I've said it before and I'll say it again. I LOVE yoga! It always amazes me just how refreshed and rejuvenated I feel after doing it. It always seems hard to find the time, but when I do, even 20-30 minutes of it, I am always glad afterward. It feels like I have washed my slate clean, opened up the windows and let some fresh air in, and I get a burst of energy. Meditation is so important to reduce the stress in our lives.An article on webmd says "Doing yoga may reduce stress and anxiety. It can also help your body to be more flexible. Several studies have shown that yoga has health benefits such as improving a person's sense of well-being, helping to lower blood pressure, and helping people who have asthma learn to breathe more easily."Another webmd article lists all the benefits of yoga including flexibility, strength, posture, breathing, less stress- more calm, concentration and mood, heart benefits, and more. You can click on these links to view the articles in full.
Its been one of my new years resolutions to get back into doing yoga and I have been meaning to get started. I can tell that my body and mind has been CRAVING it because I haven't been able to shake the heavy, stressful, sluggish feeling that's been lingering around me the last couple weeks.
It can be difficult to find a good yoga show if TV is the way you want to go. There are a lot of really cheesy ones out there. You'll find the old ladies in the 80's outfits usually in the early hours of the morning, the hippies in Jamaica, the Hawaiians in full Hawaii gear, etc. I started out with the hippies because they were the most tolerable and least annoying.
However I have found a show on FitTV that I really like. Its called Namaste Yoga. I get it now that I switched my satellite service to Direct TV. The show actually has normal people in it! I have a DVR so I record the shows whenever and save a handful of them so that when I want to do the workout its already to go and I don't have to rely on the tv's schedule. I highly recommend this show for anyone that wants to do yoga in the privacy of their home. Here is a sample of what the show is like:
Many gyms also provide yoga classes if you would rather go that route.
Whatever your strategy for meditation, the important thing is to have one and follow through. It could be as simple as doing breathing exercises every once in awhile, or taking time to relax away from all the noise and chaos of our daily lives.
Maybe one day I'll be good enough at the yoga that I won't need the shows and I'll be able to do it all on my own, that would be cool. What kind of meditation techniques do you do?
5 comments:
I love yoga, too. Another fun option I found is downloading free yoga podcast classes. I stumbled upon Eoin Finn on iTunes & his 30 minute class "yoga quickie" is perfect for life with kids. Great post.
Yoga is a great way to relieve stress. Another great way to reduce stress is to practice Mindfulness. We have a new program at The Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt that practices Mindfulness. The program works to reduce stress for families and caretakers of personas with disordered eating. On our eating disorder blog, we describe what mindfulness is and all of its benefits. If you’re interested in the program or want more information about Mindfulness check it out here: http://eatingdisorder.org/blog/2009/01/26/mindfulness-based-stress-reduction-a-new-program-for-families-and-caretakers-of-individuals-with-eating-disorders/
YOGA THERAPY is the science of applying the various techniques of yoga in a
variety of illnesses and conditions, to facilitate optimal health, healing
and awakening. Classes are designed for the individual or group with a
therapeutic focus for a specific health condition e.g. cancer, heart,
prenatal, diabetes, multiple sclerosis.
I read your whole article and I loved your article. Today yoga is gaining more and more importance as there is a lot of stress at workplaces. Yoga is the best and easy way to reduce the stress. And I have some good yoga tips at http://www.jiyohealthy.com/category/stress/
I have found yoga and meditation to work wonders on reducing my anxiety levels. I recently read a very interesting article about meditation and how it may change the brain at the following web address http://www.jasminbalance.com/2011/02/03/how-meditation-may-change-the-brain. Enjoy!
Post a Comment