Yoga poses offer practitioners numerous mental and physiological benefits, such as relieving stress, stimulating your internal organs and boosting your metabolism. Results published in 2005 from a study that was commissioned by the American Council on Exercise with the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse demonstrated that practicing yoga can help to increase your strength, endurance and lean muscle mass, while burning calories and helping you to lose weight. Incorporating a regular yoga practice that encompasses a wide variety of asanas, or poses, such as standing, seated, backbends and inversions, can help you to feel and look better.
Standing Poses
Many yoga classes begin with sequences of standing poses, which help to build strength in your lower body, develop balance, work your core and provide a structure for advanced level poses. Additionally, each standing pose has its own unique benefits. The warrior poses -- warrior I, II and III -- serve to build self-confidence while you fight against self ignorance, according to Yoga Journal.com. The three warrior poses also build strength and endurance throughout your entire body rather than just your legs. Other common standing asanas are high lunge, triangle pose, half moon pose and chair pose.
Seated Poses
Whereas yoga practices often start with standing poses, they wind down in the latter portions of the class with seated poses. By this time, your body is ready for deeper stretching and relaxation, which the seated poses provide. Though they are less dynamic, seated poses are no less beneficial than their more challenging counterparts. The seated forward bend, for example, can calm your brain, relieve stress, improve digestion, reduce fatigue, sooth anxiety and headaches while stretching the spine, shoulders and hamstrings. Other popular seated poses are hero pose, child's pose, bound angle pose and boat pose.
Backbends
Backbends are another staple of most yoga classes and practices and serve to strengthen your back and spine while stretching the front of your body. Backbends are also known to open your heart for increased love and compassion, as the heart chakra is located in the center of your chest. Camel pose is a popular backbend and, along with stimulating the organs of the abdomen and neck, it helps to stretch your stomach, chest, ankles, thighs, groin and hip flexors. Additional backbend asanas are standing backbend, bridge, full-wheel pose, dancer's pose and bow pose.
Inversions
While inversions can be scary to a good number of people, practice can alleviate fear so that you are able to take advantage of the far-reaching benefits that they offer. Supported headstand, for example, can help to calm your brain while relieving stress and mild depression. Additionally, headstands stimulate your digestion system, pineal glands and pituitary glands. And, while you are upside down, your arms, legs, spine and core are being strengthened. Handstands, shoulder stands and forearm stands are among the popular inversions.
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