Studies show that yoga reduces pain and improve mobility in patients with a variety of musculoskeletal disorders. Adding yoga to other exercise routines can improve strength and flexibility for conditions like chronic lower back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoporosis. Yoga's combination of physical exercise and regiment breathing is therapeutic for lung health. It relaxes the muscles constricting lung passageways and improve oxygen diffusion.

Yoga as therapeutic tool

Like other low-impact exercises, yoga's physical postures stretch multiple muscle groups. Stretching can make these muscles, ligaments, and tendons more elastic by changing the water content. Regular stretching stimulates stem cells which change into new muscle tissue and other cells that generate elastic collagen. Regular stretching also reduces the body's natural reflex by constricting muscles, improving pain tolerance.

Yoga improves fitness and flexibility

Although there are many approaches to modern yoga, three core elements of Patañjali's practice remains:<ul><li>Physical postures</li><li>Breathing exercises</li><li>Spiritual contemplation.</li></ul> The combination of physical and mental exercise is believed to have a unique set of health advantages, such as increased strength and flexibility, improved heart and lung function, and psychological well-being.

Remaining yoga practices

During the 1st and 5th century CE, the Hindu sage Patañjali started to codify the meditative traditions practised throughout India into 196 manuals called the Yoga Sutras. These texts described yoga as 'yoking'  (restraining) the mind from concentrating on external objects to reach a state of pure consciousness. With time, yoga became part of physical activities, from gymnastics to wrestling.

The history of yoga

One big claim is that yoga improves symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders, but there's little conclusive evidence of how yoga affects mental health. However, there is evidence to suggest that yoga can reduce stress and help with relaxation.

Yoga and psychological wellbeing

Explore the ancient tradition of yoga, and discover how its blend of physical and mental exercise impacts your health. -- There are many different approaches to modern yoga— though most forms have three core elements: physical postures, breathing exercises, and spiritual contemplation.This blend of physical and mental exercise is widely believed to have a unique set of health advantages. But is yoga actually beneficial to your health? Krishna Sudhir examines how this ancient tradition impacts the body and mind. Lesson by Krishna Sudhir, directed by Zsuzsanna Kreif. Educator's website: https://bit.ly/KrishnaSudhir Animator's website: https://www.behance.net/krzsanna & https://animationworkshop.via.dk/ Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletter Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreon Follow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebook Find us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitter Peep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-yoga-does-to-your-body-and-brain-krishna-sudhir Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Katrina Harding, Gerald Onyango, alessandra tasso, Astia Rizki Safitri, Côme Vincent, Antony Lee, Melissa Sorrells, Rakshit Kothari, Doreen Reynolds-Consolati, Simon Holst Ravn, Manognya Chakrapani, Ayala Ron, Samantha Chow, Philippe Spoden, Phyllis Dubrow, Michelle Stevens-Stanford, Cas Jamieson, Ophelia Gibson Best, Amber Wood, Paul Schneider, Jun Cai, Tim Robinson, Henrique 'Sorín' Cassús, cnorahs, Lyn-z Schulte, Elaine Fitzpatrick, Karthik Cherala, Clarence E. Harper Jr., Milad Mostafavi, Аркадий Скайуокер, Kiara Taylor, Louisa Lee, eden sher, Vignan Velivela, Sage Curie, Srikote Naewchampa, Tejas Dc, Khalifa Alhulail, Faiza Imtiaz, Martin Stephen, Jerome Froelich, Dan Paterniti, Jose Henrique Leopoldo e Silva, Mullaiarasu Sundaramurthy, Elnathan Joshua Bangayan, Caleb ross, Duo Xu, Quinn Shen, Marvin Vizuett and Sid.

mindfulness

Mindfulness

exerciseandfitness

Exercise & Fitness

videos

Videos

Explore the ancient tradition of yoga, and discover how its blend of physical and mental exercise impacts your health.

--

There are many different approaches to modern yoga— though most forms have three core elements: physical postures, breathing exercises, and spiritual contemplation.This blend of physical and mental exercise is widely believed to have a unique set of health advantages. But is yoga actually beneficial to your health? Krishna Sudhir examines how this ancient tradition impacts the body and mind.

Lesson by Krishna Sudhir, directed by Zsuzsanna Kreif.

Educator's website: https://bit.ly/KrishnaSudhir
Animator's website: https://www.behance.net/krzsanna & https://animationworkshop.via.dk/
Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletter
Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreon
Follow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebook
Find us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitter
Peep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram
View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-yoga-does-to-your-body-and-brain-krishna-sudhir

Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Katrina Harding, Gerald Onyango, alessandra tasso, Astia Rizki Safitri, Côme Vincent, Antony Lee, Melissa Sorrells, Rakshit Kothari, Doreen Reynolds-Consolati, Simon Holst Ravn, Manognya Chakrapani, Ayala Ron, Samantha Chow, Philippe Spoden, Phyllis Dubrow, Michelle Stevens-Stanford, Cas Jamieson, Ophelia Gibson Best, Amber Wood, Paul Schneider, Jun Cai, Tim Robinson, Henrique 'Sorín' Cassús, cnorahs, Lyn-z Schulte, Elaine Fitzpatrick, Karthik Cherala, Clarence E. Harper Jr., Milad Mostafavi, Аркадий Скайуокер, Kiara Taylor, Louisa Lee, eden sher, Vignan Velivela, Sage Curie, Srikote Naewchampa, Tejas Dc, Khalifa Alhulail, Faiza Imtiaz, Martin Stephen, Jerome Froelich, Dan Paterniti, Jose Henrique Leopoldo e Silva, Mullaiarasu Sundaramurthy, Elnathan Joshua Bangayan, Caleb ross, Duo Xu, Quinn Shen, Marvin Vizuett and Sid.

TED-Ed’s mission is to create lessons worth sharing. Feed and expand your curiosity with our award-winning animated shorts - published on YouTube and available with supplemental learning materials on ed.ted.com.

Want to suggest an idea for a TED-Ed animation, nominate an educator or animator? Visit our website at: http://ed.ted.com/get_involved.

Consider backing us on Patreon. By doing so, you directly support our nonprofit mission to create free, high-quality educational content: https://www.patreon.com/teded

For more information on using TED-Ed content for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film, or in an online course), please submit a Media Request using this link: https://media-requests.ted.com/ 
