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Each year, we promise ourselves that we will do more for our health. And each year, most of us fail to keep that promise, mostly because we are not motivated to exercise when we see no results. This year, try yoga. Here’s why:

1. It’s convenient

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You don’t need any equipment for yoga. Yoga can be practiced anywhere: at home, in the park, at the gym, on the beach. And anytime. Many yoga sequences take only 15 to 20 minutes of your time. You don’t need to cancel all other things on the day when you decide to exercise. All yoga requires is your willingness and, as such, it increases the chances that you will actually stick to it.

2. It’s safe

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The first rule in yoga is that if something hurts, you should not do it. Yoga classes usually begin with scanning and assessing your body’s needs and limits on that day. While yoga flows will push your limits, the practice will ask you to be cautions. This decreases the chance of injuries. And if you have had injuries before, yoga is much safer for you than any hyper-competitive, high-impact type of exercise. Yoga makes you slow down and breathe. Another advantage is that flexible and well-stretched yoga muscles recover more quickly in case of an injury or strain. Pre-existing injuries, age or health conditions do not prevent you from practicing yoga. At the same time, not everyone can do kickboxing or play basketball. With so many styles to choose from, everyone can find the right yoga for themselves. It is good for teenagers, mothers-to-be, and elderly people alike.

3. It’s fun

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Does the idea of standing in the gym and lifting weights seem interesting to you? We did not think so. It is no wonder why people quit going to the gym so quickly. In yoga, there are literally thousands of different poses and flows to learn that it never gets boring. Mastering a challenging asana brings a sense of accomplishment and fun. Plus, there are different levels of difficulty, so you do not have to wait for months to be able to do one asana properly. Yoga festivals are also fun events where hundreds of yogis gather and practice simultaneously. Yoga is made up of many different elements, and learning about meditation and yoga philosophy can be another interesting field to explore.

4. It’s encouraging

While the majority of sports and physical activities provoke you to always do more, try harder, and make you feel like a failure every time you are not able to go one step further, yoga does the opposite. It teaches you to be content with precisely who you are, but to challenge yourself at the same time. It offers you positive reinforcement and puts self-care at the forefront. Life has already put us under so much pressure, that we always feel worthless. Yoga tells us we should always see the good in ourselves and then strive to be better.

5. It’s effective

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The most important characteristic of yoga is that it actually works. On so many levels. Physicians recommend yoga to everyone who wants to combat stress, improve posture and coordination, strengthen muscles, increase flexibility, and improve balance. Among other things, with yoga you can prevent many diseases, such as PTSD. Also, yoga stimulates your bones to retain more calcium through weight-bearing poses. But you need to make sure that you are taking in enough calcium in the first place. To be on the safe side, you can also try organic calcium.

Have you already decided to give yoga a chance?

About the Author

Amy Mia Goldsmith is a literature graduate from Melbourne. Her passion is healthy lifestyle and nutrition. She is a much calmer and happier person since she started doing yoga regularly. You can contact Amy on her Facebook page and Twitter.