All the ways yoga can change your daily life for the better

Yoga is much more than a way to keep fit - it's an integral part of many people's wellness routines.

The benefits of practising yoga every day (or as often as you can) - for body, mind, and spirit - are impressive. Better flexibility, improved posture, and general fitness boost some of the physical benefits. A sense of inner calm, resilience, and relaxation are among the mental effects of taking up yoga for many.

The rewards of yoga don't end on the mat; they can be applied to everyday life. We asked yoga instructors what the key benefits of yoga are and how they can help us in our daily lives.

All the ways yoga can change your daily life for the better

It gives the body more strength and flexibility

"Physically, yoga can help to cultivate strength, flexibility, and balance," Grace McGeehan, yoga expert and retreat host, told us. Regular yoga sessions will help build muscle and allow us to be more flexible, which is important, especially as we age. Balance is also a skill that comes with practising yoga, especially with poses such as the tree pose, where the challenge is to balance on one leg.

It can give us more energy

"Besides improving flexibility, strength, balance, and posture, yoga enhances the quality of our breath, boosting energy levels and making daily activities easier," explains Catherine Weston, yoga instructor at East of Eden. Yoga centres on controlled breathing, making you more aware of your breath patterns. Slower breathing can be a valuable tool when dealing with stress and can boost energy.

It's a great way to avoid injuries with other sports and daily life

Improving your overall alignment can help when it comes to avoiding injuries in other areas of your life. "Yoga can also help with blood flow, circulation, improved muscle tone and your body's overall alignment - it can be a really great way to avoid injuries," Grace McGeehan, yoga expert and retreat host, explains.

It encourages mindfulness

Mindfulness is a great tool for boosting mental health. "Yoga helps reduce stress, improves our concentration, and promotes emotional balance. It encourages mindfulness with better self-awareness, which leads to a calmer, more positive outlook on daily life," Catherine Weston, a Yoga Instructor at East of Eden, explains.

It can help to aid digestion

Exercise is good news for digestion in general, but certain yoga poses can really help in this area. The child's pose and the garland pose are great ones to try after eating to help digestion along. They also reduce stress, which is always a positive when it comes to digestive health.

Yoga can give you more mental clarity

"When you go to a yoga class, you disconnect from the hustle and bustle of daily life, from the 'doing, ' and practice slowing down," explains Catherine Weston, yoga instructor at East of Eden. "You connect to your breath and your internal world, which helps you to feel calmer and reduce stress levels, which can give you a sense of mental clarity."

As well as a more positive outlook

"The more positive mindset and increased self-awareness during a yoga class creates a deeper connection to ourselves, promoting overall spiritual wellbeing," explains Catherine Weston, yoga instructor at East of Eden.

It can help us find inner piece

"Yoga can help you reconnect to your inner peace," Grace McGeehan, yoga expert and retreat host, tells us. "We learn to go beneath the 'monkey mind' and the 10s and thousands of thoughts we have as human beings in one day. That inner peace is always there for you to tap into, and it's the practice of yoga that really helps to do so."

It encourages self acceptance

"Through this connection to our inner peace, we can find more self-acceptance; we meet ourselves from a place of kindness and compassion, free of judgment," explains Grace McGeehan, yoga expert and retreat host. "By finding this deeper connection to yourself, it helps you to find a deeper connection with others."

Yoga also teaches us not to be judgemental

"Yoga teaches us to be more patient and non-judgemental and helps us become more resilient," Catherine Weston, yoga instructor at East of Eden, tells us. "Over time, we become much more accepting of ourselves and others, and we learn what it really means to be present."

Relaxing yoga calms the nervous system

Yoga is a great way to calm down when you're feeling stressed. "Restorative yoga’s deep sense of relaxation can be really helpful in relieving stress, calming the nervous system and releasing tension," explains Catherine Weston, yoga instructor at East of Eden.

For some, it helps connect to a higher power

"A practise of deep mindfulness, a discovery of inner peace, presence and self-reflection and acceptance," explains Sophia Drozd, Yoga Instructor & Founder of Yoga 4 Pain. "For some, the spiritual benefits can include enhanced energies, a sense of vitality and a connection to a higher power and a greater sense of purpose."

It builds resilience

"Yoga is great for promoting resilience and adaptability," explains Sophia Drozd, Yoga Instructor & Founder of Yoga 4 Pain. "Enabling us to identify our stressors and equipping us to know when we need to take time out, move, breathe, and tune inwards."

Breath work can be taken into our daily lives

"For me, it's all about the importance of the breath", Grace McGeehan, yoga expert and retreat host, explains. "After all, it's the thing that keeps us alive! By focusing on the breath and moving mindfully with it, it can be like a meditation, helping us to come home to ourselves, the feeling of calm that is always within us and perhaps what's most important to us in life."

You'll have a new found appreciation for your body and its flexibility

Yoga can help you have more confidence in your body, Grace McGeehan, yoga expert and retreat host. As she explains, "I also think yoga can help us gain an appreciation of our amazing, strong, flexible bodies and everything else it does for us."

