Originally Posted by berner

I have never taken Yoga classes but like and do some of the poses and stretches for 20 years or so. The main benefit for me has been maintaining flexibility. At the age of 75, I'm just about as flexible as I was at 40 y.o.The full range of Yoga asanas will also make one surprisingly strong. I recently bought a book on Yoga anatomy with a detailed section on breathing and the muscles involved in breathing. I learned that the chest cavity is criss-crossed with bands of muscle that assist and work in conjunction with the diaphram to cause the rib to cage expand or contract on inhale and exhale. As an asthmatic, maximizing my ability to breath keeps me on the bike.