For 5,000 years, hardcore yoga practitioners have been touting yoga's mental and physical powers. Luckily, you don't have to be an expert to reap the benefits — adding just a few poses to your daily routine can help your health in all kinds of unexpected ways.

"On a physical level, yoga helps improve flexibility, strength, balance, and endurance," says Linda Schlamadinger McGrath, founder of YogaSource Los Gatos in California. "On an energetic level, yoga teaches you how to cope better with stress by cultivating a sense of ease in both active or passive poses. On a psychological level, yoga helps to cultivate mindfulness by shifting your awareness to the sensations, thoughts, and emotions that accompany a given pose or exercise."