Written By Christina Ortega

The path that led me to yoga was a surprising one. It began, not in a yoga studio, but in a college improv course. At the beginning of every class, our instructor would have us do warm-ups which included voice exercises and stretches. She would tell us about her yoga practice and incorporate some of her favorite poses in our warm-up. I had always been a fairly athletic kid but never had I practiced yoga. At first I felt a bit self-conscious getting on the floor in my bare feet to stretch but I would studiously do all the poses and listened to the instructor tell us about how she could stay in Pigeon Pose for hours if given the choice. I soon realized that after each class, I felt so uplifted, a feeling which resonated throughout the rest of my busy day. I knew it was because of that little taste of yoga I was getting during our warm-ups. So it only seemed natural to seek out an actual yoga class. Thankfully, there were many offered near school and I began to regularly attend a class for beginners. Thus, my love for yoga began! It’s funny to look back on the path that led me to yoga but I couldn’t imagine my life without it now.

From college student to yoga instructor, I’ve come a long way. Through the years and through my yoga practice, I have changed in many ways, very much for the better. As one learns to quiet their mind and start listening to one’s body, you find it has a lot to say. For me, it was several proclamations about my diet and my physical and mental well-being.  I began to replace the MSG-laden, HFCS-infused, over-processed junk I was used to eating with organic, whole, fresh food and soon cut out all meat, fish and shellfish. I became more easy-going and wouldn’t let petty annoyances, such as someone cutting me off in traffic, infuriate me as they once had.

I am healthier, happier and have much more energy than I ever thought I could muster. I am only one amongst millions who have benefited from yoga and could probably write a book on how it has changed my life. But, alas, there are already several books on the subject. Most, if not all of them, will tell you that the aim of yoga is to unite the mind, body and spirit. Yogis believe that the mind and body are one and that if we are given the right direction and environment, we can find harmony and benefit from yoga’s therapeutic qualities. As I mentioned from my own personal experience, yoga can help you become more aware of your body’s posture, alignment and patterns of movement. Our modern, stressful society demands a lot of our energy, but yoga can help make your body more flexible, more relaxed in the face of such strain. I believe this is why so many people seek out a yoga practice.

While many may associate yoga with new age mysticism or the latest, cool class at the gym, yoga is an ancient practice which exemplifies theories, observations and principles about the mind/body connection. Now, through modern medicine, substantial research has been conducted to look at these benefits and generally fall into three categories: physiological, psychological, and biochemical.

From lowering blood pressure to increasing pain tolerance, there are several physiological benefits of yoga. This includes a decrease in resting pulse rate, blood pressure and breathing rate leading to increased efficiency in cardiovascular and respiratory functions. Other benefits are improved muscular tone, flexibility, strength and an increase in endurance and energy level. Many yoga poses require you to support the weight of your own body in new ways, including balancing on one leg (as in Tree Pose) or supporting yourself with your arms (as in Downward Facing Dog). Some poses require careful and controlled slow movements which can also increase strength. Increased flexibility and strength can help prevent the causes of some types of back pain.

Many people who suffer from back pain spend a lot of time sitting at a computer or driving a car. That can cause tightness and spinal compression, which you can begin to address with yoga. Yoga also improves alignment and breath control, both in and out of class, helping to prevent many other types of pain and stress. Most of us don’t give much thought to how we breathe and tend to breathe very shallowly into the lungs. Yoga breathing exercises, called Pranayama, focus the attention on the breath and teach us how to better use our lungs more efficiently, which benefits the entire body.

Certain types of breath can also help clear the nasal passages and even calm the central nervous system, which has both physical and mental benefits. Breathing exercises are an ideal way to relieve stress in that they’re fast, simple, free, and can be performed by just about anyone. They can also be done anywhere and at virtually any time.  For me, when I was in labor with my daughter, my yogic breath helped tremendously. Whenever another contraction hit I just imagined myself sending my breath to the places I was experiencing pain, just as I do in a particularly challenging pose.

