Feature Article: The Health and Wellbeing Benefits of Practicing Yoga Outdoors

Why Performing Yoga Outdoors Can Do Wonders for Your Health

Yoga is a favourite exercise that millions of people have incorporated into their fitness routine. Why? Yoga is not only good for the body, but your mental and spiritual health as well. Yoga is a practice that originated hundreds of years ago, and is considered a total body experience.  You can do yoga anywhere today.  There are specific studios dedicated to the practice, but one of the best places to achieve excellent results is in the great outdoors.

Take it Outside

Why take your yoga outdoors?  Wherever you happen to live, parks, grassy areas, and other peaceful places, you’re likely to find people practicing yoga.  You may walk through a park and see a lone individual practicing yoga or perhaps a group session under the shade of the trees. Yoga unites all the senses as well as the body, mind, and spirit.  Being outdoors in nature tends to magnify that experience. Birds are chirping, the rustle of a breeze or the sound of people laughing or going about their lives tend to conjure appreciation and love for the present moment as life happens all around you.

Outdoors Vs. A Studio

Practicing yoga outdoors or in a studio, each has their benefits. Music can be played in a studio that serves as an excellent and soothing backdrop.  However, the great outdoors provides a feeling of connection with your surroundings.  The temperature, the sights and sounds of life, the choice of different scenery, and other outdoor factors enhance the yoga session, and many people now choose to practice yoga in a quiet, beautiful place outside (not to mention doing sun salutations is absolutely amazing during a sunrise or sunset).

Outdoor Challenges

Completing specific poses in a studio can be achieved easily.  Have you ever tried your poses on the soft grass or sand? Practicing yoga outdoors challenges you.  You become stronger and more balanced as you learn how to master your poses on uneven ground.  Also, the outdoors can provide some unique distractions.  Learning how to focus while appreciating these distractions is yet another rewarding experience of the outdoor environment.

Leave the crowded studio behind and head to your favourite park or outdoor setting for your next yoga session.  You may find the sights and sounds of the outdoors to enhance your experience, not to mention you may try a few extra poses just to enjoy the setting a little longer.

Bio: After learning as much as she can about relaxation and calming techniques, Sarah began Relax Everyday. It is a safe haven where she hopes to share the joys and teachings of relaxation, massages, and meditation to help people achieve happier and healthier lifestyles.

 

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