Ethan Week 8- The Power of Yoga

    Hi my fellow AP Lit classmates! Today I want to discuss the importance of stretching and how Yoga has helped me so much. Recently, I began stretching much more than I usually do, trying to do at least fifteen to twenty minutes every single night. This all started after I watched one of Joe Rogan’s podcasts with famous inspirational speaker David Goggins. They both discussed how Yoga helped them gain a better range of motion in their athletics as well as made each of them feel better physically and emotionally. I feel that Yoga has had the same impact on me. I feel that after taking up Yoga I have been able to perform much better in soccer matches. I feel that I can run with a longer stride and have much more flexibility to do creative skills or shoot more effectively. Additionally, I only do Yoga by myself in my room and I usually try to watch some youtube videos of good poses to try. Overall, stretching is incredibly important for everyone, especially for athletes to prevent injuries and tightness. It also has healing powers that make you feel very fresh and emotionally stable. Do any of you take Yoga classes or stretch on your own. Have any of you gained more success in a sport or athletic activity because you took up Yoga? Let me know what you think about the topic in general and the information below!

    Here are some interesting facts about Yoga that you may have not known about:

• “72% of yoga practitioners are female”

• “There are an estimated 300 million yoga practitioners worldwide.”

• ​​”The worldwide yoga industry is worth $80 billion.”

• “National survey data from 2012 showed that 94 percent of adults who practiced yoga did it for wellness-related reasons, while 17.5 percent did it to treat a specific health condition.”

• “Flexibility and stress relief are the most popular reasons for starting yoga.”

• “1.7 million children are practicing yoga in the US.”

• “There are currently 100,000 yoga teachers registered in the US.”

1. https://www.thegoodbody.com/yoga-statistics/

2. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/yoga-what-you-need-to-know#:~:text=National%20survey%20data%20from%202012,Some%20people%20reported%20doing%20both.