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18th April 2018
01:54pm BST
First appearing thousands of years ago in India, the discipline of yoga was designed to promote a sense of wellbeing in a practitioner through precise physical exertions... so it's safe to say that it's been working.
We've teamed up with Hot Yoga by Yoga Dublin in Rathmines, a recently opened studio where you can get a serious sweat on during hour-long classes in a heated room, to tell you about the benefits of the ancient practice.
If you've been considering taking the plunge but you need one final push, here's everything you need to know about the benefits...
Perhaps the best and most obvious benefit of taking up yoga is that it provides a fantastic workout.
Classes are tailored to your level of experience and physical capabilities, so as your body adapts you'll be able to move upwards into more demanding classes.
Your body may be super stiff right now and bending over may be a challenge for you, but all that can change pretty quickly with a little practice.
You'll astound yourself at how quickly you'll be able to improve your flexibility through regular yoga practice and do things you've never even dreamed you were capable of.
A side effect of all this stretching and straining is that you become far more aware of your body, how it moves and even how it rests.
The position of your body is vital when practicing yoga, with a straight back being key to many of the breathing and sitting positions you're shown.
It goes a long way towards correcting the damage caused by sitting at a desk all day long.
You won't believe how easy it is to bond with your fellow yoga noobs after you've all spend an hour struggling to contort your body in directions you didn't even think possible.
That's right, yoga provides a way to socialise in Ireland that doesn't involve alcohol. Will wonders never cease?
Not only have studies shown that light exercise before bedtime has been proven to help you get to the land of nod quicker, but if you suffer from bodily pains that affect your sleep yoga can actually help alleviate those symptoms too.
You purchased them with the best of intentions, but so far they've never actually been used for their intended purpose. It's about time you changed that.
While we do love Dublin, we can't deny that the streets are full of stressed out folks. Dealing with busy jobs, trying commutes and active social lives can take a lot out of you, so you need some way of recharging those batteries.
By practicing yoga, with its physically demanding poses and meditative breathing techniques, you can reclaim a little time for yourself during your busy week to be completely and utterly focussed on the moment.
It's an oasis of calm that you'll come to crave.
