Benefits of Daily Yoga

A few years ago, I was experiencing a lot of back pain, as well as a peak in my anxiety. I was looking on Groupon and found a pass for five classes at a yoga studio near me. I went to the first class – a classic Vinyasa flow class. After that class, two things ended up happening.

1) I was sweating more than I had in a while.

2) I was feeling less anxious and more relaxed than I had in a long time.

After that, I decided that I wanted to commit to yoga. I started going a couple times a week, and then decided to save a little bit of money by just getting a monthly membership at the studio. Now, I go to yoga at least five to six times a week, and these are the things that have changed in my life as a result.

My anxiety is more easily managed.

I always struggled with anxiety symptoms. It kept me up all night and caused a lot of stress during the day. Once I started to practice yoga regularly, I began to practice mindfulness and meditation more. I became better at staying in tune with my body and grounding myself, especially when I was feeling anxious. Practicing yoga every day taught me how to regulate my breathing and focus on the feelings in my body that were caused by my anxiety.

I lost weight.

I always struggled with losing weight and hated going to the gym. I’d always talk myself out of going to the gym because I was too busy/tired/sick/etc. Getting a membership at a yoga studio doing something I actually enjoyed doing motivated me to go, and I started to see the effects. I felt healthier and started to lose weight.

My back pain disappeared.

I had chronic back pain for years. I felt like I’d tried everything – including physical therapy, chiropractors, and medication. Nothing seemed to be working, but practicing yoga regularly helped manage my pain immensely. Stretching consistently and learning from instructors and fellow yogis helped me to manage my pa