What are the Health Benefits of Yoga?
by: Bryan Kest
People often ask what “Power Yoga” is exactly, and what the benefits are you receive from practicing Power Yoga specifically? To list all the benefits of Power Yoga would take a long time, but I can discuss some of the most important benefits and some of the really powerful effects. The benefits of yoga in general are multifaceted, as they benefit the mind and every aspect of the body. This is why in yoga you see all these intricate poses, which are just creative ways to access every nook and cranny of our bodies. We also try to cover every single aspect of physical fitness in yoga, which includes toning of the muscles, and improve balance and stamina. We basically cover the fitness paradigm while we also address our mind, the seat of all well-being.
When you do a yoga class on a physical level, it’s a multi-dynamic experience. You’re focusing on every area of the body, using creative movements in the form of postures. Just like when you brush your teeth, you’re trying to brush every tooth. Yoga also encourages us to address our mental state. To break down the benefit yoga has on our mental health more in depth, I like to describe my my yoga class as a safe place to practice living your life. Similar to life, when you’re practicing yoga, some things might be painful and some things might feel good, some things might be hard and some things might be easy, sometimes we might like what we see, sometimes we might not like what we see. Your time spent on your mat is almost like a practice run for how you will approach your life off the mat, and we have an opportunity to practice living in a safe environment (the yoga studio). We can practice going through these challenging moments with a less reactive and more accepting mind, then the challenges we experience in our real lives affects us less negatively because we’re not reacting to it. Remember, the stress that’s poisoning us never actually happens to us, it’s all about how we respond to what’s happening to us.
Yoga classes are directed at creating the highest level of energy, vitality and freedom. The only way to do this is to work with yourself, not against yourself. By putting in the work on your mat in a sensitive manner, we create an environment that’s healing and that honors each individual, in an environment that respects our boundaries and works within them. In this way, we create an atmosphere conducive to natural expansion and growth. If you’re interested in learning more about Power Yoga and it’s benefits, learn more at https://poweryoga.com/.
Bryan Kest has been practicing yoga since 1979, starting when he was 14 years old. In 1983 he traveled to Mysore, India and studied with K. Patthabi Jois. Based in Santa Monica, California, Kests’ yoga classes online or in his studio are truly a multi-dynamic experience–a confluence of movements combining a balanced sequence with all elements of physical exercise, mindfulness, moderation and meditation. The distinct objective is strengthening the benevolent and eradicating the malevolent.
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