3 Ways Yoga Improves Your Joint System and Skeletal Structure
Regular practice of yoga is commonly known to give you a mental serenity and level of fitness unlike any other form of exercise. Many practitioners do not even realize that there are even more benefits being explored underneath your muscles. Yoga is proving more and more to have a significant effect on healthy joint function as certain poses promote the release of fluids while strengthening the muscles supporting vital joint systems. Here are three ways yoga can help get the juices flowing in those joints and keep you walking smoothly into your elder years.
- Promotes Flow of Synovial Fluid
Synovial fluid is the slippery liquid in joint systems that along with hyaline cartilage, allows smooth, painless movement of the bones. Synovial fluid is found in joints like the knees, hips, and elbows where more free movement of the bones is allowed. The few joints that do not have synovial fluid are the discs between your vertebrae in your back and both sacroiliac joints in the back of your pelvis. Consequently, movement of these joints is more limited than the others. Synovial fluid is also essential for delivering nutrients and oxygen to the hyaline cartilage which don’t have any sort of blood supply. The various poses in yoga allow this fluid to flow to different part of your body and with regular practice can increase the smooth flow of synovial fluid to your joints and make you move around more smoothly.
- Strengthens Joint Supporting Muscles
The isometric poses of yoga train the smaller muscles surrounding our joints to endure more pressure and make us work them harder in order to stabilize ourselves. Poses that force us to balance on one leg and change elevation or rotate train our supporting muscles to work in ways strictly for stability and balance, thereby improving their function as you go about daily activities.
- Weight Loss
Every pound of excess weight you carry on your body puts an unnecessary burden on your joints. The weight your joints are supporting grows exponentially when doing vigorous exercise such as running or jumping. Running upstairs can put as much as five times the amount of excess weight you’re carrying in pressure on your joints. Our joints are built to support us as we carry extra loads now and then but excess fat; to the point of obesity has been proven to cause earlier and more serious joint problems in individuals throughout their lives. Yoga along with a healthy diet can help you shed excess weight that is putting more pressure on your joints and inhibiting your movements.
No other form of exercise can isolate and concentrate on the muscles surrounding joints like yoga can while promoting healthy flow of blood and synovial fluid throughout the body. Even if joint problems are already getting the better of you there are still many poses that can be done on the floor that allow you to increase fluidity and loosen up the joints. Talk to your instructor before attempting certain poses that might put more stress on fragile or injured joints. Remember it is not a competition; do what is comfortable and beneficial for you.
About the Author
How Yoga Can Help Improve Your Skin
The skin on someone’s face is one of the first things we notice, so it’s only natural that we would desire healthy, beautiful skin. Sadly enough, our skin is also one of the first things to be affected by poor diet and stress. Beyond just covering up with makeup, or religiously applying face creams at night, there are other things that can be done to improve the look and feel of your skin.
Yoga is one of the most effective things we can do to help our skin to stay beautiful and glowing. There are a variety of different poses that will work to your advantage, each with different benefits, but first: what really causes your skin problems?
Skin problems and their causes
Acne is the bane of many individuals – it always seems to be a problem. Luckily, it tends to heal itself and, if treated properly, will not leave any lasting scars.
Oftentimes, a person’s health history has a lot to do with the way his or her skin looks now. If they spent a lot of time outdoors without proper sun protection, or smoked frequently, these things will probably affect their skin negatively.
A poor diet can also cause poor skin: leading to more breakouts and excess oil that clogs pores.
Yoga’s healthy skin benefits
What is yoga actually doing to help improve my skin? Yoga works to improve digestion and circulation. When your body has better blood flow, it naturally produces glowing skin.
Practice doing poses like wind-relieving posture and bow pose, and try alternating nose breathing. All of these practices will aid in digestion. Glowing skin comes with a digestion system that is working properly.
Other yoga poses, such as child’s pose, fish pose and shoulder stand, are also extremely effective in increasing blood circulation throughout your entire body – especially the face and brain – thus stimulating the skin.
Skin loses its elasticity easily, so it is also helpful to do facial exercise which will strengthen and tone the muscles in your face. Stretch your lips and massage your jaw and brows to relieve stress. This practice will also help you to gain elasticity in your face.
What else can I do to get beautiful skin?
Of course yoga is not the only way to improve the look of your skin! In addition to practicing yoga everyday as a regular part of your routine, there are several other habits you can implement into your life so that you can enjoy radiant skin:
1. Drink more water than you think you need. Water flushes out toxins and gives your skin a healthy, lustrous glow.
2. Aim for eight hours of sleep a night. Although this sometimes seems impossible, due to the busyness of life, by being sufficiently rested, you will also look awake and alert. Over time, this will affect the health of your skin in a positive way.
3. Consider getting facials at a spa as part of your regular routine. Facials work to rid your skin of impurities and help to produce a youthful, healthy glow.
By starting to incorporate yoga into your everyday life, you will begin to notice a big difference in the way your skin looks and feels. It will look younger, more vibrant and have a nice glow to it that others will surely notice. When done in unison with the other tips I’ve mentioned, you will be well along your way to having younger-looking skin in just a few weeks!
