Is yoga important for your overall health?

Yoga? Do I really need it?

Yoga. Just hearing that used to make me cringe. As a young athletic male, I had never wanted to practice yoga. LIKE NEVER! I would often picture myself stretched like a human pretzel. That is a no-go. However, after giving it one shot my entire perspective changed. I learned for myself all the benefits that practicing yoga has and how it affected me. I am 100% sure that if you are unsure about this stretching thing then YOGA to try this. Did you see what I did there?

It all started when I walked into my neighborhood gym. They’re always classes going on but I was concerned about hitting my chest and arms…like all men are. To the left I could see that the yoga class was offering free hour sessions. After hearing that I brushed the idea from my head. I asked myself:

“You’re not flexible”

“Yoga is for girls”

“Its so boring”

Boyyyyyyy was I completely wrong. What I am about to say will probably be new to guys. But Yoga will make you way stronger thank you are now. Practicing yoga is so important and can help you relax, stretch, and find peace with yourself.

I am not flexible at all. In fact I would consider it my weakness. I would often skip workout stretches and that mistake came and bit me in the butt. Immediately once I entered the room I started stretching.

We performed many different exercises and stretches. I felt as if my muscles were being relaxed and stretched and it felt unexpectedly good. When we workout we constantly are cycling working out different parts of the body. I noticed that yoga allowed for those parts to be stretched and relaxed. My body was able to send more blood to those muscles and relax and heal them way faster. Yoga uses techniques to lengthen, stretch and relax muscles while simultaneously working with your breath. So pretty much I was healing my body while resting and breathing.

After the exercise we entered a period of deep meditation. I was instructed to lie down and breathe in and out. It may sound weird but I felt my stress slowly release from my body. I emptied my mind and just breathed. Meditation is considered a type of mind-body complementary medicine. Meditation produces a deep state of relaxation and a tranquil mind. During meditation, you focus your attention and eliminate the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. This process may result in enhanced physical and emotional well-being.

I learned that these are the benefits of practicing Yoga.

• It increases endurance, strength and flexibility.
• Mental endurance and physical stamina are tested through holding postures for extended breaths.
• Arm and shoulder strength is multiplied as you use your own body weight for resistance.
• Lats and other back muscles begin to support the spine better than before.
• Abdominals and obliques are refined and sharpened through building core muscles.
• Poor and average posture begins to correct itself over time.
• Hip flexors are stretched and rebuilt.
• Glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves are tightened and lengthened where they need to be.
• No matter what ails your aching body, or if you just want to take your fitness to a higher level, power yoga’s ability to build muscle has an undeniably effect on the total body.

After the session was complete I was extremely relieved. Not just from the stress but my muscles were extremely relaxed. My posture and breathing was improved. Over time as I continued practicing yoga I can say proudly that my flexibility has improved incredibly. Everyone can feel accepted and included and, unlike other sports or classes that focus on niche clients, yoga tends to have open arms. Give it a shot today. Head over to  and connect with local yoga instructors and get twisted. You will definitely see me in one of those sessions.