Everyone is talking about yoga, but have you ever wondered what all the fuss is about? Does this mysterious ancient practice really benefit your health and wellness?
In this article, you’ll learn the beauty benefits of yoga, Ayurvedic beauty secrets, and why yoga is a great self-care practice to add to your daily self-love ritual.
Can Yoga Make Your Skin Glow?
Yoga makes your skin glow because it is highly beneficial for your overall physical health. Clinical research shows that yoga is good for the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.¹ Regular yoga practice has also been shown to improve mental health, wellness, muscular strength, and flexibility.
During yoga, there is a strong focus on controlled breathing (pranayama) and mindfulness. Deep breathing during mindful movement induces a sense of peace as you access the parasympathetic nervous system. When the parasympathetic nervous system is activated, the body can rest, restore, and heal.
Healthy cardiovascular and respiratory systems are vital for healthy skin, as they improve blood circulation and oxygen to the skin. Your blood carries oxygen and important nutrients to the skin in order to get that youthful healthy glow. Committing to a regular yoga practice ensures that your blood is rich in oxygen, and your circulation is carrying all the goodness to your beautiful glowing skin.
Yoga Benefits For Your Skin
What beauty benefits can you expect to see when you start to practice yoga?
These are just a few simple ways that yoga is going to help you reveal your naturally glowing skin.
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Fewer outbreaks of stress-related skin inflammations such as psoriasis, acne, and dermatitis.
Yoga helps to minimize stress hormones, lower cortisol, and balance the nervous system. So if you’re prone to outbreaks due to stress, yoga is a natural complementary option for you to balance irritated skin. -
Easy natural detox from toxins
Yoga improves your blood circulation, which not only helps to carry nutrients to the skin. It also helps to remove waste and toxins from the skin too. -
Improved mental health
Clinical research shows that yoga is a great complementary therapy for the treatment of addiction, anxiety, stress, depression, insomnia, and chronic pain. Yoga helps to balance hormones and reduce stress hormones which in turn can result in balanced glowing skin. -
Better beauty sleep
Yoga is a great way to naturally treat insomnia. Skin can often look dull when you haven’t slept properly, let alone if poor sleep is a regular occurrence for you. Getting a good night’s sleep allows your body and skin to repair and replenish. This helps to effortlessly reveal your healthy glow and improve overall skin health. -
Increases blood flow to the head, neck, and face
Some yoga postures (yoga asana) specifically direct the blood towards the head which can provide extra blood flow and a nutrient boost. Inversions or postures like standing forward folds are great to achieve that rosy glow.
The cardiovascular system and the lymphatic system work in tandem with each other. Your lymphatic system helps to remove harmful toxins and support the immune system. Giving the cardiovascular and lymphatic system a boost with yoga helps to detox the skin, and prevents the skin from looking dull, tired, or swollen. Improved lymphatic drainage and healthy blood circulation can improve dark circles and skin tone.
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Balances your hormones
Hormones are responsible for just about everything within the body. They are chemical messengers that travel through the body and coordinate complex systems and processes. Hormonal fluctuations can lead to unbalanced or irritated skin. Estrogen is responsible for appropriate oil production. When estrogen levels are too high it can lead to oily skin and breakouts, or dry and flaky skin when too low.
Are Ayurvedic Products Good For Skin?
Ayurvedic beauty products are the sister secret that comes alongside yoga. If you haven’t heard of Ayurveda, then you’ve been missing out. Yoga is a spiritual practice that originates in South Asia. It has been practiced for thousands of years and has most recently made its way around the globe.
But, alongside the ancient traditional wisdom of yoga, is ayurveda. Ayurveda is a holistic healing system, often known as the ‘science of ‘life’, and it aims to prolong and improve the quality of life. Many ayurvedic ingredients are totally natural and plant-based. The ayurvedic science of life works in tandem with the earth’s natural wisdom and seeks to enhance it through harmony and balance. These beautiful botanical herbs have been helping women achieve glowing skin for centuries.
