Calm Down with Yoga
By Jason Bowers, Personal Trainer, Nutrition Consultant, Strength Coach
This article was first published in the February 2009 issue of Fusion.
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I get a lot of questions about exercise this time of year, as winter drags on, and we all fight the cold-weather flu bugs and the blues. Depression, along with anxiety and stress, seems particularly prevalent this year. My advice: try yoga.
Whether you practice once a week or every
day, you will see improvements in your health and your state of mind. If you are already groaning
at the thought of chanting and bending into a pretzel next to strangers, stop! Although the best
way to practice yoga is with mindfulness, and guided by an experienced instructor, simply going
through the moves will at least benefit your body and calm your mind with improved blood and
oxygen flow.
For instance, yoga poses increase flexibility by moving the body into positions that act on
joints and tendons not usually even on our “radar screen,” much less focused on in traditional
forms of gym exercise. These positions exercise the tendons and ligaments of the body, releasing
tension and increasing lubrication in the joints. You may be surprised to learn that even those with
“rigid” bodies and a great deal of tightness experience a remarkable increase in flexibility. Why?
Seemingly unrelated yoga positions act upon parts of the body in an interrelated manner. When
done together, they work in harmony to create a situation where flexibility is attained relatively
easily.
Yoga poses massage ALL of the organs of the body. In fact, it is the only form of activity
that massages all internal glands and organs thoroughly, including those that are rarely stimulated,
such as the prostate. Ensuring optimum blood supply has many positive effects, including the
prevention of disease. This increased blood flow also helps in the flushing of toxins from the
body, as well as providing nourishment even to the extremities. Increased blood flow is very
important in delaying the aging process and increasing energy. Yoga is particularly beneficial in easing hypertension and other heart-related conditions. In
many cases, regular practice of both postures and breathing exercises can even replace drugs or
therapy!
As with any regular exercise, yoga practice is an excellent way to tone muscles that have
become flaccid, and increase strength while shedding excess flab, which also reduces hypertensive
risk. Many people report that the mind-body emphasis is helpful in breaking powerful food cravings
and addictions.
Another disease that is often linked to excess bodyweight, diabetes, can also be addressed
through yoga. When postures like the bow posture, spinal twist, forward bend, cobra posture,
shoulder stand, plough posture, and corpse posture are supplemented with breathing exercises, the
pancreas is encouraged to produce more insulin, which helps control blood sugar levels. If
diabetes is caused by lack of exercise or stress, yoga eliminates your dependence on insulin treatment.
If you are new to yoga and confused about where to begin, I have provided the guide below to get you started. Be sure to ask your instructor how to perform the poses correctly!
Anxiety:
- Try to engage in daily yoga sessions.
- Break up your session into several shorter segments, instead of one long one, to maintain your stamina. Chronic anxiety
can drastically tax your energy and reserves.
- Limit any smoking, as well as your intake of stimulants like tea, coffee, and alcohol. If you can, eliminate them completely
from your diet.
- Be patient, and gentle with yourself. Remember that it may take weeks, or even months, to completely subdue anxiety.
Arthritis:
- Practice the Sun Salutation daily to maintain fluid mobility.
- Massage your joints and practice breathing exercises to increase circulation.
- Avoid sour food and artificial products, which increase the production of acids in the body.
Depression:
- To counter negativity, practice rapid abdominal breathing every morning and evening; set aside times each morning and
evening for deep-breathing relaxation exercises.
- Release your trapped energy by doing three fast rounds of the sun salutation during each session.
Fatigue:
- Practice the corpse pose for 5 minutes prior to beginning your yoga session to calm the body and rejuvenate your mind.
- Avoid stimulants like coffee, and reduce sugar as much as possible; limit fats, as they are slow to digest and amplify
feelings of sluggishness.
- Ask your instructor to teach you nerve-stimulating postures, like the Butterfly Pose and any of the backward bends.
- Focus on the positive: you will feel better, and you are being proactive by beginning a yoga practice!
Insomnia:
- Do the Shoulder Stand and Forward Bends. A meditation session in the evening and a warm bath before sleeping
(consider adding essential oils like lavender or the Peace and Calming blend) help.
- Ideally, you should not eat for at least three hours before getting into bed, to ensure that active digestion does not
interfere with your sleep.
Don’t forget to use other tools at your disposal—diffusing essential oils like sandalwood, cypress, Transformation, Peace and Calming, or Believe enhance meditative sessions, while lavender, peppermint, and the citruses, among others, can stimulate your physical practice. Enjoy!
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Also in this issue (click to view):
Q & A: Urinary Tract Infections in Cats
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