Why You Should Try Yoga

Yoga classes are rapidly growing in popularity. Thanks to the effectiveness of the low-impact poses and exercises, there are 300 million yoga practitioners worldwide and 1 in 3 Americans have tried yoga at least once. If you’re among the 2 in 3 Americans who haven’t tried yoga, you’re probably wondering if it’s time to finally try that free trial class.

The answer might not surprise you...you should give it a try! More adults are practicing yoga in the United States today than ever before, and the number of adults over 50 practicing yoga is estimated to have at least tripled over the last 5 years. Around 36 million adults in the U.S. practice yoga today, that’s a 50% increase from as recently as 2012.

The majority of yoga practitioners are females between the ages of 30 and 49, but the demographics have been changing quickly. Since 2012, the amount of American men practicing yoga has risen from 4 million to 10 million. Most people get into yoga to increase flexibility, relieve stress, and improve overall general health.

The Benefits of Yoga

Increasing flexibility is one of the greatest benefits of practicing yoga. Flexibility is important because it largely dictates the range of motion of your joints. Flexibility training can improve your performance in other physical exercises, reduce your risk of injury, and optimize muscular effectiveness.

In fact, 75% of yoga practitioners practice yoga in addition to other physical activities. There are millions of yoga practitioners using yoga to supplement other hobbies like cycling, martial arts, and team sports. The mindfulness techniques practiced in yoga can also be quite effective for relieving stress and promoting healthy blood pressure.

Yoga relieves stress based on two fundamental principles: refraining from judging yourself or others, and the belief that the mind and body are one. In yoga, it is believed that stress in the body leads to stress in the mind and vice versa. That belief is undeniably true, and anybody who has had to sacrifice doing something they enjoy due to pain, soreness, or an injury can attest to that.

Yoga provides the body with loads of other benefits, including:

• Improved posture
• Increased strength
• Enhanced mood
• Better sleep
• Better back health
• Relief from arthritis pain
• Better metabolism

Yoga is so popular on the global scale that people spend $80 billion per year ($16 billion in the U.S.) on yoga classes, clothes, and accessories. So why not give yoga a try?

Giving Yoga a Try

Even knowing all of the benefits of yoga, you may still be hesitant to try it. Maybe you’re self-conscious, have a nagging injury, or you have other obligations that might prevent you from attending that free trial class. We recommend that you try it anyway, and address any concerns you might have about it with your instructor prior to your class.

There are more than enough different forms of yoga to choose from. Some ideal yoga forms for beginners are:

• Hatha Yoga
• Vinyasa Yoga
• Yin Yoga
• Restorative Yoga

For those who are up for a more challenging and physically demanding yoga class, there are harder forms like:

• Bikram Yoga
• Ashtanga Yoga
• Iyengar Yoga
• Kundalini Yoga

Yoga is a great way to stay active in your older years, stay nimble in your younger years, and improve your physical and mental health no matter your age. It’s beginner-friendly, therapeutic, and comes with a very low risk of injury. So if you’re on the fence about trying yoga, truMedic recommends that you don’t knock it ‘till you try it!

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