If you have been practicing yoga for some time now, you know it has many benefits like easing stress, improving your sleep, and even protecting your heart health. One of the great things about yoga is there are always more poses to learn, and the journey never really ends; it can be a lifetime practice with a lot of variety and benefits.

You might not know this, but we accumulate a lot of stress in our physical bodies. It can present itself in the joint pain we feel in the morning, higher blood pressure, hair loss, and even give us heartburn. So, practicing yoga is a wonderful way to counteract the daily stress of our lives and improve our physical well being, while addressing our mental health as well.

Why Should We Address Stress?

As mentioned above, stress can have dire consequences on our health. You might experience something as simple as heartburn, or you can even suffer from extreme hair shedding, which can require hair growth therapy to repair.

The consequences if stress is left unchecked can also lead to long-term implications like:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Immune System Damage
• Risk Of Heart Attack
• Weight Gain

As you can see, stress is a quiet villain that you might not always notice, but eventually might suffer from health issues because of it. Yoga is such a wonderful way to combat stress, so if you practice regularly, then here are some tips to advance your yoga practice and your physical health.

Advancing Your Yoga Practice

If you are ready to advance your yoga practice, there are a few things to consider. For one, going to a yoga retreat, or trying out a more advanced yoga class at a studio can help you safely navigate new poses and theology in your yoga practice. If you enjoy practicing at home, try just one new pose at a time and listen to your body to avoid injury. The whole goal here is to improve your physical health, not hurt it- so enjoy the journey even if it is slow.

Handstand Or Adho Mukha Vrksasana

This advanced pose can be intimidating at first, but inversions are wonderful for your circulation. Make sure to take it slow when learning to handstand. It does take some core training to develop the strength necessary for balancing. One way to work up to this pose is to use the wall as an assist. You can start, feet against the wall in all fours position. With your toes touching the wall behind you, slowly lift one leg up the wall, engaging your core.

This helps train your body to build the strength to lift both legs into the air. Once you feel comfortable doing this, you can then start to practice handstands. Do this by standing, facing a wall. Lift your arm into the air and bring your arms down while lifting your legs into the air. At first, you might lean against the wall as your body adjusts, but eventually, you will be able to hold yourself up without the wall for an assist.

Crouching Eagle Or Garudasana

Want to improve your balance? Then give the crouching eagle pose a try. This pose will challenge you in the best ways. Start by standing at the top of your mat, shift your weight onto one foot while you bring your knee to your chest. Slowly cross your knee in front of the other knee, bending them slightly. If you can, wrap your toes around the back of your leg. Next cross one elbow in front of the other, wrapping your arms around one another like a vine. Take deep breaths, and after you begin to feel a little uncomfortable, switch sides to balance your body.

Dancers Pose Or Natarajasana

Want to improve your flexibility, while also opening your hip flexors? Natarajasana is a wonderful way to do just that. Begin in mountain pose, exhaling as you bring your right foot to your buttocks. Keeping your core strong and tailbone down, raise your leg until you can reach it with your hand.  Slowly raise the leg as far as it feels comfortable. You can remain in this pose for as long as you want, just make sure to do both sides.

Yoga is a journey that really has no mastery. That is a big part of its appeal, there’s always more to learn and new ways to grow in your practice. Along with its many benefits for your health and happiness, yoga just feels good. Good luck on your advanced yoga journey and if you want some more intermediate poses, you can find them here!