Stress reduction

Arguably the most comprehensive method of stress reduction ever developed, yoga offers numerous tools to shift the balance of the autonomic nervous system to the parasympathetic side, calm the mind, and lower the levels of stress hormones such as cortisol.
Due to its ability to reduce stress, yoga is likely to be of benefit not just for those suffering from burnout and such stress related conditions as insomnia and irritable bowel syndrome, but also in the treatment and prevention of leading causes of death, including heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes, all of which may be adversely affected by high levels of stress.

Physical benefits
Yoga offers many physical benefits, including increased strength and flexibility, better balance and coordination, improved reaction times, better lung function, heightened cardiovascular conditioning, and weight loss.
Yoga practices have also been adapted in manual therapies.
A number of physical exercises used in rehabilitation from injuries are based on yoga asana (postures).
One example is the gentle backbends often used after back injuries.

Other psychological benefits
Psychological benefits of yoga include relaxation, greater equanimity, better concentration, and improved mood.
There is substantial overlap between yoga practices and other mind-body therapies.
Biofeedback techniques, in which patients are taught to tune into sensations in their body and regulate their breathing in order to facilitate relaxation of muscles, relieve stress or warm their hands and feet, are based on yogic principles.

What is yoga?

Practicing yoga has serious health benefits beyond flexibility and balance, though those are some great perks.
Studies show yoga does everything from fighting anxiety, depression, and stress, to reducing inflammation in the body.

Yoga can even make migraines suck less.

Yoga is a spiritual tradition that began in India about 5,000 years ago.
Historically its practices have been adopted by such religions as Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism.
However, the practice of yoga is compatible with any religion, as well as atheism.

The word yoga means union in Sanskrit.
How this is interpreted and the means employed to get there differ in the various yoga traditions.

Patanjali, author of the classic yoga text, the Yoga Sutra, defined yoga as the quieting of the fluctuations of the mind.

From a yogic perspective, the mind, and its ceaseless internal monologue, is the source of suffering.
The various yoga practices serve to calm the mind.
From a wellspring of relaxed concentration the hallmark of yoga comes inner peace, heightened creativity, and awareness of our essential nature.

Yoga is more than poses

When people in the West hear the word yoga, they usually think of the stretching and strengthening poses known as asana, which are the primary focus of most yoga classes.

But asana is only one aspect of a multidimensional system that includes:

1. Breathing practices, known as pranayama ;
2. Meditation techniques;
3. Moral precepts against stealing, lying, doing harm to yourself and others, etc;
4. Chanting ;
5. Selfless service such as volunteer work, known as karma yoga;
6. Visualization exercises;
7. Study of yoga philosophy.