5 Reasons to Start Doing Yoga as a College Student

By: Daniela McVicker

When you become a college student, you will deal with many fast changes. For example, you will move away from home, start living in a different city or country, and meet with new people. Each interaction will bring you different experiences. Moreover, college life comes with a lot of stress and challenges. You will have plenty of projects to work on and various classes that you have to attend. This means that, if you want to be the best in class, you will need to take care of your physical and mental health. While going to the gym regularly can help you a lot with staying fit, you should also invest more time in getting the stress out of your head. Yoga is a very efficient method which you can use to thrive in college. Keep reading this article and find out why any college student shouldn’t think twice when it comes to practicing yoga.

5 Reasons to Start Doing Yoga as a College Student

There are plenty of articles written by best writing companies mentioning how college encourages students to find more about themselves. Apart from helping you discover what you really want to do as an adult, during college, you will also jump in several situations which will take you out of your comfort zone. Thus, you should be prepared to succeed in any situation and yoga will have a great contribution to your state of mind. Here’s why:

1. Yoga helps you concentrate better

One of the biggest advantages that yoga practitioners have is improving their concentration abilities. How does yoga help you with concentration? The success of a yoga practitioner lies in his ability to concentrate on the poses he is going to do. When you have to balance in one foot it becomes almost impossible to think of something else than on how to avoid falling down. This is why including several balancing poses in your yoga routine will help you in building and strengthening your attention skills. The secret is very simple in these cases. All you have to do is clear your mind and focus on the balancing pose that you are going to perform. You will see how easy it becomes to do the same when you have to write an essay or attend a class that you are highly interested in.

2. Reduced stress

Stress is present in any college student’s life. Whether you have to work on a new project or you have to pass an exam, you will have to deal with variable amounts of stress. Yoga is an excellent method to help students alleviate stress. By practicing various yoga poses, doing breathing exercises and meditating will help you forget about any stress from your mind. You can look at yoga classes as the moments when you take time for yourself and liberate your mind. Managing to reduce the levels of stress in your life will help you improve your academic performance.

3. Yoga helps students sleep better

Once you begin to practice yoga and learn how to breathe and relax, you will see that your sleep will also improve. When you are stressed and have a lot of ideas rolling in your mind, it becomes difficult to sleep during the night. Yoga will help you have a nourishing sleep and recharge your batteries for the next challenges. There are also various yoga poses which you can try for better sleep. For example, you can practice by putting your legs up the wall for a relaxed mind and enhanced body rest. You should also include breathing exercises in your routine to quiet your mind.

4. Metabolism boost and improved digestion

After an intense yoga exercise and a good night sleep, you will also have to eat to get the necessary energy for studying. In general, students don’t have the most balanced diet. They eat junk food and don’t have an organized meal schedule. Yoga helps also in this area by improving digestion. Apart from the breathing exercises, there are also various yoga poses which you can try for better digestion. For example, you can choose the pose where you will compress your abdomen with your knees and heels or the one where you use your heels to massage your internal organs responsible for digestion. When your mind is clear and you don’t have any troubles with digestion and metabolism, then your success as a college student is guaranteed.

5. Enhanced physical appearance

Yoga does not only work on the inside, but it also improves your physical appearance. When you are young, looks are often important. Managing to keep your stress level under control, sleep better, and have healthy digestion, will not only make you feel more energized, but you will also glow. Yoga exercises will tone and strengthen your muscles. Moreover, exercises like inversions will also help you have a brighter complexion and make your skin look more radiant. All the happiness and relaxation that you feel inside will also be visible on the outside. A healthy body will never look bad and yoga is one of the tricks that you can use to keep your body in a very good state.

Conclusion

Once you try yoga for the first time, you will see how easy it is to transform it into a lifestyle. College comes with many overwhelming and challenging situations. Thus, you need a very strong mind and spirit to overcome all of them and be a successful student. Yoga will help you improve your concentration skills and boost your metabolism. Moreover, regular yoga practice will strengthen your muscles and help you look better than never. When you look and feel good, your self-confidence will also increase and you will feel that nothing can stand in your way. Of course, all these benefits won’t come all at once. You will need to establish a regular routine and you will see how yoga will change your college life.

Author’s bio.

Daniela McVicker is a contributor to RatedbyStudents. She is also an experienced writer with a degree in social psychology from Durham University. Daniela is primarily focused on writing about self-improvement. She has authored a number of insightful and motivating articles like “Making The Right Choices Every Day” and “7 Steps To Open Yourself To New Opportunities & Possibilities”.