Yoga? For Healthy Skin? Yes, You read that right! Most people follow a healthy diet, have a healthy skincare routine, and avoid using chemical products for their skin. But that is not sufficient to get glowing skin. Your skin needs as much exercise as the rest of your body does. Yoga is one of the best exercises to retain youthful and healthy skin for a long time.
Yoga is a multi-utility discipline of life that touches numerous aspects of our daily lives. It is an undeniable fact that Yoga has a profound positive effect on almost every plane of human health. Yoga not only cures various ailments but also prevents the development of newer health issues.
Yoga has received tremendous love and appreciation worldwide for its healing abilities. However, Yoga does not receive due credit for its role in maintaining a healthy and youthful glow of the skin. Let us know how regular yoga practice is all that lies between you and a beautiful complexion.
Role Of Yoga In Maintaining Healthy Skin
- Increased Skin Elasticity
Yoga involves a lot of stretching of the limbs, chest, neck, and torso. Various actions performed while practicing Yoga postures improve the elasticity of the skin. Increased elasticity reduces the appearance of wrinkles, prevents skin dryness, and gives the skin a firm and full texture.
- Delayed Skin Aging
Natural aging is an inevitable change that affects all body tissues, including the skin.
Yoga is known to increase the levels of natural anti-oxidants in the blood, which circulate throughout the body and prevent tissue degeneration. As the aging of the skin slows down, it appears youthful and healthy for a long time despite advancing age.
- Anti-Inflammatory Effects
Yoga has an anti-inflammatory effect against various harmful impacts on almost all body tissues. Regular yoga practice will protect the skin by preventing acne, boils, and other lesions from developing due to inflammation. Yoga will give you healthy skin with a smooth and clear complexion.
- Improved Blood Circulation
Yoga postures involve bending, stretching, and rotating the body to develop a more robust physique. The actions one performs during Yoga help improve blood circulation, which helps to flush more toxins out through the skin. Thus, the skin develops a clear and youthful complexion and a healthier texture.
- Better Immunity
Yoga plays a pivotal role in improving immunity. A more robust immune system helps fight various skin symptoms of eczema, dermatitis, and allergy, among others. Regular Yoga practice prevents the recurrence or development of chronic skin disorders. Various autoimmune diseases manifest via skin symptoms like swelling, red eruptions, and itching. Yoga prevents skin symptoms and keeps other possible health complications at bay.
- Metabolic Booster
Yoga gives a much-needed boost to the metabolic functions of the human body. A charged-up metabolism will aid in better digestion and effective detoxification. Good nutrition and complete cleansing of the body are crucial to maintaining healthy skin.
Yoga subtly affects the skin by improving various physiological functions that control skin health. Other than the above advantages, Yoga also influences the levels of multiple hormones that control different body functions. Balanced levels of all hormones help to improve the texture, tone, and overall health of the skin.
Best Yoga Postures For Healthy Skin
Countless pages of books and scriptures have captured the essence of Yoga for several centuries. Numerous schools of thought have developed, each having its Yogic philosophy. All the literature and teachings of all the Yoga schools center around Yoga’s utility in improving people’s lives.
Books on Yoga mention many physical postures that positively impact various aspects of our health. Let us look at some Yoga postures crucial for glowing, healthy, and youthful skin.
1. Dhanurasana
The bow pose or Dhanurasana is a great way to stretch all the body muscles from top to toe. The Yoga pose is rightfully named so because the body resembles the shape of an archery bow while performing Dhanurasana.
- Lie in a relaxed position on a firm, flat surface such that your belly touches the ground.Â
- Fold your legs from the knees and bring them closer to your buttocks.
- Hold your ankles firmly and gradually elevate your chest such that your body forms a graceful arc.
- Keep some distance between the knees to enable easy balancing of your body.
- Keep your neck in a neutral position and look straight ahead.
Dhanurasana improves digestion and aids in cleansing and detoxification of the gut. A healthy digestive tract will keep acne, oily skin, and skin boils at bay, thus maintaining a clear skin complexion.
2. Ustrasana
Ustrasana or camel pose is a backward bending Yoga pose that immensely benefits overall physical health.
- To begin Ustrasana, stand on a firm, flat ground with your legs at least one foot apart.
