It’s hard to find a recent wellness trend that has enjoyed more sustained buzz than yoga.

The number of people practicing yoga in the United States grew more than 50 percent from 2012 to 2016, according to a national survey conducted by Yoga Journal and the Yoga Alliance (the professional association that certifies yoga teachers and schools worldwide). (1) The survey found that people who practice yoga are more likely to be active in other forms of exercise like running or cycling, too, and that one in every three Americans said they were somewhat or very likely to practice yoga in the next 12 months. 

No one single reason is driving people to the millennia-old practice. Yoga experts suspect it has something to do with the combination of physical and mental health benefits associated with the practice.

Research has shown that yoga can help lower physical markers of stress, including your blood pressure. More active yoga can strengthen your heart and help with functional strength, the kind of strength you use for everyday activities. Practicing yoga regularly also improves flexibility and balance.

It’s a good way to get your resistance training in, because yoga builds functional strength, meaning you get stronger by using multiple joint and muscle groups together rather than strengthening a specific muscle in isolation, like you might do in weight lifting.

The benefits of yoga are different for different people. Overall, it has components that can help with flexibility, strength, balance, and stability. Research has shown it can also help with specific measures of health, like eating habits, weight loss and weight loss maintenance, and cardiovascular health.

A review that looked at the impact of practicing several types of yoga that was published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology in 2014 found that people who practiced yoga (the researchers included any type of yoga practice in the study) saw improvements across several measures of health, including: weight loss, blood pressure reduction, and lowered LDL (or “bad”) cholesterol. 

A meta-analysis published in March 2019 in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings found that yoga interventions helped middle-aged people with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher to lower their blood pressure. The benefits were greater when the yoga intervention included breathing techniques and meditation. 

And findings from a 2012 National Health Interview Survey found that yoga motivated nearly two-thirds of people to exercise more and 40 percent of people to eat healthier. There is also evidence that yoga may help people with certain health conditions and chronic diseases manage pain and other symptoms, and with overall quality of life.

All About Yoga

Basic Yoga Poses Every Yogi Should Know

The more you practice yoga, the more yoga poses and postures you’ll likely learn. But everyone starts with some of the same basic poses. Learn more about these beginner poses, which can offer big benefits, like easing back pain, stretching your hips, and improving balance.

Sukhasana - Relieves Stress

Sit cross-legged on a yoga mat with your hands on your knees, palms up. Keep your spine as straight as you can. Push the bones you're sitting on down into the floor — your "sit bones" in yoga-speak. Close your eyes and inhale.

"This is a great pose for beginners to use as an assessment," says Gwen Lawrence, yoga coach for the New York Knicks and other sports teams, athletes, and celebrities. "Just sitting on the floor gives you a perfect way to see and feel the external rotation on the legs." This pose also boosts back flexibility and can help relieve stress.

Cat-Cow - Awaken the Spine and Ease Back Pain

Get on your mat on all fours with your hands directly below your shoulders and your knees directly below your hips. Distribute your weight equally between your hands and spread your fingers wide. Inhale and round your back, arching it up as you lower your chin to your chest; feel the stretch from your neck to your tailbone, like a cat. As you exhale, lower your back down all the way to a scoop shape as you lift your head, and tilt it back.

“Cat-Cow stretches and awakens the spine, which helps ease back pain,” says Baptiste Yoga teacher Leah Cullis. “It also opens and increases flexibility of the whole spine, neck, chest, and shoulders. I recommend repeating 5 to 10 times or more.”

Tree Pose - Improves Your Balance

Start by standing straight for this pose. Bring your hands together in the prayer position and lift them over your head. Balance on your right leg. Bend your left knee out to the left side and press your left foot to the inner thigh of your right leg. Hold for 30 seconds. Switch legs and repeat.

"This pose helps to stretch the body long, from the heels to the tips of your fingers," says Shea Vaughn, wellness and fitness expert and author of Breakthrough: The 5 Living Principles to Defeat Stress, Look Great, and Find Total Well-Being (and mom of actor Vince Vaughn). It will also help you improve your balance.

Downward Dog - Enhances Flexibility

In Downward-Facing Dog, your body forms an inverted V-shape. Start by placing both hands on the mat in front of you, palms down; your hands should be slightly in front of your shoulders. Place your knees on the ground directly under your hips. Exhale as you lift your knees off the ground and lift your buttocks and hips toward the ceiling. Push the top of your thighs back and stretch your heels down toward the floor. Keep your head down between your upper arms and in line with them, not hanging down. If you notice your lower back rounding, try bending your knees to help lengthen your back.

“Downward-Facing Dog calms the nervous system, works on overall flexibility, decompresses the spine, tones the arms, sculpts the legs, and opens the shoulders,” says Cullis. The pose is often held for five breaths between sides, or longer for more strength-building benefits. Lengthen from your wrists to your hips on your inhales, and deepen your roots from your hips to your heels with each exhale, suggests Cullis.

From Downward-Facing Dog, simply bend your knees and lower your butt to your heels as you bring your chest toward the floor over your knees. Lower your shoulders and head to the floor. Place your arms along your sides, palms down, or you can support your head by folding your arms under your forehead. Breathe and relax for as long as you need to.

“Child’s Pose is one of the most healing yoga poses, and it’s my favorite of them all,” says Cullis. “It awakens the connection between the breath and body and sends calming energy through all the muscles. It’s an opportunity to get grounded, go inward, and to come out of your busy mind and into your body by awakening your breath from the inside out.” Child’s Pose is a great way to take a break and relax during your yoga practice, or anytime you feel tired or overwhelmed.

Child's Pose - Helps You Relax and Unwind