With yoga, you’ll hone your mental focus, rid your system of toxins, and release you tension easily. You’ll even be able to touch your toes — improved flexibility is a bonus for just about every sport.
The real results of regular yoga practice are quite practical, and you don’t need any special equipment—just a few square feet of space and a mat.
Yoga employs a number of relaxation techniques, which, with regular practice, can make you calmer overall.Along with training your body, yoga trains your mind to see the bigger picture and act from integrity instead of freaking out.
Most series of yoga asanas include one or more spinal twists to loosen the many joints that make up your spine. This can improve your tennis game and golf swing, as well as promote detoxification and good digestion.
Yoga uses the weight of your own body to build mass and strength. Don’t believe it? Think about how many clunky free-weights it takes to bench press your bodyweight (150–200 lbs.)—yoga allows you to get the same muscle-building benefits by performing long, extended pushups, squats, and leg lifts. The results are well-worked muscle groups, which get stronger with each class.
This basic ability to scan and assess yourself as you practice will help reduce the incidence of injury when running or playing other sports. Plus, flexible, well-stretched yoga muscles will heal and recover more quickly after working out or getting strained.