The Many Health Benefits of Online Yoga Classes
You’ve Heard It Before – Yoga is good for you. We’re gonna give you some great health benefits!
There are a lot of things we love — chocolate chip cookies 😋 belly laughing with loved ones, rolling down the car windows and belting out our favorite songs and, well, yoga.
That last one should hardly come as a surprise since “yoga’ is quite literally in our name. But, allow us to get a little more specific here. We’re really into doing yoga at home (or wherever else we might happen to be), and since there are plenty of health benefits of online yoga classes, we’re pretty excited to just lean on in.
According to Men’sHealth, the toughest step to make is the first one … and it’s usually the most rewarding!
According to the University of Rochester Medical Center,
“Yoga can help correct everything from poor circulation and high blood pressure to back pain and headaches.”
All of that’s awesome and we are so here for it, but right now we’re paying a little special attention to the health benefits of online yoga classes, specifically. What’s so great about pulling out your mat at home, streaming an online yoga class and getting a yoga workout at home? We’re about to give you all the details!
HERE ARE THE TOP 5 PHYSICAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF YOGA
Let’s not forget that online yoga classes can be a full body workout experience.
#1) You’ll get stronger
Forget anything you’ve heard about yoga not being a viable strength-training option, because according to LIVESTRONG, it sure is. To be clear, yoga alone isn’t the kind of strength-training you can use to prepare for a powerlifting competition. That said, yoga — especially workout yoga — can offer the same benefits of other, lighter strength-training regimens. One of the health benefits of online yoga classes is that you can cash in on those!
Building strength is important for everyone – a strong you is a happy you. Per Harvard Health, strength training also reinforces bone health and helps prevent injuries and osteoporosis. And the Mayo Clinic credits strength training with all kinds of benefits, including metabolism maintenance, improved balance, and pain management. But we’ll have more on that for you later.
Yoga — especially of the power yoga variety we practice in the Bulldog community — is absolutely a strength training exercise. Per Parade, yoga is one of the best exercises to strengthen your core.
Already, there are so many health benefits of online yoga classes. And we’re just getting started!
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#2) Improve your balance and flexibility
One of the best-documented results of a regular yoga practice — and one of the health benefits of yoga classes, too — is better flexibility and balance.
Before you assume that balance and flexibility are primarily important for dancers, gymnasts, cheerleaders, etc. consider this: the American Heart Association recommends balance exercises for overall fitness, overall quality of life, and injury prevention, and Penn State notes that flexibility is key for vascular health and pain reduction.
And, remember, you don’t have to be flexible to do yoga at home (or in the studio!), you do yoga to GET more flexible.
#3) Online yoga classes can help manage chronic pain
Unfortunately, most of us struggle with our fair share of daily aches and pains, especially as we get older. It’s one of the least glamorous parts of being human.
Making a great yoga workout part of your routine is one way to get relief from those pains. So, let’s add pain management to the list of health benefits of online yoga classes!
Harvard Health says,
“Yoga can be especially beneficial for people who experience pain as a result of chronic conditions like arthritis and fibromyalgia, as well as more generalized pain pretty much anywhere in the body.”
Because of the emphasis yoga puts on stretching and lengthening various parts of the body, an online yoga class can go a long way toward working out the pesky kinks in your joints and muscles.
#4) Online yoga workouts can help prevent several diseases and conditions
We’re not doctors, and we’re not here to tell you that any one thing (including yoga) can totally eliminate your risk of developing health conditions down the road. We wish we could be the messengers of that kind of good news!
The good news we can offer is that there are plenty of studies out there suggesting that yoga does reduce the risk of heart diseases. And while the data is a little spottier when it comes to cancer, experts have found that yoga and similar workouts are often part of an overall lifestyle that can be preventive.
So no, we can’t tell you that doing online yoga can put you 100 percent in the clear forever, but prevention of these serious diseases definitely may be among the health benefits of online yoga classes.
#5) Yoga for weight loss? Yes.
We don’t like to spend a lot of time talking about weight loss around here because we believe that every body can be a yoga body. Still, we know that weight loss is a wellness goal for many, so you should know that weight loss is also one of the health benefits of online yoga classes.
Bulldog Online power yoga classes, in particular, are most definitely workout yoga. They offer an awesome cardio workout, which will get your blood pumping, help you work up a sweat, and burn calories in the process.
Harvard Health also notes that people who do yoga tend to be more in tune with their bodies, which often inspires them to make more balanced food choices.
Yoga Offers Mental Health Benefits
The physical advantages that come with a regular yoga practice are pretty awesome, but the mental health benefits of yoga at home are also impressive.
No matter where you do it, yoga is known for improving the symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. Check out this great blog post from one of our online Bulldoggers, Heather, who decided to trade in her anxiety meds for yoga and meditation.
Harvard Health notes,
“Yoga can serve as a natural relief for stress and anxiety, in particular.”
Some studies even show that yoga can help your body learn to better regulate its stress response over time. Talk about going with the flow!
As a result of all of the physical health benefits of online yoga classes, making them a part of your routine might give you a confidence boost, which is also good for your mental health. After all, you can’t help being more confident if you’re also feeling stronger, leaner, and in less pain
Yoga at home is extremely convenient
Yoga At Home, With Kids 🙂
As if the many health benefits of online yoga weren’t enough! OK, those are all pretty awesome. But streaming an online yoga class is also a very convenient, accessible way to work out. Translation? You won’t lose motivation or make excuses to avoid a workout yoga sweat session. Since you can take an online yoga class from pretty much anywhere, you really don’t have any excuses not to give it a try.
With Bulldog Online yoga, we even offer Custom Workout Plans to accommodate your personal fitness needs. Whether you’re a seasoned yogi pro or are looking to take a yoga class for beginners, you can follow those plans whenever and wherever it’s most convenient for you!
For more info on the health benefits of online yoga classes, check out our YouTube video on this very topic 😳!
Ready to get started with yoga at home?
>>> Try Out These FREE At-Home Classes