Practicing Yoga

Yoga has many proven benefits. From mental to physical, you can improve many aspects of life no matter your age or ability level. If you already incorporate yoga into your weekly routine, you likely experience the many benefits this exercise has to offer. But did you know how important this practice be for injury prevention?

Benefits

It is no surprise that exercise can help with overall health and emotional wellbeing. But certain types of exercise have specific benefits that supplement fitness routines like weight training, running, swimming and cycling. Whether you are an athlete or an individual with a low level of physical activity, yoga can offer many advantages.

• Stretching techniques can ease lower back pain and improve mobility
• Increased flexibility can help avoid injuries such as strains and overuse injuries
• Increased muscle tone and core strength can help reduce back pain and injury
• Improved balance which can prevent falls

Injury Prevention

Orthopaedic injuries can range in severity from a slight sprain to a complex fracture. Some of these injuries are unavoidable but others can be prevented with a little proactive exercise. Many of the benefits of yoga directly impact your body in ways that help prevent injury. Slow movements and stretching combined with deep breathing can warm up your muscles. Incorporating this routine into your daily life, even if for a brief duration of time, can help prevent injury.

An increase in your overall flexibility is important in injury prevention. Along with improved flexibility comes an increase in range of motion. These two benefits go hand-in-hand when it comes to preventing orthopaedic injury as they allow your body to better move in unexpected ways. This is especially important when it comes to preventing falls.

By building muscle through yoga, your are providing your body more stability. A regular routine of yoga will help you improve functional strength by moving numerous muscles and joints at the same time. In addition, yoga helps to strengthen your connective tissues like ligaments and tendons, helping to prevent the likelihood of strains and sprains.

Improving overall balance by focusing on core strength, yoga can decrease the possibility of injury from a slip or fall. This becomes increasingly important and people age.

Starting a Yoga Routine

As with any other type of exercise program, it is always recommended that you consult your doctor first. There is a wide variety of types of yoga and finding the right one for you is essential.