Practicing yoga on a regular basis can be beneficial to your physical and mental health.

author: Yulia Wang

2023-10-06

As with yoga, the osteopathic approach to health care focuses on the body's natural inclination toward health and self-healing.

"The purpose of yoga is to increase strength, awareness, and harmony between mind and body," explains Natalie Nevins, an orthopedic family physician and certified Kundalini Yoga instructor in Hollywood, California.

While there are more than 100 different types or schools of yoga, the majority of classes typically include breathing exercises, meditation and poses (sometimes called asana or poses) that extend and flex various muscle groups.

"As an osteopathic physician," says Dr. Nevins, "my focus is on preventive medicine and practices, as well as the body's ability to heal itself." Yoga is an excellent tool for staying healthy because it is based on similar principles.

The Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) focuses on prevention, looking at the effects of lifestyle and environment on health rather than just treating symptoms.

Beginners welcome

Due to the variety of yoga practices, anybody can start practicing. Whether you're a "couch potato" or a professional athlete, size and fitness level don't matter because there's a practice for every yoga pose and a beginner's class for every style," says Dr. Nevins, "Our philosophy is to explore your limits." Our philosophy is to explore your limits, not to strive for some pretzel-like perfection.

Physical benefits

“The relaxation techniques incorporated in yoga can lessen chronic pain, such as lower back pain, arthritis, headaches and carpal tunnel syndrome,” explains Dr. Nevins. “Yoga can also lower blood pressure and reduce insomnia.”

Other physical benefits of yoga include:

increased flexibility
increased muscle strength and tone
improved respiration, energy and vitality
maintaining a balanced metabolism
weight reduction
cardio and circulatory health
improved athletic performance
protection from injury

Mental benefits

Aside from the physical benefits, one of the best benefits of yoga is how it helps a person manage stress, which is known to have devastating effects on the body and mind. “Stress can reveal itself in many ways, including back or neck pain, sleeping problems, headaches, drug abuse, and an inability to concentrate,” says Dr. Nevins. “Yoga can be very effective in developing coping skills and reaching a more positive outlook on life.”

Yoga’s incorporation of meditation and breathing can help improve a person’s mental well-being. “Regular yoga practice creates mental clarity and calmness; increases body awareness; relieves chronic stress patterns; relaxes the mind; centers attention; and sharpens concentration,” says Dr. Nevins. Body- and self-awareness are particularly beneficial, she adds, “because they can help with early detection of physical problems and allow for early preventive action.”