Today, the age-old practice of yoga is practiced by over 300 million people worldwide and this proves that it is not just a passing fitness fad. While most fitness regimes require practitioners to perform rigorous physical activities to reach a given goal, yoga works otherwise. The effects of yoga on the human body is awe-inspiring and how yoga changes your body in its own mystical ways is not a myth.
“Yoga is moe thran a powerful way to relax – it can transform your body” – Travis Eliot
Yoga is a slow and gentle process, bringing out patience in those who are impatient, mindfulness in those who are impulsive, and wholesome physical fitness for those who are looking out to be healthy. It can truly transform your body, which is why yogis since olden days worked with the yoga art, modified it to suit the body’s requirement, and cared to pass it on to generations after them.
It is a gentle regime, suitable for all fitness-loving people, irrespective of their age, shape, or size. As you immerse yourself into the practice, week after week and month after month, your perspective of a healthy mind and body will take a new shape and your life will turn around, all towards a positive direction.
There will be a series of questions in your mind when you start out like, “how does yoga change your body? Is it really possible?” or “what does yoga do for your body? Does it really cleanse your organs?”. Well, it’s only natural for one to ask such questions, for it is unbelievable to even think that the human body can receive so much of benefits from just a few twists, bends, and inversions.
But, everything that yoga commits, it fulfills. Irrespective of the style of yoga you choose, they all come with the same end result – positive growth of the mind, body, and spirit. Hence, to answer your questions and clear your doubts about how this practice works, below is a detailed guide that shows how your body changes from the first week of practice to the next three months of your yoga life. Let’s dig deeper and have a look at a yogis journey.
How Yoga Transforms your Body – From Day 1 to 3 Months
Day Zero: How you ended up in a yoga class. (For most of us)
Your life has been a wreck, you are pretty forgetful, and you are not losing weight no matter how much you diet or exercise at the gym. More so, you are clumsy, make impulsive decisions, and are unable to concentrate on your work, irrespective of the amount of coffee you have been gulping down your throat. You are eager for a change and most of all you really want to lose weight (your first concern) or cure a prolonged disease.
That’s when your best friend walks up to you and suggests that you take up yoga as a last resort. You twitch your lips, make a face at the thought, but finally give in, thinking if it does not work in a month, you will leave.
So, it’s your first day of yoga class and you are nervous and excited about everything that you are about to learn and weight that you are going to lose. So, here you go.
Day 1- After your First Yoga Class
- Improved Brain Functions and Lowered Stress Levels
Yoga class was invigorating and peaceful. That’s what the first day feels like. You don’t feel much of a change for the first day and return home, get fresh, watch some TV, have your dinner and go to sleep.
When you wake up next morning, and that is when you feel it. You are wide awake before the alarm rings, feel refreshed instead of groggy and sleepy like every other morning, and have no need to pull yourself out of the bed as always. This makes you feel ready to take on the world and you wonder if it’s because you slept early the previous night.
- What’s happening with your body?
What’s actually happening here is an effect of your yoga practice. Though yoga does take time to show any signs on your physical appearance, it starts improving your internal body functions right from the first day when you practice it.
The reason why one does not feel muddled or tired the next day of their yoga class is because physical yoga exercise releases certain chemicals in the body, like serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins, which are responsible for lowering your stress levels and improving your mood. Imagine what does yoga do for your body when you do the practice regularly.
How yoga changes your body after 1 Week?
- What you Never Expected, Happens
Already into a week of yoga practice and you are hooked. You are feeling the changes within and around you. Of course, the physical frame is still the same, but you have learned to love and accept your body for how it is built. Furthermore, you now know it’s not your shape and size that has been restricting you and your movements.
You feel nimbler, balanced, and flexible than what was a week ago. Your performance at work has started to improve as well and you are more mindful of your decisions about everything. You couldn’t have felt much better than this, although you do realize that there’s more to conquer in the coming days.
- What’s happening with your body?
Yoga through its asanas and breathing techniques helps you still the mind, which in turn helps people focus better on the “Now” rather than the “Then”. When doing poses, your teacher will advise you to concentrate on your breath and movements. This process when made a habit trains your mind to be mindful of your actions in class, as well as in everyday life.
