Benefits of Online Yoga Classes
When COVID-19 first started, our options for exercise classes become limited. However, this shift also made many of us realize that online fitness poses a number of positives. The list of benefits of online yoga classes could go on and on. What I have been surprised to discover is that online yoga is every bit as effective as a studio yoga class. There are differences, no doubt. Yet both have benefits and can be extremely effective. The thing with online yoga classes is it removes many obstacles to studio classes. There is no drive time or scheduling issues, and in many cases, the cost per class is less than a dollar or simply free as opposed to the studio’s $25 per class, etc…
So, the benefits of online yoga classes that I address below can be attributed to online yoga as equally as to your local yoga studio class.
COVID-19 has created an environment as conducive to practicing yoga as city dwellers could possibly expect since most of us have plenty of time, and there is certainly plenty of online yoga. Buy a hot plate (so you can boil water) and a space heater and turn both on 30 minutes before you practice and voila! Now you have “Hot Yoga,” Not only is the current climate conducive to yoga, you could also argue COVID-19 has made yoga practice more important as COVID-19 is creating lots of fear and anxiety-producing loads of stress. Yoga’s number one effect is reducing and even eradicating stress. This is a nice segue into…
The health benefits of yoga, or the benefits of online yoga, or the benefits of hot yoga, or Power Yoga are, for starters, the absolutely most complete or comprehensive exercises I have ever seen. The largest factor in health is stress, and the number one focus of yoga is to reduce stress! The mental benefits of yoga are key. Most real health comes from a calm and peaceful mind. Physically speaking, you cannot take care of something you do not touch and a well-rounded yoga class touches it all. It touches every range of motion, every body part, and all aspects of fitness: strength, balance, flexibility, stamina, and CVR. Power Yoga is the ultimate cross-training! But, don’t let that scare you as it can also be tailored to any age or body. This completeness is the BENEFIT!
Now, the specific benefits are too many to address, and we would have to use a lot of scientific jargon when talking about yoga’s influence on stuff like the parasympathetic nervous system and certain body tissues like fascia. Yet, to me, the benefits are simple to understand and it’s also easy to understand that those benefits have a trickle-down effect on every other part of our being as it is all literally interconnected. So, when people ask, “Did you know yoga affects the endocrine system?” I say “Yes!” without ever learning its effects on the endocrine system. Or, I’m told of the benefits of prenatal and postnatal yoga and I smile and say “Of course.” It’s like the chicken soup of wellness endeavors.
Science says a baby monkey will die without three things: food, water, and touch. I’m sure it’s more than just a physical touch, it’s soul nourishment is to be cared for. Truly this is what yoga is all about, “caring for oneself and others!” The objective of yoga is not strength, flexibility, or beauty. These might be a by-product. Yoga is not trying to change you because yoga doesn’t look at you like you are ugly, wrong, and broken in the first place. All yoga is trying to do is care for you!
Past injuries and personal needs, whether it’s mental/emotional or physical, are addressed in this body-mind science. Releasing the old and embracing the new, through understanding and insight, are cultivated within the observation. Yes, this is a science. The foundation of scientific progress is investigation and observation and that is the foundation of yoga as well.
What an amazing tool a yoga practice truly is! As we age yoga provides us with muscle tone, suppleness, and agility, clarity, calmness, insight, and understanding. Please join us for both online streaming classes and LIVE streaming classes and start the journey of a lifetime that culminates daily!