The Simple Move That Changes Everything

Cute yoga clothes -- and cute yoga instructors -- didn't hurt in turning yoga into a hugely popular phenomenon. But the real reason everybody's doing yoga: It makes you look and feel young and fantastic. And it's legal. And you can do it in public. Want more reasons? Here's a short list of what it does:

• Keeps your joints young. Yoga increases your flexibility. The more flexible your muscles are, the better your range of motion, and the less stress you'll put on your joints doing normal activities.


• Makes you stronger. Some poses are as taxing as they are relaxing. They force your muscles to lift and hold your body weight, which counts as resistance training.


• Acts like a happy drug. Yoga boosts levels of serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins -- three feel-good substances already in your body that make you feel cheerful, content, and happy.


• Keeps you slim. One study showed that overweight yoga practitioners (ages 45 to 55, who had been doing yoga for 4 years or more) gained 18.5 pounds less than those who did not practice. Another study showed that people with a yoga habit eat more mindfully (which includes knowing whether they were hungry or not) and are thinner than people who don't get on the mat.


• Restores your balance. Many yoga programs relax and restore your body by stabilizing blood pressure, lowering heart rate, increasing lung capacity, improving digestion, and increasing feelings of calm and tranquility. Small wonder it's being used in classes for recovering cancer patients. And if they can do it, so can you.