Westerners tend to believe yoga is only for the body, but it actually involves the mind and emotions as well, contributing to your overall health. There are several psychological benefits to be gained from a consistent yoga practice. This includes an increase in bodily awareness, improved mood and well-being, and a sense of self-acceptance. It can also reduce anxiety, depression and feelings of anger and hostility. Hand-eye coordination, reaction time, balance and dexterity will improve along with cognitive function (i.e. attention span, concentration, memory and learning.) Physical activity is good for relieving stress, and this is particularly true of yoga.

Concentrating so intently on what your body is doing brings calmness to the mind. Yoga introduces you to meditation techniques, such as watching how you breathe and disengagement from your thoughts. During your practice, you are provided a much needed break from your day to day worries, as well as and the opportunity to put things in perspective. The emphasis of yoga is on being present in the moment as you learn not to dwell on past events or anticipate the future. All this adds up to a less stressful you. Public schools have recognized these benefits as well. Tara Guber, an elementary school teacher in Aspen Colorado developed a yoga program, Yoga Ed., for her students and now more than 100 schools in 26 states have adopted Guber’s program in their classrooms. Teachers say it helps calm the students with ADD and see fewer discipline problems. Researchers found a correlation between yoga and better behavior and grades, and they said young yogis were more fit and regular practice may reduce childhood obesity.

The physical and mental benefits are more apparent, but I’ve learned through the years as a yoga student there are several aspects of the biochemical profile, or body chemistry, that are positively affected as well. Some changes include a decrease in blood glucose levels, cholesterol and stress hormones. Yoga practice lowers cholesterol through increased blood circulation and burning fat. The specific movements (the gentle stretching of muscles and joints) involved in yoga are particularly well-suited for promoting a strong lymphatic system which boosts your immunity and reduces toxins in your body. This leads to benefits such as delayed aging, energy and a remarkable zest for life. As does any good exercise program, yoga reduces the sodium levels in your body. In today’s world of processed and fast foods that are full of sodium, lessening these levels is a great idea. Those suffering from chronic pain often experience a tightening of the muscles around the painful area, making the pain worse instead of better.

Yoga helps you relax your muscles and stimulates your body to produce more of the “feel-good” brain chemicals so you feel less pain overall. Yoga is perhaps the only form of activity which massages all the internal glands and organs of the body in a thorough manner, including those – such as the prostate – that hardly get externally stimulated during our entire lifetime. Yoga acts in a wholesome manner on the various body parts. This stimulation and massage of the organs in turn benefits us by keeping away disease and providing a forewarning at the first possible instance of a likely onset of disease or disorder. One of the far-reaching benefits of yoga is the sense of awareness that it develops in the practitioner of an impending health disorder or infection.

This in turn enables the person to take pre-emptive corrective action. Due to the low impact of yoga and the controlled aspect of the motions, there is a very low risk of injury during practice compared to other forms of exercise. Yoga’s purpose is to strengthen the body, make it more flexible, and awaken the spirit – in effect, providing a physical, mental and spiritual system of health. People of all ages can do yoga, and the asanas (poses) can even be adapted for people with disabilities or special needs. Almost anyone can benefit from yoga, including the elderly, children, pregnant women, and those with chronic health problems.

But yoga is much more than just a collection of health practices and far greater than a simple practice towards a better life. For me, what I’ve found both so engaging and challenging about yoga is its ability to be a life long journey, one that can be shared with each and every one of us who so chooses.  Yoga binds us as a whole and brings a unified connection of mind and purpose. Within each pose there are infinite ways to expand or go deeper, no matter how many times you have practiced that pose.  Each day and each practice is different filled with it’s own unique and beautiful set of challenges and rewards.

With so many physical and mental benefits to be gained, the practice of yoga is a worthwhile pursuit, one that has changed my life for the better. As a student of yoga, I feel I’ve primarily benefited from a spiritual and physical awareness and an overall presence of mind. My hope as a teacher of yoga would be to not only impart these same core yogic practices and philosophies, but to also provide the same wonderful sense of calm and well-being that yoga has always given to me.

Christina Ortega is a certified Yoga teacher.  She teaches classes in the Austin Texas area.