What Is Yoga and Why Is It So Good for You?

Most people nowadays have heard of yoga—and it’s not just associated with the crunchy-granola-hippie crowd anymore, as 1 in 6 U.S. adults reported practicing yoga in a 2024 survey.¹ 

But yoga goes extremely far back in history—much before boutique yoga sculpt classes and Lululemon. The earliest records of yoga practice date back to 2,500 to 5,000 years ago at the Indus Valley archaeological site of Mohenjo-Daro.² 

Originating in ancient India and steeped in tradition, people around the globe have adopted the holistic practices of yoga that aim to balance the mind, body, and spirit. 

Most people know intuitively that yoga makes them feel good—there’s nothing quite like that post-yoga bliss—but if you’re still not sold or want to learn more about the research (there’s plenty!), keep reading. 

We’ll dive into the basics of what yoga is, the different types you may experience, and the top evidence-backed health benefits of yoga.

Yoga 101

Yoga—meaning “to unite” in Sanskrit—is a holistic practice with eight “limbs” or components that build on each other:

• Yama: Mental discipline and restraint; universal morality with how you interact with others (e.g., don’t lie, don’t steal, etc.). 
• Niyama: Observances or “positive duties,” often considered recommendations for personal mortality and spiritual existence, like self-reflection, cleanliness, contentment, and self-discipline.
• Asana: Meaning “seat” in Sanskrit, asanas are controlled yoga postures or poses—the physical component of yoga that people are most familiar with. Traditional yoga practices recognize 84 asanas, with some well-known asanas including Tadasana (mountain pose), Utkatasana (chair pose), and Adho Mukha Svanasana (downward-facing dog).
• Pranayama: Conscious and controlled breathing that allows energy to flow through the body. 
• Pratyahara: Detachment or withdrawal of the senses, blocking out distractions from the senses, and “gaining mastery over external influences.” 
• Dharana: Concentration and focus, like focusing on a single point and staying in the moment.  
• Dhyana: Contemplation and meditation, with the mind entering a relaxed, calm state of uninterrupted concentration. 
• Samadhi: The final limb is the ultimate goal or reward, reaching deep absorption and meditative consciousness; a blissful state of enlightenment, inner peace, and oneness with the world.

Essentially, yoga combines physical postures, deep breathing exercises, meditation, mindfulness, concentration, and ethical principles. This combination of eight limbs aims to create a balanced mind, body, and spirit. 

Some of the different types of yoga you might see include:

• Hatha yoga: A traditional form of yoga that aims to balance the mind and body with asana poses, pranayama breathing, and meditation. Hatha is typically practiced more slowly and with longer, more static holds. It’s often more focused on the physical practice of yoga, as Hatha means “force” in Sanskrit. 
• Vinyasa yoga: Typically faster-paced, vinyasa yoga is often called “yoga flow,” pairing rhythmic movements with conscious breathing exercises. Many contemporary yoga classes are vinyasa yoga. 
• Kundalini yoga: Meaning “life force energy” in Sanskrit, Kundalini yoga is designed to stimulate or unlock this life force energy. Kundalini may involve mantras, chanting, breathwork, singing, meditation, or kriyas (a series of poses paired with breathwork and chanting). 
• Ashtanga yoga: A faster-paced practice similar to vinyasa yoga, Ashtanga is a structured and flowing practice of six specific asanas, which are moved through at one’s own pace upon mastering the previous pose. It combines the eight limbs of yoga previously mentioned with audible throat breathing called Ujjayi. 
• Raja yoga: One of the oldest forms of yoga, focusing on self-control and reaching the state of Samadhi, or enlightenment. It can be considered a type of Ashtanga yoga, but Raja is more internal and focused on mental discipline.  
• Yin yoga: This slow-paced, meditative form originated in China and incorporates principles of traditional Chinese medicine and the Taoist philosophy of yin and yang. Yin yoga is typically slow and gentle, and involves holding asanas for 5 minutes at a time or more. 

Of course, many other forms of yoga have been created or practiced over the millennia; these are just some of the most used today. 

Practicing Yoga Respectfully

Lastly, although this could be an entire book in itself, we need to touch on practicing yoga respectfully and the potential for cultural appropriation—when elements of a culture are taken or used by another without permission or complete understanding, leading to misrepresentation, exploitation, or erasure of the original practice.

As much of the current American yoga culture is dominated by thin, white women and cute athleisure wear, this could certainly be true. Many modern yoga classes are more of a physical workout with music blasting rather than the spiritual and mostly silent experience yoga was designed to be. 

