You’re a college student. You have exams to prepare for, a job (or maybe even two!) that take up much of your time and family responsibilities to add on top of all of that. What you might not have is a sense of how to balance all of these competing responsibilities. Yoga is one way that many students better balance the stresses that come with being so busy. Read on for some of the benefits that you might experience from trying out this type of exercise.

Reduce & Eliminate Stress

The most popular reason that people begin taking yoga classes is to reduce stress as college students are under a lot of stress, even from day one. Pressure from family and friends to succeed, financial stressors and a demanding social atmosphere all pile up and take a toll. Reducing and eliminating stress through taking just a few minutes each day to breathe deeply can potentially help.

Reduce Conflict

If you’re living in the close quarters of a dorm room, fraternity house or apartment complex, conflicts are sure to arise from time to time. Yoga can help with this, by reducing stress and adding confidence to help make your mind clearer and produce a sense of peace. Many students find that yoga helps with controlling emotions and increases the ability to deal with situations that are frustrating.

Improve Concentration

Many of those who practice yoga have an easier time concentrating. Yoga helps clear the mind, which can give students a break from the constant social atmosphere of college. Practicing getting to a quiet mindspace can make it easier to concentrate when reading, studying and sitting through lectures. The breathing techniques taught in yoga are also easily applicable to college students when they need to focus.

Improve Posture

Yoga was developed by Indian monks — tuck that tidbit away for bar trivia next week — to help them sit through long hours of meditation. Since college students spend hours a day sitting in class, followed by hours studying or hours on their feet working, improving posture is yet another way yoga can be beneficial to college students.

Strengthen Core

One of the best benefits of yoga is flexibility, which will help with increasing strength and endurance in other athletic ventures. Core strength is a great side effect of yoga and will also help protect the back throughout the many moves in and out of apartments and dorm rooms throughout your college years.

The type of exercise program that works best for you might not be the same as the one that works for the next person. Trying out multiple types is a good way to choose which one you should make a part of your daily routine. Check out this piece from mindbodygreen for more reasons why college students might want to consider a regular yoga practice.