If you’re new to yoga, you might be wondering what it can do for your health. The answer? Quite a lot! Yoga has been shown to have significant positive effects on mental and physical health, both directly and indirectly. Here are six of the most significant ways that yoga can improve your health.

1. Improves Flexibility

• While yoga is often thought of as a form of exercise, it’s more correctly classified as a practice. That distinction is important because when done correctly, yoga brings us into physical poses (asanas) that we might otherwise have difficulty achieving on our own. When practiced regularly, we can improve our range of motion and strength in ways not normally possible in day-to-day life. Through yoga, we learn to move with greater fluidity and gracefulness; that newfound fluidity translates well beyond the mat into other areas of life. For example, many people find that practicing yoga regularly helps them become more flexible at work—whether it be handling criticism or just being able to get through daily tasks without feeling exhausted or frazzled.

2. Builds Strength

• If you think all yoga is just sun salutations and downward dogs, think again. There are plenty of poses that build muscle strength and improve balance, flexibility, and mental focus. These poses focus on strengthening muscles around your spine—an often-overlooked area that can make all other movements safer, more effective, and more comfortable. Stronger spinal muscles also reduce your risk for common injuries such as slipped discs or lower back pain. If you’re a novice to yoga, don’t worry—the poses we list below aren’t particularly difficult to master.

3. Helps with Back Pain

• An estimated 80% of people experience low back pain at some point in their lives, and yoga has been found to help reduce back pain. A study out of Yale University in 2004 demonstrated that people who did hatha yoga asanas (poses) three times a week for six months experienced significant reductions in both chronic and acute lower back pain. Partly, it’s due to how yoga affects your nervous system: by helping your brain release feel-good chemicals like endorphins. It also likely helps with muscle flexibility and posture—two things linked to lower back problems.

4. Stabilizes the Body

• One of yoga’s main benefits is that it helps to balance and strengthen your muscles, which in turn can decrease your chances of injury. While these types of injuries might not seem like a big deal, they can lead to physical therapy or even surgery depending on where they are located and how bad they are. If you have chronic issues with injuries—whether you’re a person who is at risk for getting injured often or someone who has already had an injury—yoga might be a great way to help reduce those risks and better align your body. Even if you aren’t susceptible to regular sprains and strains, practicing yoga regularly will likely help improve all-around stability.

5. Lowers Blood Pressure

• You may already know that yoga is a good way to reduce stress, but did you know it can also improve your overall cardiovascular health? A recent study found that practicing daily can lower your blood pressure. If you struggle with hypertension or are at risk for developing high blood pressure, don’t overlook yoga as a preventative measure. When paired with other heart-healthy lifestyle choices like eating right and exercising regularly, it may be enough to significantly cut your risk of developing more serious issues later in life. There is also evidence that yoga lowers blood sugar levels and reduces oxidative stress and inflammation in the body.

6. Reduces Stress Levels

• A study published in Psychosomatic Medicine has shown that yoga decreases resting levels of cortisol, also known as the stress hormone. Researchers have found that practicing yoga can cause a 20% decrease in cortisol levels within 30 minutes of finishing a session. This finding is likely related to one specific type of breathing exercise that was used in each of these studies: ujjayi pranayama (victorious breath). Ujjayi involves making your inhalations and exhalations audible—similar to ocean waves rolling onto the shore—and creates a calm feeling in your body through regular practice.