As a white woman, I can’t fully comment on the appropriation of yoga in modern-day American fitness cultures, but I’d recommend reading this article in Self Magazine by Rina Deshpande.³ 

Additionally, learning about the history of yoga, its cultural significance, and how to go beyond just the physical workout, including spiritual, philosophical, and ethical components, can help ensure you practice yoga with respect to the culture that created it. 

Benefits of Yoga: Why Is Yoga Good for You?

With its roots in the balancing of mind, body, and spirit, it’s no surprise that yoga can benefit each of these aspects of health.

Physical Benefits of Yoga

Even the most meditative and gentle yoga practice still involves some aspect of movement, leading to physical health benefits such as: 

• Increases flexibility. Yoga stretches muscles and enhances overall flexibility, which is vital for maintaining range of motion, preventing injuries, reducing pain, and improving posture.⁴ 
• Increases muscle strength and physical fitness. Many yoga asanas require immense muscle strength, including supporting your entire body weight. One study found that three months of yoga significantly increased core muscle strength and hamstring flexibility and decreased body fat in middle-aged adults.⁵ 
• Improves balance and coordination. Balance and coordination are important at any age but become particularly essential with advancing age to prevent debilitating falls and injuries. Many yoga poses are rooted in balance, and research backs this up.⁶
• Improves cardiovascular health. The breathwork and physical activity associated with yoga can improve heart health, including reducing blood pressure and heart rate.^7,8 Other research has shown that yoga increases blood flow, which is good for cardiovascular (and cognitive) health.⁹ 
• Enhances lung capacity and respiratory health. Similarly, yoga’s often intense breathwork and aerobic aspect can improve lung health, as seen in this study, where yoga practitioners had several improvements in pulmonary function tests.¹⁰
• Strengthens immune function. Yoga helps to support immune function in several ways, including reducing inflammation and stress in the body. 
• Reduces inflammation. Studies have shown that practicing yoga reduces several markers of inflammation, including  IL-1-beta, IL-6, and TNF-alpha.¹¹
• Improves sleep. Due to its ability to lower stress and promote calmness, yoga is linked to better sleep. A meta-analysis of 19 randomized controlled trials found that women who did yoga had improved sleep compared to non-active women. However, it did not help women with insomnia.¹²
• Helps to reduce chronic pain. In a meta-analysis of 27 studies, yoga was associated with short-term improvements in pain intensity, pain-related disability, and physical function in people with chronic low back pain.¹³ 
• Helps with bone strength. Like other muscle-building exercises, yoga helps strengthen bones. One study found that just 12 minutes of yoga per day for two years in people with osteoporotic bone loss led to significant increases in bone mineral density of the spine and femur.¹⁴ 

Mental Health Benefits of Yoga

All forms of exercise have some mental health benefits, but yoga is known to be even more beneficial due to the mindfulness and meditative qualities of it. 

• Increases mindfulness. Mindfulness involves fully engaging with the present moment, which can enhance overall well-being and reduce stress. With its focus on breathwork and concentration, yoga helps you increase mindfulness in your daily life. Mindfulness in yoga also increases body awareness or the sense of knowing where your body parts are and how they feel at that moment.  
• Reduces stress and anxiety. Research with women found that 12 weeks of hatha yoga practice significantly reduced their feelings of stress and anxiety.¹⁵
• Reduces symptoms of depression. A meta-analysis of 23 trials concluded that regular yoga practice can be considered an effective complementary or alternative treatment for depression.¹⁶ 

Improves aspects of cognitive function. Neuroimaging studies show that yoga practice can increase gray matter volume in the hippocampus and activate certain brain regions responsible for motivation, executive functioning, attention, and neuroplasticity.¹⁷

Emotional or Spiritual Benefits of Yoga

Lastly, there are several emotional or spiritual benefits of yoga—and when we say “spiritual,” we don’t mean religion. ​​Spirituality can mean something different for everybody, but it generally involves a connection to something larger than ourselves. 

• Increases self-esteem and self-acceptance. Yoga has been shown to improve self-esteem and perceived body image in adolescents and young adults, which is beneficial for self-acceptance.¹⁸ 
• Improves spiritual intelligence. Spiritual intelligence is the ability to understand and integrate aspects of spirituality (not necessarily religion) into one’s life, producing a deeper sense of meaning, purpose, and connection. Yoga has been shown to enhance spiritual intelligence, especially critical existential thinking, personal meaning, transcendental consciousness, and an expanded state of consciousness.¹⁹ 
• Fosters inner peace. Yoga is linked to an increased sense of meaning and peace, faith, hope, inner harmony, compassion, and happiness within.¹⁹ 
• Helps with emotional regulation. All of the above spiritual-related benefits can help with emotional health, including healthy regulation of emotions and resilience.  

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