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 Why Practice Yoga? Yoga seeks to create spaciousness in the physical body and a keen sense of awareness in the mind. Ancient yogis regularly performed asana (postures) to stretch and open then body in preparation for meditation.  Practicing yoga regularly helps us move through the things that challenge us on a daily basis with grace, compassion, a sense of ease and comfort, and even a sense of humor.
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The top 10 benefits of practicing yoga
include: - STRESS RELIEF: Yoga reduces
the physical effects of stress on the body. By encouraging relaxation,
yoga helps to lower the levels of stress hormones. Related benefits
include lowering blood pressure and heart rate, improving digestion and
boosting the immune system, as well as easing symptoms of conditions
such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, asthma and insomnia.
- PAIN RELIEF: Yoga can ease
pain for people with arthritis, muscle or joint stiffness, back and
neck pain, and other chronic conditions. Yoga can also be beneficial for
those healing from injury or illness.
- BETTER BREATHING: Yoga
teaches you to take slower, deeper breaths. This helps to improve lung
function, trigger the body’s relaxation response and increase the amount
of oxygen available to the body.
- FLEXIBILITY: Yoga helps to improve
flexibility and mobility, increasing range of movement and reducing
aches and pains. Yoga also fosters flexibility in the mind by practicing
acceptance with what is and taking conscious action.
- INCREASED STRENGTH: Yoga
asanas use every muscle in the body, helping to increase strength from
head to toe and at multiple levels of our being.
- WEIGHT MANAGEMENT: Yoga
(even less vigorous styles) can aid weight control efforts, encourage
healthy eating habits and provides a heightened sense of well being and
self esteem.
- IMPROVED
CIRCULATION: Yoga helps to improve circulation and, as a result of
various poses, more efficiently moves oxygenated blood to the body's
cells.
- CARDIOVASCULAR
CONDITIONING: Even gentle yoga practice can provide cardiovascular
benefits by lowering resting heart rate, increasing endurance and
improving oxygen uptake during exercise.
- IMPROVED CONCENTRATION, COORDINATION, REACTION
TIME AND MEMORY: Yoga helps us focus on the present, to become more
aware and to create mind-body connections and healing. It opens the way
to improved concentration, coordination, reaction time and memory.
- INNER PEACE: The
meditative aspects of yoga help us reach a deeper, more spiritual and
satisfying place in our lives. For many who begin to practice for other
reasons this has become an essential part of their daily lives.
-Adapted
from the Yoga Alliance Top 10 Reasons to Try Yoga.
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Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga: Taking a Conscious Journey into Motherhood -by Nicole Coons
Nothing anyone could have told me could have prepared me for experience of the birth of my first child. And yet, I made it through...blissfully, bleary-eyed and awestruck, all at once.
Looking back, I can say with certainty that my yoga practice prepared me in more ways than I realized. Not just for the physical labor and delivery part (whoa, what a ride that was!), but for everything that was to follow.
Welcome to the first installation of my Conscious Journey into Motherhood blog. As my journey unfolds, I will share my personal experiences and reflections on how yoga helped me (and continues to support me) in the hope that you, too, are encouraged to share.
Pictured here: Lotus Mudra, representing an awakened heart.
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"Prevention is the key. We can not
afford our heath care system based on disease management anymore. I believe the only option to reform
health care is to focus on prevention." Johannes R. Fisslinger, co-founder of National Yoga Month
"Yoga is such a powerful tool in
helping you to integrate into your body...after you center you are able
to listen and fine tune how your body functions creating optimum health
and awareness in your life. I adore the power that Yoga has to heal body
mind and spirit" Mariel
Hemingway, actress and author of Mariel's Kitchen: Simple Ingredients
for a Delicious and Satisfying Life
"Happiness is a choice." - Aristotle |
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