As college students, we are hardworking, busy, determined, and more often than not we are stressed. We all cope with stress differently, some may work out and others may choose to sleep or eat. Often, students are unwilling to take an exercise class because they think they don’t have time, or maybe they are worried about trying something new in front of other people. Yoga, exercise for physical and mental health, is one class that every college student should take at least once in their college years and here are five reasons why!
1. It is an amazing workout. You don’t think yoga would be difficult until you try it. Yoga is one of the best workouts for your core muscles and by the end of your first class you will be sweating way more than you would have ever imagined. It will seem tough at first, but as your body learns the moves and adjusts to them you will master the workout in no time!
2. It is a good way to calm down and de-stress. Yoga has the great ability to help you calm down and feel less stressed through breathing techniques and the releasing of tension throughout the body. It helps you to take your mind off of your troubles and really connect your mind to your body and feel the energy move through each muscle.
3. It pushes your limits to try new things with your body. So many people believe that they are not flexible and do not have the ability to become flexible. With yoga, you get to push your body’s limits (safely) and end up mastering poses that you would have never been able to do a few weeks earlier. It is a way to teach your muscles a new form, and stretch them in ways you did not even think was possible.
4. The health benefits are insane. Yoga can help with lower back pain, high blood pressure, arthritis, headaches, and depression! Even if you aren’t dealing with any of those issues now, chances are they could become an issue when you get older, but if you start to treat your body now the risk of developing any of these becomes very slim. Who wouldn’t want to try and prevent any of those?!
5. Once you learn the moves, you can do it anywhere. Yoga is great because you can do it ANYWHERE. Your small dorm or apartment, the park, the beach, the gym, you name it and it can be done there. You can also take the breathing techniques you learn in class and apply them anywhere. Maybe you feel stressed about a test or a big performance coming up and want to try and relax. With the breathing techniques, you will be able to slow down your breathing and find a calmness within yourself, and quickly get over any nerves. As long as you have a small space, yoga is very possible.