends to try yoga; I typically get the same response: “Why would I waste my time with stretching?” Well, the 5,000-year-old practice of yoga is so much more than stretching.

Yoga has a multitude of health benefits, such as flexibility, balance, strength, mood and stress management. There are many types of yoga, so if you are new to exercise, recovering from an injury or just wanting to try something different, there is a yoga practice that is right for you.

Flexibility:

Many people believe that you have to be flexible like a gymnast to practice yoga. The beauty of yoga is that you can modify any position or asana to your level. In fact, the flow of yoga positions allows you to stretch your muscles, which release lactic acid buildup to gain flexibility. Build up of lactic acid causes tension, stiffness, pain and fatigue.

Strength:

Yoga is known for stretching, but there are many styles of yoga that help improve muscle tone and core strength. Positions such as Plank, Chatarunga (bent arm plank), Downward facing dog and Upward facing dog work on upper body strength, while standing positions such as Warrior I and Awkward Chair pose work on your leg strength, especially if you hold each pose for a couple of breaths. Most yoga poses, including the ones mentioned above, work on your core strength.

Posture and Body Awareness: 

A combination of increased strength and flexibility creates better posture. Yoga gives you a heightened awareness of how your body feels and allows you to recognize when you are slouching and how to correct your body to stand up straight. Body awareness can also lead to mindfulness when eating and knowing when to rest, which are great weight management strategies.

Stress Management and Mood:

One of the most important properties of yoga is the practice of breathing or pranayama. An article on Web MD states that, “Most forms of yoga emphasize deepening and lengthening your breath. This stimulates the relaxation response -- the opposite of the fight-or-flight adrenaline boost of the stress response.” Deep breathing sends a message to your brain to relax and calm down. This practice can be transferred off your mat and into everyday life.

Although investigation into the effects of yoga on depression is still in its beginning stages, people who do yoga often note that they feel happier after they take a class. This may be due to the boost in oxygen levels to your brain that help you feel more content and gives you the ability to concentrate and focus better.

So get on a mat and see how yoga can start making you feel stronger, less stressed, more flexible and happier today.