"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly." -Buddha
Hi everyone!
A few days ago, I talked about how I am trying to live more in the present, and appreciate all of the wonderful things I have happening in my life. So when I started to think about what I should choose for my Novemeber health goal, I thought it should have something to do with living in the present. I am definitely what you would call a worry wart, which is the biggest thing holding me back from just enjoying the moment. With this in mind, I thought my goal should have something to do with de-stressing. Since my goal of meditation did not go so well last month, I turned back to yoga.
Now, I teach yoga 1-2 times a week, however you cannot fully relax and enjoy the moment when you're teaching. So my health goal for November is to do yoga outside of the classes I teach at least once a week. My DVR is full of yoga videos I have recorded off of FitTV, so I have no excuses. I started off on the right foot by going to a yoga class today. It was great, and I actually made it through the entire class without making a mental to do list! That is a mega accomplishment for me!! I was not born a yogi, but I will get there one day!
We all know the benefits of yoga: increased flexibility, decreased stress levels, increased strength etc. However, there are some not so well known benefits of yoga that are just as appealing!
The Secret Benefits of Yoga:
- Glowing Skin! Stress can make many skin problems worse. A Cornell University study showed that when a person is under stress, their skin takes longer than usual to repair itself. Since yoga is a proven stress reliever, it can help skin heal faster and stay clear.
- Better Sleep! According to a study in the Medical Science Monitor, after patients with sleep problems did yoga and meditation during the day, the quality of their sleep improved that night.
- Smarter Food Choices! Who wouldn't want to crank up the volume of the internal voices that help you choose fruit over french fries at Chick Fil A? I know I sure would! I can use all of the help I can get resisting the chocolate cake left over from Eric's two week long birthday celebration. According to a study published in The Journal of the American Dietetic Association, doing yoga can help you eat more mindfully.
- More Feel-Good Moods! By measuring a chemical in the brain associated with well-being, scientists at Boston University School of Medicine were able to see that people who did yoga for 30 minutes had 27% more of that chemical in their brains than those in the study who read a book for half an hour instead. So if you usually spend your lunch break catching up on gossip magazines, bust a move on your yoga mat instead.
Will you join me in this goal?? It doesn't matter if you take a class at your local gym, pop in a yoga DVD, or go through your own sun salutation, any kind of practice will work! For more information on yoga, and to find some great asanas (poses) check out http://www.yogajournal.com/.
Food for thought:
Will you join me in this quest?
Do you currently practice yoga regularly?
If so, what is your favorite benefit?
"Today is life- the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today."-Dale Carnegie
In health,
Lauren G.
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i don't know how many studies i've read that say yoga is AMAZING, not only for strength and flexability, but (like you said) mindfullness and stress relief. i've been meaning to check out yogadownloads.com, have you been?
ReplyDeleteHey Angelga! I had never heard of yogadownloads.com, but I just checked it out!! It is so cool! You can dowload tons of free yoga classes. All of the 20 minute classes are free and you can purchase longer videos for pretty inexpensive. Thanks for the great suggestion!
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