Aloe Vera
Aloe vera (aloe barbadensis milleris) is a succulent plant that can be found in many parts of the world. This powerful soothing ayurvedic medicine has been used for centuries by many different cultures. Egyptian Queens Cleopatra and Nefertiti were said to have used aloe vera in their regular skincare routines.⁴
Aloe vera contains roughly 75 active components all the way from vitamins and amino acids to salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is great to improve skin complexion, exfoliate dead skin cells, treat fine lines, and wrinkles.
The aloe vera plant can often be found in powder or gel form and is popular for its moisturizing, soothing, healing, antiseptic, anti-viral, and anti-inflammatory properties.
Recommended Natural Skin Care Products Containing Ayurvedic Aloe Vera:
Ambrosia Do Cerrado Liquid Moisturizer | Earthwise Beauty
Catharsis Face Mask | Earthwise Beauty
Farizad’s Veil Sun Reflector | Earthwise Beauty
Illume | Radiance Enhancing Moisturizer
Marshmallow Face Cleanser | Earthwise Beauty
Nap In The Meadow Face Serum | Earthwise Beauty
Amaranth Seed Oil
Amaranth seed oil comes from the genus amaranthus plant. Amaranth seed oil is a great source of squalene which is perfect for dry, or dark skin tones. Clinical research shows that squalene is great for its antioxidant moisturizing properties, and it can also be used for treating skin problems such as psoriasis, acne, and dermatitis.⁵ Amaranth seed oil is rich in fatty acids and lipids which are vital for skin barrier protection.
Recommended Natural Skin Care Products Containing Ayurvedic Amarantha Seed Oil:
Passion Eye Serum | Earthwise Beauty
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is known as a cooling ingredient in ayurveda. Research shows that coconut oil improves skin barrier function and hydration.⁶ This popular natural oil is anti-inflammatory, speeds wound healing, anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-microbial, and increases the effectiveness of collagen in wound healing. Coconut oil helps bring out the natural glow of healthy skin by protecting the skin and encouraging the restoration of skin damage.
Recommended Natural Skin Care Products Containing Ayurvedic Coconut Oil:
Illume | Radiance Enhancing Moisturizer
Marshmallow Face Cleanser | Earthwise Beauty
Holy Basil
Holy basil is commonly known as ‘tulsi’, it is a perennial fragrant herb. Tulsi (holy basil) is a very popular medicinal herb within ayurveda, and can be found in everything from ayurvedic teas to beauty products.
Holy basil has the capacity to detox and protects the body from toxin damage. Clinical research shows that it protects tissues against chemical stress, heavy metals, and industrial pollutants. Tulsi is anti-allergic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory. and anti-fungal, which makes it a powerful tool for healthy glowing skin.
Recommended Natural Skin Care Products Containing Ayurvedic Holy Basil:
Illume | Radiance Enhancing Moisturizer
Neem
Neem (azadirachta indica) is a tree from the mahogany family that is native to South Asia and Africa. It has been used medically for centuries and modern science confirms the benefits of this wonderful botanical ingredient. Research shows that neem holds a variety of powerful benefits including being anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, and anticarcinogenic.³ Neem holds a pretty impressive resume, and you can find this powerful ingredient in powder or oil form in beauty and skincare products all across Asia.
Recommended Natural Skin Care Products Containing Ayurvedic Neem:
Catharsis Face Mask | Earthwise Beauty
Illume | Radiance Enhancing Moisturizer
Jaipur | Brightening Enzyme Mask
Rose Flower Water
Rosewater is produced from rose petals and water. And whilst this sounds like a simple combination, the benefits of rose flower water are amazing. Rosewater is an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and wonderfully hydrating. When used as a toning mist it helps to hydrate the skin, before your moisturizer seals in the moisture. The Illume | Radiance Enhancing Moisturizer combines these steps into one by adding rose flower water to this luxurious moisturizer for a simple skincare routine.