Flexibility improves over time

Regular yoga classes will help contribute towards your overall flexibility. While it might take some time, even slight adjustments to movements, pushing your body gradually can have a big impact in the long run.

Ashtanga and Vinyasa Yoga can help anchor a busy mind

"Ashtanga and Vinyasa Yoga are great for boosting mental clarity as you flow through the practice of marrying the breath with movement, this acts as an anchor for a busy mind," explains Sophia Drozd, Yoga Instructor & Founder of Yoga 4 Pain.

A slow-based flow is great for calming the mind

"My recommendations would be a slower-based flow if you want to carry a sense of calm into your daily life," explains Grace McGeehan, yoga expert and retreat host. "This practice helps you go inward, focus on the breath, and disconnect from external noise while moving, lengthening, and strengthening the body. It's like unplugging yourself so you can plug yourself back in feeling physically energized and mentally rejuvenated."

It improves concentration

"Whatever style of yoga practised, physical yoga postures, asanas, give practitioners something to focus on," Catherine Weston, yoga instructor at East of Eden, tells us. "The view is that the increased concentration, along with the improved quality of breath will help to bring a more clear and steady mindset, promoting peace of mind."

It can help balance emotions

"Yoga is a mindful practice with a huge focus on breathwork and body awareness," explains Sophia Drozd, Yoga Instructor & Founder of Yoga 4 Pain. "Enhancing the release of feel-good hormones and decreasing the production of stress hormones. This, in turn, promotes mental health, encouraging relaxation and inviting calm, balancing emotions, reducing stress, improving mood and increased mental clarity."

A yin practice in particular can reduce stress

"A restorative or yin yoga class, which is all about a full body surrender, is a great stress reliever," explains Grace McGeehan, yoga expert and retreat host. "In these yoga classes, minimal effort is exerted, rather more of an effortless effort! You hold fewer positions for longer periods and use the breath to support you deeper into each shape. They both allow you the space to self-reflect and inquire and can be a meditative way to unwind from the stresses of day-to-day life."

It can help with self understanding

"In the Western world, yoga is often seen as just a physical practice," Sophia Drozd, Yoga Instructor & Founder of Yoga 4 Pain, tells us. "However, for many yogis, it is so much more than this; it is a journey of understanding oneself." Yoga can help you understand more about your boundaries and resilience, building up skills such as mindfulness as you go.

It supports holistic health

"In my experience as a yoga practitioner and teacher, the key takeaways from yoga are improved breathing, enhanced body and mind awareness, and greater knowledge of one's self," Sophia Drozd, Yoga Instructor & Founder of Yoga 4 Pain tells us. "All of these are tools for life, a holistic approach to well-being; it teaches us how to 'do life'."

It can activate the parasympathetic nervous system

"Restorative or Yin Yoga are great for releasing stress, as they are slow, gentle and relaxing forms of yoga, where you hold poses for longer with a deeper focus on the breath activating the Parasympathetic Nervous system," Sophia Drozd, Yoga Instructor & Founder of Yoga 4 Pain tells us. When we activate the Parasympathetic Nervous system, our bodies are more relaxed and have time to heal.

Yoga Nidra can help you relax before bedtime

"Yoga Nidra is a great option for stress release. This form of yoga is generally a guided meditation," Sophia Drozd, Yoga Instructor & Founder of Yoga 4 Pain tells us. Yoga Nidra is a slow and relaxing practice where you can truly unwind.

All yoga practices can be used as a sleep tool

Yoga relaxes the body and helps us become more mindful - two great tools when it comes to drifting off at night. After a busy day, why not try some relaxing yoga to switch off? Even just a ten-minute session can help the body to relax and unwind.

It can help you tone up and stay strong

Like any fitness class, yoga will help you stay toned. It's also a great strength builder, as opposed to cardio workouts. It takes some commitment, but yoga poses, particularly when you need to hold your own body weight, are a great way to build muscle for better overall health.

It's said to improve cardiovascular health

Yoga is a great exercise to do if you want to improve your cardiovascular health. Practicing yoga poses can help improve cardiovascular health by reducing stress, lowering blood pressure, and is even said to improve cholesterol levels.

Yoga can help you build a social network

Yoga can be a great way to meet new people and bond over a shared interest. Look at your local gym, church or wellness centre for a class timetable and go with an open mind - you never know who you might meet.

It could help reduce inflammation

Some schools of thought believe that yoga can help reduce inflammation markers. Yoga can help reduce stress, which can cause inflammation in the body. Poses that are thought to help lower stress and reduce inflammation are Child's Pose, the Bridge Pose and Downward Dog.

It can be a gateway to meditation

Yoga and meditation go hand in hand. Often, a yoga teacher will end the class with a guided meditation to promote greater relaxation. Try being mindful in the moment while practising yoga to help your meditation in the long run.

The mat will become a safe place you can always retreat to

For many, yoga is more than just an exercise class - it's a safe place to relax and unwind in an accepting environment. When you're having a stressful day, know that you can come to a safe haven on the yoga mat and have a moment of self-care.