Can a month of yoga change your body? It’s actually more exciting than that. Just 30 days of yoga may help to begin a transformation of both your mind and body. We could line our yoga studio’s walls with studies on the wellness benefits of yoga.
Research has long suggested that yoga may help to improve general wellness by relieving stress, supporting good health habits, improving mental/emotional health, boosting sleep, and promoting better physical balance. Yoga is also credited with helping people to lose weight, relieve menopause symptoms, manage symptoms of anxiety and depression, and quit smoking. However, most people assume that you need to be a diehard yogini for years before you can actually start to see the benefits. In reality, yoga can create some big changes in just 30 days. Some people even walk out of their first yoga session feeling like a changed person! Here are some things you might notice after doing yoga for a month.
1. Your stiff shoulders are gone
Yoga instructors are very familiar with the phenomenon of increased shoulder mobility among new students. So many of us are walking around “all wound up” with tight, tense shoulders. For people who spend hours at the keyboard, it’s also common to have rounded shoulders that keep your neck and pectoral muscles tight. What many people don’t realize is that stiff shoulders are also causing their tension headaches. The neck and shoulder stretches and rotations used in basic yoga can help to unlock all of that tension.
2. You’re sleeping better
Don’t be surprised if you stop tussling with your pillow every night after putting in some mat time. Science says yoga boosts sleep quality. When studying the sleep habits of yoga participants, researchers found significantly less sleeping disturbances, shorter sleep latency, decreased use of sleep medications, and higher sleep-efficiency scores.
3. Your core feels different
Did my abs suddenly get tighter? Many new yoga students are surprised that it can take just a month to feel their core muscles getting tighter and stronger. This change can help to improve posture by taking pressure off the back. Don’t be surprised if you’re walking taller after 30 days of yoga!
4. Your mood is lighter
From boosting brain gamma aminobutyric (GABA) levels to releasing endorphins, yoga does wonderful things for our brains! Yoga helps to bring a sense of calm to the whole body by decreasing blood pressure, heart rate, cortisol levels, and cytokine expression. Many people use yoga to manage symptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
5. You’re experiencing deeper perseverance and mental fortitude
While yoga is definitely physical, this is also a mental sport. Yoga gives you a safe space to push your limits, concentrate on your body, and pursue self-exploration. Just a month of yoga can show us that most of the limits we face in life are self-imposed. We have to “get over ourselves” in order to get over barriers. As we confront our fears and limitations on the mat, we begin to see what we are really capable of when we push through. Don’t be surprised if you begin to have breakthroughs in all areas of your life as you undergo the physical and mental transformations that yoga often brings on!
What could happen when you try yoga for a month?
Stuck in a rut? See where 30 days of yoga can take you! At Ignite Yoga of Dayton, we offer the chance to try a month of yoga in a supportive studio environment with classes geared toward mind and body wellness. Book your first class with Ignite Yoga today!
