Two women practicing yogaDeveloped in India thousands of years ago, yoga has become an increasingly popular form of exercise in the United States. Whether yoga’s recent rise in popularity stems from an increase in stress levels or the following of a Hollywood trend, yoga delivers many benefits to those who incorporate it into their everyday lives.
“Yoga is a healing system of theory and practice. The purpose of yoga is to create strength, awareness and harmony in both the mind and body,” explains Natalie Nevins, DO, a board-certified osteopathic family physician and certified Kundalini Yoga instructor in Hollywood, California. “As an osteopathic physician, I focus a lot of my efforts on preventive medicine and practices, and in the body’s ability to heal itself. Yoga is a great tool for staying healthy because it is based on similar principles.”
While there are more than one hundred different types, or schools, of yoga, most sessions are typically comprised of breathing exercises, meditation, and assuming postures (sometimes called asana or poses) that stretch and flex various muscle groups.