Thanks to Kathy our Yoga Expert for sharing more Yoga Benefits. I think this is particularly useful considering the holidays and busy seasons are quickly upon us. Please visit her site for more great information.
Aloha! I’ve been asked back to write a follow-up for my last post. In this post, I will be diving further into the first health benefit of yoga (on my list at least because each benefit should be number 1)…relaxation.
As we all know, this time of year is the beginning of the crazy, hectic, and busy holiday season. When the rest of the natural world is starting to slow down and hibernate, we humans begin to pick up our pace to make sure all holidays, kids school work, after school activities, and our adult lives are taken care of.
Yoga can help you handle all of this, slow down, and stay more calm in high pressure situations by reminding you how much better you feel when you do take the time to relax. The next time you are in a yoga class, focus on your breath in each posture. It doesn’t matter what your posture looks like compared to others. All that matters is you. If you can breathe comfortably in the posture, then you are doing it right!
If you generally don’t take yoga classes or don’t have any offered near you, try this next exercise. It only takes 5 minutes and you will feel so great afterwards: (this practice can be accomplished whether you are stressed, just need 5 minutes to yourself, or for any reason)
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Find a place to sit comfortably or lie down.
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Close your eyes and allow yourself to sink into the chair or floor you are on
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Begin to focus on your breath, feeling the rise and fall of your chest, feeling the warm air from your nose float over your upper lip.
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Allow all thoughts to float away, knowing that they will be there again when you need them
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Breathe for as long as you’d like.
When you finish the practice, slowly sit or stand up and slowly begin to move back into your routine for the day.
As I said before, you don’t need to be in a stressful place to feel the benefits of this practice. Although it definitely helps stress, this practice will help you be more productive in your work and even throughout your life as a person of many roles. So just breathe and focus on the simple things in life that we all generally take for granted every day.
Namaste.