Whether it’s with a goat on your back, or in the comfort of your living room, yoga can help one’s body and mind.

September is National Yoga Month, and United Presbyterian Home Wellness and Fitness Director Amy Kleese says yoga can give greater awareness of your surroundings and how your body is feeling, as well as reduce blood pressure. Kleese teaches yoga to adults of a variety of ability levels. And though she has an older clientele, Kleese shares how yoga can benefit younger individuals, “Well, one of the things that people do even [as] early as age 30, they start losing muscle mass, so you want to do types of exercises that will help you strengthen those muscles and increase your muscle mass. When we have more muscle mass we have an increased metabolic rate and we are better butter burners, we can reduce our calories quicker if we have more muscle mass.”

Kleese says you have to stress those muscles by doing exercises that test muscle resistance such as a squat or bridge pose. These exercises can help older adults move more efficiently in daily life and improve their mental state.