5 Health Benefits of Ashtanga Yoga
The benefits of Ashtanga yoga for your health and well-being
Ashtanga yoga is famously known as one of the most athletic yoga forms.
An Ashtanga routine demands flexibility, focus and fitness to create a calming effect on the body and mind.
What makes Ashtanga different from other forms of yoga is that you’re supposed to perform the same asanas in the same order for the same breath count.
Simply put, this yoga form is not very flexible in performing different poses in different orders.
An Ashtanga routine offers many health benefits, ranging from improved well-being to increased strength and a calmer mind. In this article, find out more about the health benefits of Ashtanga yoga.
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1. Improves Emotional Regulation
Ashtanga yoga not only positively affects your muscles and joints, it also plays a very important role in improving your emotional regulation and cleansing.
Emotional regulation is the ability to influence your own emotional state. According to Richard Davidson, “emotional regulation is extremely significant for a whole constellation of problems people encounter.”
Emotional regulation allows you to handle stress, and it prevents you from cracking under pressure.
It helps you earn respect and affection for people around you and it also helps you with your self-esteem and confidence levels.
Asanas will help you find a balance between feelings and emotions, and when you do so, you will be able to better handle emotionally difficult situations.
This yoga routine will allow you to manage and overcome suppressed emotions in a much better way, and doing this will also help your body.
When you balance your emotions, your body will work more efficiently- and you may be surprised to see the powerful connection between your body and mind.
2. Alleviates Back Pain
Did you know Ashtanga yoga is a great way to reduce back pain? The Ashtanga primary series, which lasts for around 90 minutes, stretches and strengthens your back muscles.
Since you perform the same asanas every time, Ashtanga yoga helps keep your back muscles flexed, which helps prevent back pain.
In a 2017 study, people from relatively low-income groups who performed yoga consistently for 12 weeks reported that yoga was as effective in reducing their chronic back pain as physical therapy.
3. Helps Control Weight
Ashtanga yoga can help with weight management. Since Ashtanga is the most athletic and active form of yoga, it helps you burn fat and reduce weight.
You might notice less fat around your legs and arms after doing the yoga routine consistently for a few weeks.
Ashtanga yoga brings about a healthy weight in more ways than one. For example, it helps you develop mindfulness and improves your sleep.
Those who meditate often sleep better at night, as compared to those who do not practice yoga.
Yoga might help you clear your crowded and distracted mind, which sometimes contributes to insomnia.
Ashtanga yoga also increases the levels of melatonin in the body, which helps fight sleep disorders and puts you to sleep.
Moreover, Ashtanga yoga puts the mind at ease, releases tension, relaxes the body and puts your mind into a state of deep peace, making it more likely for you to fall asleep. Improved sleep has also been linked to weight loss.
According to a 2018 study, people who experienced restrictions while sleeping five times per week lost less weight as compared to people who slept peacefully at night during the week.
Yoga is also a good way to boost your metabolism and burn fat. If you’re looking to shed a few extra pounds, Ashtanga yoga is for you.
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4. Lowers Blood Pressure
Ashtanga yoga involves a breathing technique called Ujjayi. This technique aims to lengthen your inhalation and exhalation, creating deep and calming breaths that lower your blood pressure.
In addition to this, the Ashtanga routine is a moving meditation just like other forms of meditation, and it helps decrease blood pressure and improve the overall functionality of the heart.
High blood pressure forces the heart to work hard to pump the blood around the body, which leads to poor heart health.
High blood pressure can also narrow the arteries, increasing the risk of heart stroke.
An analysis of the findings of about twelve studies concluded that meditation helps lower blood pressure in the body by increasing the amount of nitric oxide in the body.
Nitric oxide acts as a vasodilator that improves the flow of oxygen and blood.
In a nutshell, by controlling your breathing patterns and increasing the production of nitric oxide in the body, Ashtanga yoga reduces the strain on your heart and lowers blood pressure.
5. Increases Flexibility
Just like all other forms of yoga, Ashtanga will help improve your flexibility over time. This is because yoga stretches your muscles, releasing muscle tension and tightness.
This means you will be able to move without feeling too stiff or tired.
According to the results of the study, yoga helped people increase their flexibility by almost 35% just after eight weeks.
Flexibility is very important since it makes it easier for you to move your joints with minimal effort.
Moreover, increased flexibility improves blood circulation within the body, which allows the muscles to heal faster after a physically demanding workout.
Most importantly, when you’re flexible, you’re less prone to injuries. Increasing flexibility is also great for your posture and body pain.
In a nutshell, increasing your flexibility is everything!
So, if you can't touch your toes or you can't reach your hand behind your back, practice Ashtanga yoga for a few weeks regularly, and we bet you will be much more flexible than when you started!
Final Word
Ashtanga yoga is considered the most physically challenging form of yoga, and it is perfect for those who want to solve health problems and issues naturally.
Although it requires a great deal of strength and stamina, this routine can be very rewarding in terms of enhanced concentration, increased fitness and improved well-being.