Recommended Natural Skin Care Products Containing Ayurvedic Rose Flower Water:
Illume | Radiance Enhancing Moisturizer
Sandalwood
Sandalwood is highly fragrant and comes from the genus santalum tree family. This ayurvedic ingredient is used in many products from incense to perfume. Research shows that sandalwood aids healthy glowing skin as it is anti-carcinogenic, anti-microbial, and anti-inflammatory.⁹ This unique ingredient is highly beneficial to skin health and skin tone.
Recommended Natural Skin Care Products Containing Ayurvedic Sandalwood:
Jaipur | Brightening Enzyme Mask
Santal | Dual-Action Enzyme Cleansing Powder
Shea Butter
Shea butter is made from the kernels of sheu trees (vitellaria paradoxa). High in antioxidants, fatty acids, anti-inflammatory, and moisturizing properties - this is a great choice for those needing hydration and protection of dry skin.⁷ Shea butter aids that natural glow and healthy skin by its assistance to the skin barrier which helps to restore and rejuvenate your skin.
Recommended Natural Skin Care Products Containing Ayurvedic Shea Butter:
Turmeric
Turmeric comes from the root of a ginger family plant called curcuma longa. This popular spice is used commonly in South Asian and East Asian culinary dishes, medicinal herbal teas, and skincare products. Clinical research has found that curcumin (a compound within turmeric) protects the skin, speeds wound healing, and improves collagen function. For a brighter complexion and more radiant skin, turmeric is a great addition to your daily skincare regime.
Recommended Natural Skin Care Products Containing Ayurvedic Turmeric:
Illume | Radiance Enhancing Moisturizer
Nap In The Meadow Face Serum | Earthwise Beauty
Santal | Dual-Action Enzyme Cleansing Powder
Is 15 Minutes Of Yoga A Day Enough?
It is most important to practice yoga daily, as opposed to long sessions if you do not have the time or energy. Clinical research shows that a daily practice provides the best results, as opposed to longer but less frequent classes.²
Yoga is a tailored practice, meaning that the practice changes depending on the constituency of the practitioner. People who have a higher level of pitta dosha (the element of fire and water) have great muscle strength and tend to be energetic.
If you are predominantly pitta dosha you will be drawn towards regular demanding physical activity. Whereas if you are kapha dosha dominant (earth and water element) you may need a little more inspiration and motivation to create a fun regular routine that makes you want to commit to physical activity.
If you can only spare 10-minutes a day for your yoga practice, this is far more important than forcing a routine that doesn’t fit into your lifestyle or your personal preferences. Yoga should be fun, and a blissful joy to do. So if your practice feels like a chore or a burden, then ask a certified yoga instructor to create a tailored plan specifically for you.
Yoga is a holistic spiritual practice that happens to have many physical, mental, and emotional benefits. But the best results from yoga are received when the practice is nourishing for the individual needs of the practitioner.
To make sure that your yoga practice is helping you to achieve the youthful radiance of glowing skin remember to practice pranayama (a breathing exercise) within each yoga pose. Move mindfully from yoga pose to yoga pose, and try to sync your breath with the movements.
Conclusion
Yoga has so many beauty benefits that it is a valuable investment for your natural skincare routine. Hopping onto the yoga mat is an easy way to improve your self-care, and benefit from glowing skin at the same time. Remember that glowing skin loves natural ingredients that are kind to the skin, and the environment. And these ayurvedic beauty secrets have been used by the likes of Queen Nefertiti and Cleopatra, which makes them a clear winner for us.
Carmen Lee is a certified yoga teacher, childbirth doula, and wellness coach. She educates on womb wellness, sacred wisdom, and ancestral-connected living. You’ll find her passionately advocating radical self-care and transformational self-empowerment through sustainable beauty and self-love rituals.
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