The stresses of daily life can take a serious toll on both the mind and the body, which is why it might come as welcome surprise to discover that yoga can reduce the physical and mental tolls this stress can take.

By encouraging relaxation and inner peace, yoga can lover the levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which in turn can slow your resting heart rate, lower blood pressure and improve digestion and immunity.

A recent study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that yoga had the ability to quite significantly reduce the risk of heart disease.

Throughout the study period, researchers were able to conclude that yoga participants lost an average of two kilograms, decreased their blood pressure, and lowered their “bad” cholesterol levels by 12 points.

If a set of rock hard abs is what you want, then you’ve come to the right place.

Yoga poses force the body to lengthen and activate key muscle groups at the same time, meaning you get an all over workout while still feeling complete and utter tranquility.

Whether your goal is to simply tie your shoelaces without throwing your back out, or to finally achieve that wheel pose, yoga will help you get there.

Over time, yoga helps to improve mobility and flexibility in the body, which can significantly reduce general aches and pains as well as headaches.

A recent study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease found that yoga can assist with memory problems, including Alzheimer’s as well as dementia.

In results that may surprise you, the findings suggested that yoga worked better than brain trainers, such as sudoku, puzzles and crosswords, when it came to cognitive problem management.

Yoga has also been known to have positive effects on conditions such as anxiety, depression and insomnia. That’s right, better sleep could be an asana away.

By turning your senses inward, yoga can provide relief from the hustle and bustle of modern life by providing downtime for your nervous system. A by-product of which is better sleep — which means you’ll be less tired and stressed and less likely to have accidents.

On top of this, other recent research has found links between yoga and the improvement of health issues including fatigue, obesity, chronic pain, asthma and irritable bowl syndrome.

Yoga, like any physical exercise, can ease constipation – and theoretically lower the risk of colon cancer – because moving the body facilitates more rapid transport of food and waste products through the bowels.

Yoga is also a fantastic way to restore the core in recovering mums after childbirth. Specific post-natal classes and poses are widely available to new mothers as a safe means to regaining lower abdomen strength, and tightening the pelvic floor.

Yoga also gets your blood flowing, which helps with healing. As a result, more oxygen gets to your cells, which function better as a result.

Like many things, it may not happen overnight, but soon enough after following a steady yoga regimen, the ligaments, tendons and muscles of your body will lengthen while simultaneously building strength, resulting in better alignment and posture.

Yoga can also build muscle strength over time and protect you from injury in the long run. Strong muscles do more than look good. They also protect us from conditions like arthritis and back pain, and help prevent falls in elderly people.

One study found that a consistent yoga practice improved depression and led to a significant increase in serotonin levels and a decrease in the levels of monoamine oxidase (an enzyme that breaks down neurotransmitters) and cortisol.

At the University of Wisconsin, doctors found that the left prefrontal cortex showed heightened activity in meditators, a finding that has been correlated with greater levels of happiness and better immune function.