Yoga is a gentle form of exercise that started in India thousands of years ago. It combines body movements, breathing, and relaxation to help you feel stronger, healthier, and calmer. Celebrate National Yoga Month this September by discovering what lots of people already enjoy about this powerful practice.

Yoga Helps Your Mind
Studies show the slow breathing and calm movements of yoga can lower stress, and people who practice it report experiencing mental health benefits including:

Better sleep
Improved mood
Increased focus and concentration
Decreased anxiety

Some studies show it may even lower the amount of cortisol in your bloodstream (a hormone related to stress levels).

Yoga Helps Your Body
Yoga is known for being low intensity, but it's also powerful and has many physical benefits. It has the potential to:

Increase your flexibility and balance
Lower your blood pressure
Decrease your risk for heart problems
Ease chronic back, neck, and joint pain

Some people have seen the same improvements in blood pressure and pain that some medications can provide, and some doctors recommend patients try yoga before taking certain types of medicine.

Yoga Fits Everyone’s Needs
You don’t need to be flexible or have perfect balance to practice yoga. Poses can be adapted to fit your body and comfort level through simple modifications:

Chair yoga - practicing poses while safely seated or using a chair for stability.
Supportive props - utilizing yoga blocks to bring the floor closer or straps to assist with reaching.
Adjusting stances - bending your knees or widening your feet to reduce strain and increase stability.
Balance assistance - positioning yourself near a wall or barre for added physical support.

Yoga Is Fun and Can be a Great Way to Make Friends
Yoga is an individual activity, but taking a class means you get to be part of a group. Sharing a workout space with others has major mental health benefits. It boosts your happiness and helps you feel like you belong. Over time, the people in your weekly class become a built-in support system that keeps you motivated.

Try Yoga at Alliance Medical Ministry
Feeling inspired? AMM offers free yoga classes for patients. Here's what you need to know:

When: Every Tuesday 6:00–7:00 PM
Where: In person or virtually online
Who it's for: All AMM patients, all skill levels
Special options: Chair yoga is available if standing poses are hard for you

Click here to register, or if you have questions, text our Garden and Wellness Coordinator, Lauren at 919-630-3291

- Written by Tara Conti, RN, MSN, FNP

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Sources

Emory Healthcare — "Benefits of Yoga - Feel Better Physically and Mentally"
https://www.emoryhealthcare.org/stories/wellness/health-benefits-of-yoga

Johns Hopkins Medicine — "9 Benefits of Yoga"
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/9-benefits-of-yoga

Northwestern Medicine — "Yoga for Mind and Body: Benefits Beyond Flexibility" (updated August 2026)
https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/fitness/science-based-benefits-behind-yoga

Psychology Today — "Why Exercising Alone Might Be Holding You Back" (citing peer-reviewed studies in Frontiers in Psychology and Psychological Science) https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/happy-together/202603/why-exercising-alone-might-be-holding-you-back