Slowing Down the Aging Process with Yoga

I've heard that yoga keeps people youthful. How can I use yoga to slow down the aging process?

The easiest and most effective way to slow down the aging process is to reverse the gravitational pull of the earth on the body. The practice of yoga includes many gentle inverted poses to bring circulation to the upper body and brain without putting strain on the heart.

Yoga builds muscle strength and flexibility at the same time because yoga strengthens the muscle in a lengthened condition. Yoga also moves each joint in the body through its full range of motion.

Yoga is a superior form of weight-bearing exercise, using the weight of the body, so you don't have to pump iron if that's not your "thing." A yoga practice stimulates bone growth in the entire body, with weight-bearing poses for the arms, spine and upper body, as well as the lower body.

Yoga prevents the most visible and obvious symptom of aging - one that can't be disguised or transformed cosmetically - the shortening and rounding of the spine known as kyphosis or dowager's hump.

Yoga helps counter the 20 pound-per-decade weight gain that most people experience after the age of twenty. The emphasis on mindful eating and the calming effect of a regular yoga practice helps you eat less emotionally, from boredom or stress, so that you simply tend to take in fewer calories. In addition, a vigorous yoga practice provides the same fat-burning benefits as walking or running.