Give Your Body a Break

For some time now I have wanted to write a piece on yoga and what it has meant to me and what it can mean to you.

My hesitation has come from the fear that my reading audience might think I was a quack and was unaware of all the negativity we have been hearing about yoga. Don’t take what you read at face value. Anytime something becomes popular, there is always a backlash.

Yoga is a mind, body and breath form of exercise. It targets all of your muscle areas through stretching, breathing, back and stomach strengthening, which are referred to as core. It is done with this intention in mind. All of the poses are structured to target these areas.

Yoga can also provide a deep form of relaxation that allows us to have some down time when we are able to focus on ourselves and leave all the rest of our mental chatter behind. It is something that can easily be done on your own since the only equipment needed is your body.

The second part of yoga is healthy eating habits that are not diets, but intended to help you have a healthier body along with a healthier lifestyle. There are just a few simple things you can start with to help you change what you eat. For instance, instead of white bread, eat whole wheat bread and in place of white rice, substitute brown rice. Also, try whole wheat pasta and instead of soda, have water with either fresh lemon or lime squeezed in it.

I mentioned earlier that breathing is a large part of yoga. How we take in and release our breath is very important to oxygenating our blood. Yoga teaches us how to take in the breath and release it. There is a slow steady way of breathing that we can focus on at stressful times. The breath is the source of our lives and when we stop breathing we are dead. When we learn to use our breath correctly it helps us to be able to center ourselves.

Do yourself a favor and take yourself to a yoga class, you might really enjoy it!