What’s up, fitness fans?
Today we’re looking at something slightly different because today we’re looking at yoga.
Now, yoga is one of the oldest practices in the world and is still hugely popular to this day, so why is it slightly different?
Well, because today we’re looking at the benefits of yoga for men.
Without generalizing here, it’s probably safe to assume that yoga is an activity that is mainly associated with women.
That’s not to say that men don’t do yoga because they do, it’s just that it is more popular with women than men.
There are, however, signs of things changing as more and more men are now taking up yoga and are reaping the rewards.
Yoga is an activity that is great for the mind, body, and soul and it is something that people find themselves becoming strangely addicted to the more they do it.
Now, the earliest recorded mention of yoga can be traced back more than 4,000 years ago, though experts are convinced that it goes back further.
Still a key part of everyday life in India, yoga is practiced by people of all ages, genders, shapes, sizes, and backgrounds, for a whole host of different reasons.
What Are The Many Health Benefits Of Yoga For Men?
Here’s a look at the 17 brilliant benefits.
1. Yoga Strengthens The Muscles
Again, without generalizing, more men tend to lift weights more frequently than women, with the sole intensions of building and strengthening their muscles.
One thing that people don’t realize about yoga, though, is the fact that yoga can actually strengthen the muscles and make you stronger.
You might not break any powerlifting records through yoga alone, but you’ll certainly become stronger.
2. Yoga Is Great For Stress Relief
Life can be very stressful as you’re all no doubt aware, yet for some, it can be more stressful than for others.
Stress is a silent killer because often the health issues it causes such as high blood pressure are very difficult to diagnose until it’s too late.
This is one key reason why stress relief in the form of yoga is so beneficial.
Yoga is a very calm and relaxing form of activity that helps to promote deep breathing and relaxation.
3. Yoga Improves Your Mental Health
Did you know, that men are more likely to commit suicide than women?
This dark fact is not nice, but it needs highlighting in order to highlight the importance of looking after your mental health.
Another important benefit is the fact that yoga can improve mental health.
Like Zumba and Pilates, yoga promotes sleep and relaxation, promotes an increase in endorphin production, and it can promote confidence and self-esteem.
If you’re dealing with mental health issues, yoga is ideal.
4. Yoga Burns Calories
Okay, yoga is not a physically demanding activity, but that doesn’t mean that the weight loss benefits cannot be noticed.
One of the best things about yoga is the fact that it helps to burn calories which in turn will burn fat and assist with weight loss.
Yoga might not burn off as many calories as a high-intensity workout on the stair climber or an elliptical machine, but a yoga session will still burn a few hundred calories.
Not only that but as it increases lean muscle mass too, it also ramps up the metabolism.
5. Yoga Improves Your Circulation
Men tend to suffer from worse circulation than women, which is yet another reason why the main benefits really become apparent here.
Yoga is an activity that will boost circulation in men.
This means that more oxygen and nutrient-rich blood can be transported around the body and to the cells and organs.
This will not only give you more energy, but it will also improve your athletic performance and your physical performance in the bedroom if you know what we mean?
This brings us to…
6. Yoga Improves Male Sexual Health
Another of the awesome benefits that we need to look at today is the fact that yoga is also an activity that will work wonders on a man’s sexual health.
Yoga boosts circulation which means more blood can be pumped around the body and can reach various parts of the anatomy that need blood, oxygen, and nutrients.
Not only that but as yoga makes you feel better and helps you to become more flexible and agile, this too will improve your sexual performance in the bedroom.
7. Yoga Will Give You More Energy
If you’re a man that constantly feels tired and fatigued, another of the amazing benefits is the fact that the activity will give you more energy.
Yoga helps to awaken the senses, the mind, and the body and helps to ramp up the metabolism and improve oxygen transportation.
The more oxygen your cells have access to, the more energy they can create and the more energy they can create the more energy you will have.
Not only will this make you more alert and more active, but it will also help to improve your athletic performance as well.
8. Yoga Helps To Promote Productivity
Ever find yourself struggling to be productive, either at home, at work, at the gym, or anywhere else?
If so, then it could be that your brain isn’t firing on all cylinders and it could be that you’re simply not thinking clearly.
Yoga is great because it awakens the senses and helps to promote feelings of mental clarity and focus, and overall levels of alertness too.
Studies have found that as little as 20 minutes of yoga each day can enhance overall levels of productivity and can help people to become more alert and more focused.
