This week on the Co-Women blog we have another guest post from one of our members. Bryony is a yoga teacher who owns Be-Yoga based in Sussex. She’s shared her thoughts on reasons for maintaining a yoga practice
To feel better - it really is that simple. We feel better after practising yoga than we did before, here are some reasons why:
Our bodies are designed to move around, to move energy in the form of oxygen in the blood, lymphatic fluid, electrical signals, minerals, proteins, hormones and all the wonderful things that keep us alive and well, our bodies are also full of motor and sensory pathways- communication from the brain to the body and the body to the brain, these signals are vital for our mental and physical health.
A regular yoga practice will tone your muscles and strengthen your joints. Co-ordinating your breath with movement will improve the function of your cardiovascular system. Learning to balance and control your physical body will improve your focus and mental clarity.
These physical benefits promote a deeper sense of peace within us, leading to improved emotional well-being. When we learn to relax our physical body we become calmer, emotionally stronger and more positive in our outlook and confidence.
Yoga is an excellent way to give all these systems a tune up and workout, providing a complete, holistic and therapeutic form of exercise for body and mind.
Yoga for your mental health…
Just as physical health can get better or worse, maintaining your mental wellbeing is so important, especially at this time of higher stress levels in the general population. Yoga unites the mind and the body, when you feel stronger physically this will also help you feel emotionally and psychologically stronger, calming the chatter in your mind will help the symptoms of stress and anxiety that can be damaging physically.
In several studies regular yoga has been proved to help with depression, anxiety and burn out, yoga is a practice to connect mind and body, when you do yoga you feel more connected, more uplifted and more confident in yourself.
Yoga for your physical health…
Yoga is now recommended by doctors for low back pain, in a yoga class you will activate your core stabiliser muscles, which in turn improves posture, and can alleviate lower back pain. It is now widely accepted that sitting for long periods of time is bad for your back, classical yoga includes postures like downward dog can counteract the effects of sitting taking by pressure off the lower spine, this gives the body a chance to recover from the pressure and help to heal the intervertebral discs.
Yoga postures build muscle tone and will- over time- improve flexibility, if you’re not naturally flexible then hot yoga is perfect for feeling a bit more stretchy, especially in the colder months.
A yoga class is a boost for your circulation and this is great for regulating blood pressure, combine this with steady, mindful breathing for a healthy heart.
Why practice yoga with Be-Yoga?
Be-Yoga is more than a yoga studio. Here you will feel welcomed as soon as you walk through the doors.
This is a community that will support you, no matter who you are or where you’ve come from. You’ll practice yoga with teachers who are truly passionate, and your experience will be tailored to suit your needs. It’s your life. Your breath. Your body. Here we celebrate all that you are.
We exist to make yoga accessible for all people. Be-Yoga is a sense of belonging and connection that expands into all parts of our lives.
Find out more about Be-Yoga via their website.