I tried to do yoga every day: here are all the amazing benefits I found after just two weeks

Yoga every day might seem like one of the gentlest exercises you can do, and it is, but practicing yoga every day also has a ton of health benefits that make it a great activity to boost your fitness.

For someone who never got much exercise when she was younger, yoga was something of a step-through workout for me. I’ve always enjoyed swimming and walking, but I didn’t like the idea of ​​taking a class or going to the gym. When I discovered yoga, everything changed and I started to see exercise differently. I really liked the meditative aspect of it, along with the gentler flow, and soon discovered how good proper stretching felt. This was key for me as I had previously always struggled to find the mental link between exercising and feeling good in my body.

I liked how yoga made me feel, so I progressed pretty quickly with a handful of online videos and yoga apps. Then something happened that I had never experienced with any other exercise: On days I didn’t practice yoga, I found that I lacked it and my body felt it needed it. This was a revolutionary moment.

So, I recently decided to take the challenge of doing yoga every day for two weeks to see what would happen. Were there even more yoga benefits to be had? With my best yoga mat in hand, I tried it out and here’s what I found.

The benefits of doing yoga every day

1. Yoga can bring mental clarity

I enjoy running and walking as these exercises allow me to get outdoors which helps relieve stress and anxiety. But yoga (even yoga for beginners) brings a kind of mental calmness and focus that I haven’t experienced with any other form of exercise.

In my experience, I’ve found that you don’t need to do yoga every day to get this benefit, but having the regular schedule and set time has definitely helped me find a quiet moment during each day and maintain an almost meditative consistency.

“Many of my clients have also reported that daily yoga practice helps them think outside the box, sparks their creativity, and improves their problem-solving skills,” says Mike Julom, an ACE certified PT and CrossFit trainer. “This can be attributed to the meditative aspects of yoga, which clear the mind, improve concentration and promote a fresh perspective.”

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And these meditative aspects of yoga are invaluable, according to a Harvard Medical School review. By reviewing several studies and further contributing to that research, scientists have confirmed that regular yoga practice can boost memory function, improve sleep quality, and even reduce symptoms of depression.

2. Yoga can help digestion

This was surprising to me and something I’d never thought of before, but it makes sense. Any form of exercise can help with digestion as it improves circulation and intestinal motility while reducing stress, but yoga, especially Child’s Pose and Garland Pose, has the added benefit of encouraging you to move in ways you wouldn’t normally do.

This helps these processes move a little faster, Julom says. You wouldn’t necessarily think that twisting your body into pretzel-like shapes would help your digestion, but it can. Some yoga poses stimulate the digestive organs, improving their function and relieving discomfort associated with digestive problems.

3. Yoga can reduce stress

I have no doubt that practicing yoga every day for two weeks has reduced my stress levels. Undoubtedly, much of this will be due to the breathing exercises that are part of any yoga routine, as the simple act of breathing deeply and being aware of your breathing brings about a sense of calm.

When I’m in the thick of my yoga session, I don’t worry about what awaits me for the week or even the rest of the day. I am not thinking about any problem or problem that I face, I am just breathing.

This is a huge plus for me, and one of the reasons I could continue doing yoga every day, as greatly reducing stress levels has so many benefits in itself. Not only do you avoid the potentially dangerous mental and physical side effects of stress such as habitual burnout, but I’ve also learned that you can actively improve some of your body’s essential processes by lowering your stress levels.

For example, research (from the University Hospital of Zurich) has shown a link between lower stress levels and a better functioning immune system. “Practicing yoga every day can help strengthen the immune system, making it more efficient at warding off disease, agrees Julom. Yoga reduces stress and inflammation in the body, which is linked to immune system dysfunction. After just two weeks of daily practice, you may find yourself feeling stronger and healthier, and maybe even overcoming the common cold faster.

Of course, having only practiced yoga for two weeks, I can’t say what kind of long-term effect it will have on my immune system. I think I would need to keep this up for a lot longer to be sure, but I generally feel healthier and stronger with less stress weighing on my mind.

4. Practicing yoga every day for two weeks will improve your balance

When you think of some of the one-legged yoga poses like the one-legged prayer pose, its no surprise that its daily yoga practice can help with balance. This was one of the many benefits of regular practice that I also wanted to see for myself. As a menopausal woman over 50, I had noticed that my balance was not what it used to be and I wanted to address this.

But yoga doesn’t just improve physical balance, as Julom explains. The impact of yoga on balance goes beyond the physical. Yes, you’ll likely become more adept at holding those tricky one-legged poses, but you’ll also begin to notice a sense of emotional balance permeating your life. This emotional stability can lead to better relationships, better job performance, and an overall greater sense of well-being.” That’s a win-win in my books.

5. Yoga has improved my posture

Another surprising side effect for me was an improvement in my posture. Spending each day hunched over a computer often gives me neck and back pain, which is uncomfortable at best.

After two weeks of yoga, my pains were gone and I was naturally sitting more upright. I felt more flexible, my overall mobility was much better, and I felt brighter, instead of sluggish like before.

Is it enough to do yoga every day?

For me, personally, it’s not enough to just do yoga every day. One of the reasons I exercise regularly is to help me feel strong and keep joint pains (one of the symptoms of menopause) at bay. To do this, I incorporate running and strength training into my weekly routine. Over the course of the two weeks, I kept it up and really felt the benefit of doing it.

But what works for me won’t always work for someone else. For some people, daily yoga might be enough. As Anna Passalacqua, certified yoga teacher and C-IAYT yoga therapist explains, you can experience physical, mental and emotional benefits just by practicing yoga. You don’t need to do any other exercises to benefit from yoga. However, depending on your goals, you may be able to achieve more by incorporating other activities.

When it comes to the particular benefits of regular yoga practice, like learning to manage stress, Julom believes yoga is part of the answer, but a wholesome approach is needed. It’s important to see this as part of a holistic approach to stress management. This approach should ideally also include a balanced diet, sufficient sleep, healthy social connections, and potentially other stress-relieving techniques such as meditation, breathing exercises, or other forms of exercise that you enjoy. It’s also vital to address significant sources of stress, whether it’s workload, relationship issues, or health issues.

Is it okay to do the same yoga routine every day?

When I first started practicing, I did yoga as a workout as well regularly. But when it came to starting my daily challenge, I decided to follow a schedule that changed every day. For me, it was about progressing and getting better at yoga, since the poses got harder as the two weeks went on, and not getting bored doing the same routine every day.

Julom agrees that changing things up is often for the best. Variety keeps your practice interesting, challenging, and challenging, which can help keep you motivated and engaged.

Also, switching up your routine will avoid putting pressure on the same muscles in your body every day. While there are benefits to doing this for some people, especially those new to the practice, looking to do yoga or Pilates for strength training, the variety is more likely to keep you injury-free as you progress.

Whether you’re focusing on learning the basics or have a favorite yoga routine that works well for you, there’s nothing wrong with doing the same sequence every day,” says Passalacqua, who is also the co-founder of Breathing Deeply “Just make sure you don’t overdo it and hurt yourself. Pay attention to your body’s signals and stop if something hurts or doesn’t feel right. Doing different yoga poses can help you exercise all of your different muscle groups and not overwork them.