All you yoga lovers out there and even the yoga curious, in case you hadn't heard, September is National Yoga Month [1]. Sweet.

The purpose of this month dedicated to yoga is to educate people about the health benefits of yoga, and inspire people to live a healthy lifestyle. If you are interested in taking a holistic approach to healing rather than taking lots of meds, here's a list of some of the ways yoga can improve your health [2].

• Yoga improves levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. In a study conducted in India, those practicing yoga had a 23 percent drop in cholesterol. It may have to do with how yoga can both decrease stress and help with weight loss, two factors that can affect cholesterol.
• Improves the quality of life for cancer patients [3] going through radiation. Researchers are also looking into how yoga may improve the immune systems of those with cancer.
• Since yoga is all about controlling and slowing down your breath, it can improve the function of the respiratory system, and help alleviate asthma [4] symptoms.
• It's been shown to improve digestion [5]. All that twisting and bending every which way helps to tone and strengthen your core muscles and keeps the organs underneath healthy by massaging them.

To learn about the other benefits of yoga .

• Toning your core through yoga alleviates back, neck, and shoulder pain.
• By stretching your muscles, you can help to prevent injury [6] when doing other sports or activities like running or skiing.
• It has emotional benefits as well, helping to alleviate depression, stress, anger, and anxiety. It can improve your memory, attention span, and improve your outlook on life. It's also been shown to boost self-confidence.

Do you feel the power of yoga? Share how you plan to celebrate National Yoga Month in the comments section below.
Source [7]