7 Surprising Benefits of Yoga for Men: What You Need to Know
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When you think of yoga, most people don’t associate it as being a men’s sport or form of exercise. Yoga isn’t considered as intense or strenuous as strength training or other workouts that are fast-paced. In fact, men seem to shy away from the mat because they feel it makes them look less masculine. As a result, many yoga classes or programs you may see fill up with women instead.
One of the most surprising benefits of yoga for men is its ability to improve blood circulation. Through a variety of poses and breathing techniques, yoga can increase blood flow to the brain, upper body, and extremities, leading to improved overall health and vitality.
In this article, we will explore some of the most surprising benefits of yoga for blood circulation in men and how they can be achieved through regular practice.
The ability of yoga to help improve a person’s mind, body, and spirit includes meditation and relaxation but also building strength and increasing flexibility. Here are some of the more surprising benefits that yoga can have for men.
Another great aspect of yoga is that it can be a bonding experience for couples. Yoga practices a couple can do together can help strengthen the relationship and create a deeper understanding of each other’s bodies, minds, and emotions.
1. Yoga Prevents Injury
Men are susceptible to injury, particularly if engaging in physical activity. If you already play sports or work out, chances are you’ve experienced the soreness or pain that comes with straining your muscles. If you often sit or work at a desk, improper posture can lead to painful problems.
When you practice yoga, you put emphasis on relaxing the muscles as well as strengthening them. You can easily work with tendons and ligaments so that they become less susceptible to breaking down. The increased flexibility, along with these other practices, helps protect your body from injury.
2. Yoga Relieves Anxiety and Stress
Mental health issues affect both men and women. Problems like feeling too anxious, getting overwhelmed by stress, and even depression can plague your life. It’s challenging to find the motivation to do things or even function well at work or at home when you’re feeling this way.
Yoga is a relaxing and meditative activity that brings men peace. It combines breathing exercises and physical training with meditation, which can be a tranquil way to cope with stress and anxiety in your life.
Men are less likely than women to seek out mental health assistance. But instead of visiting with a therapist or seeking psychiatric assistance, you can turn to yoga. A study by Deakin University from 2022 discovered that mental health benefits are abundant for men who practice yoga.
3. Yoga Provides Strength and Conditioning
Yoga isn’t all just meditation and relaxation; that’s a common myth. Yoga is intense and requires a lot of stamina, which is great for men who are looking to build their strength.
Flow styles that are common with yoga, including Vinyasa, help to work your core muscles out. Areas like the abdominal muscles, hip flexors, glutes, thighs, and shoulders all get stronger the more consistently you work on yoga poses. Yoga can also help men gain more muscle and increase their endurance.
4. Yoga Promotes Better Sleep
Men who suffer from insomnia, sleep deprivation, or just have trouble sleeping in general can find sleep benefits with yoga. There is a guided meditation called Yoga Nidra that specifically targets your sleep quality.
The breathing that’s utilized when practicing yoga stimulates the vagus nerve, which affects the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), which controls your body’s rest and helps to aid in better sleep.
5. Yoga Improves Digestion
Generally speaking, men with a healthy lifestyle can help benefit their digestive system as a whole; it helps prevent illnesses. If you experience discomfort in your gut, it can be attributed to your diet. But, exercises like yoga can help to improve your digestion.
Yoga works to massage your internal organs, and it can relieve digestive pains like bloating, gas, constipation, inflammation, and others. A study done on adolescents found that those who participated in yoga activities had lower levels of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) than those who didn’t.
6. Yoga Increases Blood Flow
There are plenty of ways to help increase blood flow, including finding comfortable compression socks for men. But yoga can also help to improve your blood circulation, especially if you continue to do it consistently.
Yoga helps your blood cells function more efficiently by bringing more oxygen to them. Certain yoga poses and twists help increase the circulation to your spinal fluid, helping to lubricate it. You improve circulation by opening up the chest and expanding your lungs, and poses where you are essentially upside down help to relieve swelling or the buildup of fluid in your extremities.
7. Yoga Benefits Brain Function
One last surprising benefit of yoga for men is its impact on the brain. With consistent yoga exercises, the brain cells develop new connections, and cognitive skills are improved.
There was a study at Harvard University Health which demonstrated and found evidence that yoga strengthens areas of the brain attached to memory, attention, awareness, and language. It takes your exercise a step further than just lifting weights at the gym. Because of the improved brain function, it also boosts your mood by increasing the production of endorphins within the brain.
Men’s Yoga Has Many Benefits
If you love the feeling you get after an intense workout, you should consider adding yoga as part of your workout regimen. Another benefit for men with yoga is increased oxytocin, stimulating the desire for sexual intimacy and increasing your desire for social interaction.
With all of the benefits Yoga can provide men, there’s no reason to feel less masculine taking a class. Yoga provides men with a helpful boost in their exercise routine and ensures that they benefit from a healthier, happier, and longer life!