Different yoga poses have different benefits for your body, each of them have their own function and perform differently.  The one thing that all yoga poses have in common is that they are designed to develop your bodies flexibility and strength.

Here are some of the yoga poses that are commonly used:

Standing Poses

First up lets take a look at standing poses.  These are actually very important poses as they help to align your body and your spine, helping to improve your balance and your posture.  By practising standing poses regularly you can help to maintain your balance and posture which will help to improve your overall health.   You would be amazed at the number of people with bad posture and they don’t even realise it, and bad posture can cause quite a number of health related problems.  Yoga will help to gently stretch and strengthen your spine and your legs and improve that posture.  

Seated poses

Seated yoga poses will help to increase the flexibility in your lower back and hips, which helps to strengthen your back and can be very beneficial for people with back problems.  As with any exercise however, if you do have a current medical condition it is best to check with your doctor before beginning any new type of exercise.  Seated poses will also help you to develop good breathing practises, enabling you to breath deeply which will give you a sense of peace and calmness.  

Forward Bends

Forward bends help to stretch your lower back and your hamstrings helping to strengthen them and increase flexibility.  The increased flexibility in your spine helps to relieve tension in your neck, shoulders and back.  Forward bends are great for releasing tension and relieving stress.

Back Bends

Back bends will open up your rib cage, chest and hips and relieve tension in the front of your body.  Back bends also increase spinal ability and strenghten arms and shoulders.  These poses are important to help care for and benefit the spine to improve and maintain health.

Balance Poses

When first starting balance poses you may find them challenging and be amazed at how hard they are.  Balance really is important to maintain good posture and a healthy spine so it is definately worth practising these poses regularly.  The more that you practise the balance poses, you will find them easier and actually quite fun.  Many older people have a lot of trouble with balance and often receive injuries as a result from falling over, this is very common as you get older and practising yoga balance poses will help to keep good balance and prevent this happening as you get older.

Conclusion

It is important to practise a range of yoga poses to receive all the benefits.  Each individual pose under each category will also have it’s own benefits.  It really is amazing the number of health benefits that yoga will give you.

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