You’ve probably seen your family and friends do weird poses that require them to twist and contort their body as if it were the most natural thing to do, and now, you’re curious to give yoga a try, too. However, it’s more than just stretching and exercise—yoga is a lifestyle. If you’re looking at a healthier and fitter you this 2015, the following reasons might convince you to finally sign up for a class.
It improves your flexibility.
Your muscles start to loosen up, aches and joint pains start to lessen. Your posture also improves as your ligaments start to loosen up. Remember that poor posture is one of the major causes of back, neck and joint pains.
It promotes better bone health.
Sure, you can always take a tablet of calcium to make sure your bones remain strong, but frequent exercise, such as yoga, helps keep your bones strengthened and wards off the possibility of osteoporosis.
It keeps you focused.
People who practice yoga are more focused compared to those who do other types of exercises. With daily practice, coordination, focus, and reaction time are improved. Yoga practitioners meditate and focus on the present instead of giving attention to things that distract them normally. 
Yoga gives you better balance.
People who suffer from bad posture and muscle ailments usually suffer from a lack of balance also. Increase your sense of balance by practicing the Tree pose. Take note that with a better sense of equilibrium in your body, there’s the lesser chances of your falling flat on your face.
It helps release the tension and stress.
Yoga can help you a lot in terms of combatting the chronic tension and stress you go through at work or at home. With daily practice, your sore and stiff muscles, fatigue, and even mood swings, those which you thought were normal, will go away slowly. All you need to do is focus and tune in to your yoga poses and you’ll reap the benefits in no time. 
And gives you peace of mind.
We all look for and want to achieve peace of mind. When you practice yoga, it helps you stay focused on the task at hand and not be distracted by things that only make you stressed, frustrated or angry. When you have these negative distractions in you, it’s harder to attain the peace of mind you want to achieve.
It regulates your heart rate.
When you engage in daily exercise such as yoga, your heartbeat is regulated and you lower the risk of getting a heart attack. Yoga also helps you increase oxygen intake and endurance, lowers your blood pressure, thereby conditioning your heart in the process.
It helps you sleep better.
Another benefit of practicing yoga is getting to sleep well at night, leaving you well rested the following morning when you wake up. You are more likely to be able to conquer more activities in the day because you were able to get that much needed sleep you’re body has been craving for.
PHOTO: RelaxingMusic/Flickr Creative Commons; GIFS: Giphy
