You might be hearing a lot of talk about yoga lately. Today, yoga is all the rage and becoming even more popular. Although yoga has been around since ancient times, there are still people discovering just how amazing it is. Yoga has quite a few benefits to offer anyone who is willing to try it. With new year resolutions being made, yoga could be just what you need for a healthier and more mindful lifestyle. No matter the level of difficulty you do, yoga will always be challenging. However, you don't need to be a “Yogi” to do yoga!

1. Stress Relief

Stress can be detrimental to the mind and body. Using meditation and breathing exercises can help manage stress, thus creating a peaceful mindset and way of living. This could also help with sleep problems and fatigue. Not only does yoga help relieve bodily stress and tension, it also relieves tension of the mind. Focusing on different poses creates a new focus for the mind.

2. Increases Flexibility

This is the most common benefit of yoga. Increasing flexibility releases muscle and back pain. Different yoga moves and poses help prevent injuries and also work to keep the body in a more youthful state. A belief in the yoga community is if you keep the body flexible, you also keep the mind flexible.

3. Sense of Calm

Yoga poses are designed to prepare the body and mind for meditation. After doing several yoga poses, the body is ready to do what is called “savasana”. Savasana is a pose of complete relaxation, where you lay still. Which can only be achieved after doing many yoga poses. This is the most common way to achieve a state of calm through yoga.

4. Increased Level of Energy

In yoga there are many types of breathing used to increase oxygen in the blood. With oxygen in the blood, energy levels are increased. Movement throughout the day is made much easier because of the increase of energy felt. This is a much more natural way to obtain energy instead of other stimulants.

Yoga is something you can do anywhere and anytime. No equipment is needed in yoga unless you decide you would like to. The fact that you don't need anything but your body makes physical health much easier than running to the gym all the time. Yoga is quick, easy and most of all fun. So go out and find your own personal benefits for yoga!

Side note: a "yogi" is a person proficient in yoga and does it often.