Published: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 at 3:04 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 at 3:04 p.m.

Practicing yoga even a few times a week could deliver benefits both physical and mental.

The improvements to your body are easily recognizable. The range of motion in your joints will increase along with your flexibility and balance, said Jana Whiddon, owner of Yoga Pointe in Lakeland. Some positions are known to ease symptoms of menopause or PMS.

Perhaps unexpected, women can see an increase in muscle from doing yoga.

"Yoga is a nice balance of things, strength being one of them," said Whiddon, who has taught the practice for 12 years.

Mentally, yoga can help ease pressure for women who balance different roles in daily life, Whiddon said. If you work a full day and then switch roles at home to be a mother, it creates tension in the mind.

Practicing different postures and breath awareness allows you to "increase your self-knowledge and connect more with your internal locus of control," Whiddon said.

Yoga cultivates a state of mindfulness, a way of paying attention to what every moment has to offer, Whiddon said.

"It's a way of living in the moment and experiencing the moment for everything it has to offer, instead of being on autopilot," Whiddon said.

Yoga has a spiritual element, but doesn't preclude any certain religious belief. The American Yoga Association says the practice is commonly thought to be derived from Hinduism, but that's a misconception.

Continue reading here:
Yoga Offers Many Benefits for Women