6 Ways Your Investment in Yoga Will Pay Off
- By Yoga Studio Calgary
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- 19 Jun, 2017
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We all want to know that when we invest in anything, whether it be with our time,
money, or efforts; that we will receive a payoff…..that is why we invest. An
investment in a regular yoga practice will offer you the most valuable pay off, an
enhanced state of living, a healthier you, a happy life.
- Increased flexibility - Not only does this improve your daily quality of life by reducing soreness and increasing blood flow. Increased flexibility is very important for injury prevention. You don’t have to be an elite athlete to think about injury prevention. Muscular skeletal injuries can occur at anytime, with any activity. Maybe you don’t want to pull a hamstring while bouncing with your kids on the trampoline. Maybe you don’t want to pull your groin while playing on your weekly rec hockey team. Maybe you just simply don’t want to strain your knee when (and in Calgary it’s a when, not an if) you slip on the ice in winter.
- Mental Clarity - Raise your hand if it is high on your priority list to quiet the mental chatter you have going on during all of your waking hours. Creating a state of mental clarity allows you to focus on the now, become far more productive with your time and efforts, and feel less stressed! A practice of mindfulness isn’t about silence and getting rid of all that mental chatter. It’s about organizing your thoughts, prioritizing your thoughts, getting rid of thoughts that leave you feeling sad, anxious and stressed and replacing them with higher vibrational thoughts.
- Healthier blood - Have you thought about the state of health of your blood? Probably not. Yoga has been proven to relax blood vessels, and this enhances 1 June 19, 2017 circulation. This in turn, leaves your body better oxygenated and with far more energy.
- A stacked body - Have you ever experienced what your body feels like when it is in proper alignment? It feels simply amazing. When your bones and joints are properly stacked you create a sense of weightlessness as you carry your body around throughout the day. Imagine a day when you no longer have back pain, knee aches, tension in your shoulders. That day is absolutely achievable with a regular yoga practice.
- Better breathing - what is better breathing? Slower breathing. An extended exhale stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system (the rest and digest) Anxiety, stress and feelings of being overwhelmed are completely stopped in their tracks when you are in a state of parasympathetic nervous system activation.
- What can all of this link back to?
- A happy life of a healthy being. Yoga is an
incredible chronic disease fighter. Chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes,
heart disease are linked to increased stress and poor physical health. Yoga is the
only lifestyle practice that combats each contributing factor of chronic diseases.
The return on investment from a regular yoga practice is high and ongoing. Now
that’s an investment worth making!
Inhale: 1-2-3-4-5. Exhale: 1-2-3-4-5. If you’ve been doing breathing exercises to feel calmer, happier, and more focused, you know how soothing yoga is.
Despite being an ancient practice, yoga has become increasingly popular, and for good reason. It is suitable for people of all ages and effective for treating chronic conditions.
Interestingly, scientists have discovered that this practice has several mental health benefits. Let’s explore the relationship between yoga and well-being, as well as the evidence-based benefits of yoga.
Winter is here, it is that time of the year again when waking up early and practicing yoga becomes a difficult task and mostly ends up compromising it for an hour of extra sleep. But there are lesser-known facts about why we should practice yoga during winters and how it benefits us.
Spring is nature’s rebirth. Every year, when the soft green buds and the delicate pink blossoms appear on the cherry trees, we are given the opportunity to renew ourselves. In our yoga practice, this can be through a physical detox, a mental reboot or both.
So, it’s THAT time of year again. The cards are out, flowers and chocolates in the shops, and the candlelit tables are all booked up weeks in advance. With good reason, many of us find it all rather superficial and insincere. Perhaps some of us might join the cynical chorus asking why we need a specific day to express our affection for someone else. We may even go as far as to accuse the the forces of capitalism of driving demand for “stuff”. But I’m not here to monologue on the meaningfulness of St. Valentine’s Day, and I’m certainly not here to criticise anyone for wanting to express themselves or to show affection for someone else (we all need to be doing this more, not less).
Can yoga reduce anxiety?Yes! Many studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of yoga in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. In one study, women who participated in a three-month yoga program experienced significant improvements in perceived stress, anxiety, and depression. In another study, ten weeks of yoga helped reduce stress and anxiety for participants.
Happy New Year yogis! I’ve often found this time of year to be especially powerful in enhancing my yoga practice. Of course, yoga is always a powerful practice, but the gift of the new year brings deep reflection and introspection that can amplify processes of self-inquiry, expanding our spiritual awareness and commitment to yogic living.
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