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September is National Yoga Awareness Month

September 9, 2019



“I was looking for someone to inspire me, motivate me, support me, and change me for the better… Someone who would love me, Affirm me, make me feel healthy and normal again… and I realized all along that I was looking for myself.”

 

 –Jarvis Quarterman

 
Yoga as a Path to Health Freedom

National Yoga Awareness Month raises awareness that a lot of research is being done on yoga and its health benefits to virtually every system of our bodies. When physicians start to incorporate preventive medicine into their practices, many are looking to yoga and other forms of holistic practice. There are many different styles of yoga to experience. You may want to try different classes, instructors, and different approaches so you can find a yoga discipline that you like. Yoga is enjoyed by everyone kids adults and even dogs… so grab a friend and explore.

 

There are now a multitude of available reviews of a wide range of yoga practices that suggest yoga can reduce the impact of exaggerated stress responses. Also making it helpful for both anxiety and depression. In this respect, yoga functions like other self-soothing techniques, such as meditation, relaxation, exercise, or even socializing with friends.

 

It has been more than proven that yoga and meditation may do more than just relax you. Studies show that they could stop and reverse the effects of stress on your genes and prevent sickness and disease. Yoga and meditation are the mine and medical physicians new go-to recommendations for almost anything that ails you! True, these practices can deliver benefits for people with diabetes,even elevated heart-disease risk, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, and many other seemingly unrelated conditions. But how exactly does yoga and meditation help the body in ways that can prevent or improve its overall wellness?

 

“Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured.” ~ B.K.S. Iyengar

 

The relaxation that mind-body practices bring could reverse the damaging effects of stress on your genes, says a new analysis in Frontiers in Immunology. Researchers analyzed 18 studies of the physiological effects of yoga, meditation, Tai Chi, Qigong, deep breathing techniques, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and active relaxation. What all these practices had in common was that people who took part in them regularly produced less of a protein called nuclear factor kappa B.

 

Your body produces nuclear factor kappa B when you’re under stress. According to Ivana Buric, MSc, author of the study and a researcher in the Brain, Belief, and Behavior Lab in Coventry University’s Centre for Psychology, Behaviour, and Achievement, this protein increases the activity of genes related to inflammation. People who meditate or practice yoga or other mind-body activities seem to run low on this stress protein.

 

The Bottom Line is Multiple studies have confirmed the many mental and physical benefits of yoga. Incorporating it into your routine can help enhance your health, increase strength and flexibility and reduce symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety. Finding the time to practice yoga just a few times per week may be enough to make a noticeable difference when it comes to your health. If I haven’t said it enough, yoga is more than a practice that connects the body, breath, and mind. It uses physical postures, breathing exercises, and meditation to pretty much improve your overall health. Yoga was developed as a spiritual practice thousands of years ago. Today we are blessed as Westerners to have yoga for exercise or to reduce stress.

 

 

Benefits of Yoga

Yoga can improve your overall fitness level and improve your posture and flexibility. It may also:

  • Lower your blood pressure and heart rate
  • Help you relax
  • Improve your self-confidence
  • Improve your coordination
  • Improve your concentration
  • Aid with digestion
  • Can Decrease Stress
  • Relieves Anxiety. (Many people begin practicing yoga as a way to cope with feelings of anxiety
  • May Reduce Inflammation  
  • Could Improve Heart Health  
  • Improves Quality of Life  
  • May Fight Depression  
  • Could Reduce Chronic Pain
  • Could Promote Sleep Quality

 

The Author


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