Ever felt like the weight of the world is on your shoulders? With all the responsibilities you have at work and at home, stress is indeed inevitable. Even if you're busy, it's important to find time to de-stress to prevent the risk of health problems as stress is linked to many of them. One of the best ways to de-stress is by practicing the wonderful art of yoga.

Yoga is a mind-body practice that involves breathing, relaxation and stretching. It has been practiced for more than 5,000 years and is known to effectively reduce anxiety and stress.

If you go to a yoga class, you will learn about the different physical poses called asanas as well as a variety of breathing and meditation techniques. Yoga also has many kinds and varieties, each of which serves a specific benefit to the body.

Here are some of the most common health benefits that you can gain from practicing yoga:

Yoga reduces stress

Because yoga involves meditation and connecting with both your body and your inner self, many health studies show that it can reduce anxiety and stress. Many experts believe that yoga is the best way to relax, to improve your mood and to enhance your overall sense of well-being.

Also, deepening and lengthening of your breath is practiced in yoga which stimulates the opposite of the stress response or fight or flight boost - the relaxation response.

Yoga improves strength and flexibility

Many types of yoga involve complex asanas that when mastered will improve the body's strength, flexibility, balance and range of motion. For example, more vigorous types of yoga such as Ashtanga and Power yoga helps improve muscle tone.

Hatha and Iyengar focus on alignment of poses which helps improve strength and endurance. Because of these benefits, overall fitness is improved and you will have more energy and stamina to perform other physical activities in your daily life.

Yoga strengthens the lungs

The practice also involves deep, rhythmic breathing which helps improve lung strength and capacity. More aggressive types of yoga will get you breathing hard which will also help you gain aerobic benefits. In turn, physical endurance and performance are also enhanced.

Yoga keeps the heart healthy

The practice is known to help prevent the risk of high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease by slowing the heart rate and decreasing blood pressure.

Dr. Dean Ornish designed a program to improve heart disease through diet and lifestyle as an alternative to surgery, and yoga is one of its key components.

According to recent medical studies, the practice has also shown to have anti-oxidant effects, improves cholesterol levels and boosts the immune system - all of which are beneficial to both the heart and the body.