- Keep your back straight, your shoulders retracted backward, and get down on your knees.
- Throw your chest and belly outward while gently bending your spine backward.
- Allow your arms to fall back and bring your elbows closer.
- Bend backward till your palms are firmly pressed against your heels.
- Remain in Ustrasana for as long as it is comfortable for you while maintaining a regular breathing cycle.
Ustrasana improves your skin health by enhancing your body’s blood circulation. The asana also prevents skin problems due to poor detoxification and inefficient skin cleansing.
3. Pawanmuktasana
Pawanmuktasana is a sleeping Yoga pose that is immensely beneficial for improving digestive functions. Pawanmuktasana means ‘wind releasing pose’; it helps eliminate gases that accumulate within the intestines.
- Lie down on a firm, flat surface, with your back touching the surface.
- Keep your hands and your legs straight but in a relaxed position.
- Inhale deeply, and as you exhale, elevate your legs and bend your knees.
- Bring your knees closer to your chest so your thighs touch your belly.
- Try to hug your legs and grasp each elbow with the opposite hand.
- Gently rock your body from side to side a few times before releasing the posture.
- Continue regular breathing during the asana.Â
Basic Variation
Once you can perfect your Pawanmuktasan, you may add another step and elevate your head off the floor while performing the asana.
Advanced Variation
Pawanmuktasana detoxifies the gut and helps to prevent any skin condition that may arise due to indigestion. The asana also stimulates the ovaries and balances the levels of female hormones, which is essential to maintaining a clear complexion.
4. Matsyasana
Matsya is a Sanskrit language word that means fish. Matsyasana is rightfully named so because one’s body assumes the shape of a fish during the pose.
- Lie down on a firm, flat surface, and relax your limbs.
- Now, place both palms on the ground facing downward, and rest your buttocks on the palms.
- Gently elevate your head, back, and arms off the floor, and allow your neck to fall backward.
- Keep your elbows and forearms touching the ground, and bring the elbows closer to one another.
- Tilt your head backward till it lightly grazes the floor.
- Throw your chest outward by getting both shoulder blades together.
- Press your thighs to the ground, and balance your body weight equally on the thighs and elbows.
Remain in Matsyasana for a count of 5-10 breaths before relaxing your body. Matsyasana improves the texture and health of your skin by balancing the levels of thyroid hormones in the circulating blood.
Basic Variation
Expert-level Yoga students may begin Matsyasana by keeping their legs in the Padmasana pose.Â
Advanced Variation
Read the next section of the article to know how to perform Padmasana.
5. Padmasana
Padmasana, or the Lotus pose, is a sitting Yoga posture. It is seemingly straightforward but has numerous health benefits.
- Be seated on a firm, flat surface with legs stretched ahead and an erect spine.
- Bend your right knee and place your right foot over your left thigh. Move the foot closer to the groin.
- Now place your left foot on your right thigh by crossing it over your right foot. Press your left foot closer to your lower abdomen.
- Please keep your hands on your knees or rest them on your thighs.
- Throw your chest out and continue breathing regularly to remain in Padmasana for as long as possible.
Padmasana massages the lower abdominal organs like the rectum, genital organs, and urinary bladder. The Yoga posture is immensely beneficial in maintaining a healthy balance of hormones. Padmasana stimulates metabolic functions and aids effective cleansing of the body, thereby improving skin texture and complexion.
Yoga does not give smooth, soft skin with a radiant glow overnight. One needs to practice Yoga dedicatedly for several weeks or months before seeing its positive changes.
Things To Remember
- Consult with a dermatologist if you have an ongoing skin condition and wish to practice Yoga for the same.
- Check with a certified Yoga trainer to learn the correct ways of practicing Yoga postures.
- Yoga is not a replacement for mainstream medical or surgical treatment; you may be undergoing any ongoing skin problems.
- Yoga may not be as effective in treating chronic and severe skin problems as it is in healing minor skin ailments.
- Do not continue Yoga; consult with a doctor immediately if you experience any skin discomfort or general illness after performing any Yoga postures.
Delving into the world of Yoga allows us to explore many ways of healthy living. Regular yoga practice has immense benefits, enhancing our physical, mental, and spiritual health. Yoga helps to maintain a balance between all the planes of health and allows us to enjoy a better and superior quality of life.