Being able to quieten your minds, your ultimate source of energy, aids in freeing yourself from any bondage of past relationships or any negativity that might have been stacked up inside you since the past many years. Other than your mind, your body is also benefited as you start activating the dormant muscles and joints, which have been lacking movement due to your sedentary lifestyle.
After First Month of Yoga Practice
- Flexibility, balance and immunity are no more a problem
It’s a month since practice started and yoga is now a part and parcel of your life. You will now start to notice changes to your body’s appearance. Your posture is much improved, contributing to your looks, and your confidence radiates with each step that you take. Stress, depression, and anxiety are miles away from you, since now you are more grounded and mindful of your actions and thoughts.
It’s been a healthy journey ever since you joined your first yoga class and you suffer less from colds or menstrual cramps, which was really a painful situation for you every month. Furthermore, you are eating healthier and have been able to overcome your caffeine addiction.
- What’s happening with your body?
According to medical science, there are numerous forms of bacteria and viruses that reside within us, which do not surface until our health is compromised. Your stress levels, lifestyle, and eating habits all contribute to making your body immune from any illnesses. Hence, if all these factors are resolved, then your body too becomes strong and can effectively fight off infections and illnesses; your wounds heal faster as well.
Breathing techniques incorporated in yoga asanas promote clean air to enter your lungs, thus in the process eliminating toxins with every exhale. Furthermore, with sleep durations promoted due to reduced stress levels via yoga, your body gets the rest it deserves. This allows the regeneration of cells, which in turn helps your body fight antibodies effectively.
3 Months and Loving It – Yoga is now a part of life
You are now in such a stage where a day without yoga can leave you incomplete. In fact, you can’t think about living without it anymore. It is now that you come to understand yourself on a deeper and spiritual level. Yoga poses are not as hard as what they seemed before and you have been able to master almost each of the major poses. You understand the anatomy of your body better and the do’s and don’ts that you need to keep in mind to avoid injury.
No doubt, your figure looks better but other than that you will also notice the increase in stamina, increase in arm strength, much-balanced body, better relationship management, and glowing skin. You will realize that these 3 months of yoga has completely transformed you as a person on both physical and emotional aspects. Now, it’s not you anymore who is asking the question, “how yoga changes your body?” but you telling people “how yoga changed my body and why you should try it too”
What’s happening with your body?
Yoga movements incorporate various twists and bends which help the circulation of blood into various parts of body. Better circulation means the better flow of fresh oxygen as well. This improves the overall functions of your heart, brain, cells, and tissues within the body.
A little regular practice enhances digestion as well as lubrication of the joints and flexibility of the muscle tissues. All-in-all, it is a domino effect, one benefit pushing on to the other, making the end result a satisfying and meaningful life experience.
Other Benefits of Practicing Yoga
Three months, that’s all the time it takes to make you open your mind to yoga and see the results for yourself. There’s more to the practice than the few benefits elaborate above. Here are some other hidden boons you can gain from the practice.
- Decreases the frequency of migraines.
- Makes your pregnancy journey easier and strengthens your body for birth.
- Cures infertility and problems of erectile dysfunction.
- Improves sleep cycles.
- Moderates blood pressure.
- Increases gray matter retention in brain, especially beneficial for students.
- Cures respiratory problems like bronchitis and asthma.
- Controls food cravings.
- Improves athletic performance, especially for runners who are more prone to injuries like sprains and fractures.
- Prevents wear and tear of the cartilage, thus preventing the joints from sustainable injury.
Conclusion
The best tip to see the wholesome advantage of yoga is to choose a class that focuses on almost all parts of the body. This way the practice will be able to promote good health and more than what you can expect.
As you age there are a series of complications will come across and yoga can help you overcome all those. You can already imagine how hard it is to pick up a pen from the ground. But with yoga, any bend is easy. So, if you are still wondering “how yoga changes your body” the best way to find the answer is to try it yourself. Happy yoga to you!
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