9. Yoga Can Build Muscle
Not only can yoga enhance your overall strength levels, but it has also been found that yoga can also increase your lean muscle mass as well.
Yoga is an activity that utilizes your whole body and uses it for resistance, so it is basically a bodyweight exercise.
Just as push-ups and lunges can increase your lean muscle mass, so too can yoga.
One of the most appealing benefits is the fact that it can help to increase your lean muscle mass so you can build muscle without even having to pick up a single weight.
10. Yoga Will Push You To Your Limits
There’s a common misconception when it comes to yoga that it is very easy and that anybody can do it.
In reality, it is one of the toughest disciplines you could ever participate in, especially if you’re lacking flexibility.
Whereas some poses are basic, if you try some of the more testing and physically demanding poses you’ll find your limbs creaking and your joints bending, and you’ll want to throw in the towel.
If you stick with it, though, and breakthrough these barriers, this will not only build physical strength, it will also enhance mental toughness as well.
11. Yoga Is Great For Flexibility
It is well documented that men are generally a great deal less flexible than women.
If your flexibility leaves a little, or a lot, to be desired, one of the best activities as a man that you can take up is yoga.
Yoga is an activity that helps to boost flexibility, mobility, muscle elasticity, range of motion, and a whole lot more besides.
Whether you struggle to bend down and tie your laces, or if your back is as stiff as a board when you wake up in the morning, yoga is the perfect activity to improve your flexibility and mobility.
12. Yoga Helps To Reduce Blood Pressure
Hypertension is a very common health issue in the developed world, and when you consider the fact that millions upon millions of men all over the globe struggle with high blood pressure, it’s easy to see why health officials are so concerned about it.
One of the best things about yoga and one of the main benefits is the fact that yoga has been found to reduce blood pressure and improve cardiovascular health and fitness.
Without sounding too dramatic here, because of the fact that yoga helps to reduce blood pressure, it could potentially save your life.
13. Yoga Improves Heart Health
On the subject of heart health, cardiovascular disease is the world’s biggest killer and it claims for male lives each year more than any other condition.
In the US alone, heart disease is responsible for around 1 in 4 deaths.
Looking after the heart is essential for overall health and wellness and thankfully yoga is a great activity to help you do precisely that.
Not only does yoga improve fitness and help promote weight loss, but it can also reduce blood pressure and promote relaxation, and fight stress.
This means that the heart becomes healthier and you will be far less susceptible to cardiovascular disease if you take part in yoga-based workouts on a regular basis.
14. Yoga Is As Easy Or As Hard As You’d Like
Another reason why yoga is proving to be so popular amongst men is the fact that yoga can be as easy or as difficult as you would like.
When people talk about the benefits, one benefit that is often brought up is the fact that users can adapt their yoga workouts to make them easier or harder.
If you find that the yoga poses you’re doing are too easy and you are able to do them easily without even increasing your heart rate, why not try harder poses that require more mobility, flexibility, and core body strength?
If you want to test yourself, go ahead, and test yourself.
At the same time, if you are tired, in pain, or just looking to take it easy, if you do want to make your yoga workouts easier, you can.
15. Yoga Is Great For Men Of All Ages
Another brilliant benefit of yoga for men is the fact that yoga can be done by men of all ages.
Yoga is an activity that does not discriminate based upon age or gender, and as a result, healthy and fit men in their twenties and thirties can do it, along with men in their 70s, 80s, and 90s.
In fact, yoga promotes longevity, so the more yoga you participate in, the more likely you will be to live longer and healthier.
16. Yoga May Help To Delay Cognitive Impairment
As we grow older, we find ourselves more at risk of cognitive issues such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Whereas there is no solid evidence, there is evidence that does point to the fact that yoga could very well help to delay or prevent cognitive impairment associated with growing older.
What does this mean?
Well, it means that there is evidence to suggest that yoga could help to prevent or slow down Alzheimer’s Disease.
17. Yoga Promotes Sleep
Finally, the last of the health benefits that we’re looking at today is the fact that yoga has been found to help promote sleep.
Yoga burns energy helps to promote relaxation and assists with the production and secretion of hormones that are needed by the body for sleep.
If you struggle to sleep at night, yoga on a regular basis could be ideal.
Final Thoughts:
So, as we stretch our way to a conclusion, what are our final thoughts on yoga for men?
Well, as you can see from this extensive list of benefits of yoga for men, yoga is incredibly healthy and can help men and women in a variety of different ways.
If you want to improve your health, look better, and feel better in the process, yoga is perfect.
