Staying young, losing weight, boosting your immune system — if this were offered in a pill, we’d all be lining up to buy it!

The reality is you can get all of these benefits from something even healthier than a magic pill — yoga! Think of yoga as your all-natural way to help defy the aging process (or at least slow it down). And we’re not just talking about looking young forever — we’re talking about the physical decline that happens as we grow older if we don’t take steps to combat it.

Here are 5 incredible ways yoga helps your body (mind and spirit) stay youthful:

#1: Yoga helps improve mobility.

Aches, pains and stiffness don’t have to be an accepted part of “getting older” (have you seen this video of this incredible 97-year old yogi yet?) — yoga can help keep you body feeling more youthful by improving your range of motion, flexibility and even your posture.

Not only can yoga can help improve mobility throughout your body, it’s particularly helpful for boosting spine mobility, which can be crucial for helping to avoid the shortening and rounding of your back that commonly occurs as we get older.

 

#2: Yoga helps better your balance.

As we grow older, our bodies undergo some inevitable physiological changes. We often take for granted our body’s natural ability to balance, but as we age our vestibular system begins to decline. A regular yoga practice is a great tool for improving balance which could potentially help prevent trips, falls and keep you more active overall.

 

#3: Yoga facilitates regular meditation — an important age-fighter in it’s own right.

Many yoga practitioners consider their practice meditation, and most typically conclude with ‘savasana’ or a final relaxation (or meditation). Including regular meditation into your healthy lifestyle can help you manage stress, prevent disease and even improve the quality of your sleep.

 

#4: Yoga helps lower your blood pressure.

Research has shown that yoga can not only help lower high blood pressure (which can cause everything from strokes to brittle bones), it can also effectively lower blood glucose levels, cholesterol and even help you lose weight.

 

#5: Yoga may actually help smooth your skin.

Of course, there are some great external benefits to yoga too – in addition to it’s ability to aid in weight loss, it may also help smooth your skin too. How? Yoga helps lower inflammation-causing stress levels in your body, and reducing inflammation can help your skin appear not only healthier but younger too.

Ready to give yoga a try but aren’t sure where to start? Think you are too inflexible for yoga? Scared to try it out because of the complicated poses and terminology? Don’t be! Our “Yoga Stretch for Beginners and Beyond” DVD is the perfect place to get started with a regular practice.

Here are just a few reasons this DVD is great for beginners (and those looking for a more gentle, progressive practice):

• No sankrit terminology used

• No chanting or OM’ing.

• Filmed outdoors to enhance the relaxation response and boost your mood and energy levels.

• It’s ‘vinyasa-free’ which means you don’t have to continue to repeat tough, more advanced moves like chaturangas, planks, upward and downward dog, etc.