Recent research from the University of Illinois indicates that a short session of yoga can help your brain to function better. In fact, all that one needs is just a mere twenty minutes of mat session to see the results. Apart from the common benefits such as reducing stress levels, increasing your strength and toning your muscles, the twenty minutes that you put in can do way more for your body.
http://www.mensfitness.com/leisure/sports/study-short-yoga-sessions-boost-brain-power
In this study, which was also being published in the Journal of Physical Activity & Health, a total of thirty college students were instructed to complete two cognitive exercises that involved identifying shapes on a computer screen. During the first time through, the participants conducted the experiment without doing any workouts beforehand. As for the second time through, they either walked or jogged on a treadmill for 20 minutes before proceeding with the exercise. Finally, for the third and last time through, they performed a 20-minute hatha yoga session that incorporated yoga poses, seated meditation as well as deep breathing.
Based on the results, researchers found out that yoga actually outperformed both aerobic exercise and no exercise when it came down to maintaining the students’ alertness. During that single yoga session of twenty minutes, it was able to improve the students’ focus and assist them in processing information quicker and more accurately compared to when it was done without it.
Although yoga is a good form of exercise, one should not simply abandon his or her cardio training and rely totally on yoga. According to previous research, cardio is also beneficial towards the brain even though yoga is said to have better benefits. Aside from scaling back stress and anxiety, yoga also has the ability to keep one’s mind focused on a single task. Once you have picked up such a technique, you would be able to use it in other parts of your life as well. At the same time, the brain benefits of yoga tend to have a much faster effect compared to that of cardio exercises. In fact, you should be able to feel these effects approximately thirty minutes after completing your routine. For more on why you should take up yoga, do check it out here.
If you are looking for yoga classes in Singapore, feel free to refer to our website. OMG Yoga offers a variety of yoga classes, ranging from private to group class.