{"id":8319,"date":"2018-05-30T14:34:13","date_gmt":"2018-05-30T20:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/?page_id=8319"},"modified":"2025-05-01T10:40:54","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T15:40:54","slug":"benefits-of-yoga","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/what-is-osteopathic-medicine\/benefits-of-yoga\/","title":{"rendered":"The Benefits of Yoga"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Like yoga, the osteopathic approach to wellness focuses on your body\u2019s natural tendency toward health and self-healing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe purpose of yoga is to build strength, awareness and harmony in both the mind and body,\u201d explains Natalie Nevins, DO, a board-certified osteopathic family physician and certified Kundalini Yoga instructor in Hollywood, California.<\/p>\n<p>While there are more than 100 different types, or schools, of yoga, most sessions typically include breathing exercises, meditation and assuming postures (sometimes called asana or poses) that stretch and flex various muscle groups.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs an osteopathic physician, I focus a lot of my efforts on preventive medicine and practices, and in the body\u2019s ability to heal itself,\u201d says Dr. Nevins. \u201cYoga is a great tool for staying healthy because it&#8217;s based on similar principles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine\u200b, or DOs, focus on prevention by examining how your lifestyle and environment impact your health, rather than just treating your symptoms.<\/p>\n<h3>Beginners welcome<\/h3>\n<p>Because there are so many different kinds of yoga practices, it is possible for anyone to start. \u201cWhether you\u2019re a couch potato or a professional athlete, size and fitness levels do not matter because there are modifications for every yoga pose and beginner classes in every style,\u201d says Dr. Nevins. \u201cThe idea is to explore your limits, not strive for some pretzel-like perfection. It is a great way to get in tune with your body and your inner self.\u201d\u200b<\/p>\n<h3>Physical benefits<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cThe relaxation techniques incorporated in yoga can lessen chronic pain, such as lower back pain, arthritis, headaches and carpal tunnel syndrome,\u201d explains Dr. Nevins. \u201cYoga can also lower blood pressure and reduce insomnia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Other physical benefits of yoga include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>increased flexibility<\/li>\n<li>increased muscle strength and tone<\/li>\n<li>improved respiration, energy and vitality<\/li>\n<li>maintaining a balanced metabolism<\/li>\n<li>weight reduction<\/li>\n<li>cardio and circulatory health<\/li>\n<li>improved athletic performance<\/li>\n<li>protection from injury<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Mental benefits<\/h3>\n<p>Aside from the physical benefits, one of the best benefits of yoga is how it helps a person manage stress, which is known to have devastating effects on the body and mind. \u201cStress can reveal itself in many ways, including back or neck pain, sleeping problems, headaches, drug abuse and an inability to concentrate,\u201d says Dr. Nevins. \u201cYoga can be very effective in developing coping skills and reaching a more positive outlook on life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yoga\u2019s incorporation of meditation and breathing can help improve a person\u2019s mental well-being. \u201cRegular yoga practice creates mental clarity and calmness; increases body awareness; relieves chronic stress patterns; relaxes the mind; centers attention; and sharpens concentration,\u201d says Dr. Nevins. Body- and self-awareness are particularly beneficial, she adds, \u201cbecause they can help with early detection of physical problems and allow for early preventive action.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Like yoga, the osteopathic approach to wellness focuses on your body\u2019s natural tendency toward health and self-healing. \u201cThe purpose of yoga is to build strength, awareness and harmony in both the mind and body,\u201d explains Natalie Nevins, DO, a board-certified osteopathic family physician and certified Kundalini Yoga instructor in Hollywood, California. While there are more &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/what-is-osteopathic-medicine\/benefits-of-yoga\/\" class=\"readmore\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":9590,"parent":8393,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.4 (Yoast SEO v21.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Benefits of Yoga | American Osteopathic Association<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The benefits of yoga align with the osteopathic approach to wellness, tuning into your body\u2019s natural tendency toward health and self-healing.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/what-is-osteopathic-medicine\/benefits-of-yoga\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Benefits of Yoga\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The benefits of yoga align with the osteopathic approach to wellness, tuning into your body\u2019s natural tendency toward health and self-healing.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/what-is-osteopathic-medicine\/benefits-of-yoga\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Osteopathic Association\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-01T15:40:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/yoga.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"325\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/what-is-osteopathic-medicine\/benefits-of-yoga\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/what-is-osteopathic-medicine\/benefits-of-yoga\/\",\"name\":\"Benefits of Yoga | American Osteopathic Association\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-30T20:34:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-01T15:40:54+00:00\",\"description\":\"The benefits of yoga align with the osteopathic approach to wellness, tuning into your body\u2019s natural tendency toward health and self-healing.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/what-is-osteopathic-medicine\/benefits-of-yoga\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/what-is-osteopathic-medicine\/benefits-of-yoga\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/what-is-osteopathic-medicine\/benefits-of-yoga\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What is Osteopathic Medicine?\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/what-is-osteopathic-medicine\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The Benefits of Yoga\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/\",\"name\":\"American Osteopathic Association\",\"description\":\"Advancing the distinctive philosophy and practice of osteopathic medicine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Benefits of Yoga | American Osteopathic Association","description":"The benefits of yoga align with the osteopathic approach to wellness, tuning into your body\u2019s natural tendency toward health and self-healing.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/what-is-osteopathic-medicine\/benefits-of-yoga\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Benefits of Yoga","og_description":"The benefits of yoga align with the osteopathic approach to wellness, tuning into your body\u2019s natural tendency toward health and self-healing.","og_url":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/what-is-osteopathic-medicine\/benefits-of-yoga\/","og_site_name":"American Osteopathic Association","article_modified_time":"2025-05-01T15:40:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1400,"height":325,"url":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/yoga.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/what-is-osteopathic-medicine\/benefits-of-yoga\/","url":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/what-is-osteopathic-medicine\/benefits-of-yoga\/","name":"Benefits of Yoga | American Osteopathic Association","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-05-30T20:34:13+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-01T15:40:54+00:00","description":"The benefits of yoga align with the osteopathic approach to wellness, tuning into your body\u2019s natural tendency toward health and self-healing.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/what-is-osteopathic-medicine\/benefits-of-yoga\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/what-is-osteopathic-medicine\/benefits-of-yoga\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/what-is-osteopathic-medicine\/benefits-of-yoga\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What is Osteopathic Medicine?","item":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/what-is-osteopathic-medicine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The Benefits of Yoga"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/","name":"American Osteopathic Association","description":"Advancing the distinctive philosophy and practice of osteopathic medicine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8319"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8319"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87446,"href":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8319\/revisions\/87446"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8393"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/osteopathic.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}