One reason yoga is so popular in the U.S. is the two-fold benefits it offers. On the whole, Americans need to exercise more and yoga offers many physical benefits. Yoga builds strength which creates larger muscles that burn more energy and keep you lean. Yoga also helps develop a better sense of balance, increases flexibility, and resolves many issues with posture.

On the other hand, yoga provides emotional, mental, and energetic benefits that help reduce anxiety created in our fast-paced, and oftentimes high-stress lives. Interestingly, to achieve the utmost physical benefits from your practice, students should focus on the non-physical elements of yoga. Our culture encourages the “no pain, no gain” mentality where pushing yourself to the edge of your physical capacity is the best way to exercise. However, ignoring signals from your brain to stop or ease off a particular posture or movement can lead to injury.

By linking to the breath, a yoga student learns to stay present, mindfully noting the body’s response to different poses and intensities of practice. By carefully minding your body’s needs, you keep yourself safe and can practice more consistently with fewer needed breaks to address fatigue and injuries. Further, staying focused in the now pulls the mind away from the thoughts that can create stress and stress-related ailments like insomnia. –Michelle Laxton