Starting this past summer, I have been trying to practice yoga regularly. I’ve found it helps me focus and it’s a good way to start my day on schedule. Yoga is super easy to learn especially since there are plenty of youtube videos and pinterest guides to help newcomers get started. It also has amazing benefits for college students. Here are five ways yoga can help you be your best self this semester.
1. It will encourage you to keep your New Year’s resolution to stay fit.
According to Stephanie Watson on WedMd, yoga can help improve strength in the core, arms, and legs. Yoga is an inexpensive, full body workout. While yoga is not an aerobic exercise, Watson suggests that the more intense varieties, such as power yoga, can be just as good for your body. It is also a low impact exercise, which is great if you have sore joints. In fact, according to Carolyn Gregoire of The Huffington Post, a 2009 study found that practicing yoga could actually increase bone density.
2. It can help you beat winter colds.
Kristen Domonell, of the Daily Burn, reports that a Norwegian study found that practicing yoga regularly can result in changes in gene expression that boost immunity at the cellular level. Increased immunity comes in handy on college campuses, especially during the winter semester when it feels like entire dorms are sick. The best part of the study is that it suggests that these changes can start to occur while participants are still on the mat.
3. It will get your brain in the zone for your second semester classes.
Because yoga emphasizes both the mind and the body, it can also help students focus on their school work. Yoga has numerous benefits to the mind including relieving migraines, reducing anxiety, and improving memory. The Huffington Post reports that a 2010 Boston University study found that 12 weeks of yoga can increase gamma-aminobutyric levels in the brain which can help relieve depression and anxiety. While yoga should not be a replacement for mental health treatment, it can be a good way to reduce your anxiety before you write a term paper or take a final. Yoga can also make studying more productive. A University of Illinois study found that just 20 minutes of yoga improved participants performance on tests regarding brain functions.
4. It can help relieve hangovers after a weekend of partying.
Wyatt Myers, of Everyday Health, explains that yoga is a great way to detox the human body. He writes, “the poses 'shoulder stand,' 'plow,' and 'fish' work on the thyroid gland and improve metabolism, thus getting rid of a hangover faster.” While everyone has their supposed hangover cures, yoga has so many other amazing health benefits that it might be worth trying after the first party of the semester.
