If you are still on the fence as to whether or not yoga has place or more bluntly, any real valuable impact on health, fitness and overall wellness I hope this article puts you in a mindset to consider all the amazing benefits that yoga has to offer. You ready for a mind shift? Lol . . . alright lets get right to it then shall we?!
I believe it’s fair to say that people are becoming much more aware of their bodies and their minds, and how intimately connected they really are when it comes to overall wellness. I also believe that we are now living in a time where a lot of people are a lot more open to different forms, styles and techniques of what is all under the umbrella of health and fitness. There is no “one size fits all” answer that will make every single one of us feel and look our absolute best so it only makes sense that other modalities like yoga are gaining ground as massive influences in the health and fitness industry.
When it comes to yoga, everything I read and everything I hear comes down to breath. As with most things there are several different styles of yoga that you can do, however they all seem to be rooted in “awareness,” and that our breath is the “key” not only to this awareness, but also to authentically experiencing all the amazing benefits of yoga.
Your breath is key in all aspects of life. It is part of our autonomic nervous system; it happens independently of our thoughts or any conscious participation to make sure that it happens. It happens when we’re sleeping! We don’t have to pay any attention to our breath and because of that we don’t pay any attention to it. We’re always in our minds where one thought turns into another thought and we become overwhelmed stressed. Our breath is the anchor. It is the bridge between the mind and the body and it is the one way that we can affect our physiological state. It has the power to affect how we feel, and too many people take that for granted because breathing happens on its own. This is why that in yoga, when you move you are moving with your breath. Yes, yoga can be vigorous but it doesn’t have to be fast paced. It has to be mindful and you have to be conscious. You have to make every movement deliberate and that’s what the breath is there for. When you extend you inhale, when you release you exhale and it becomes almost like the the gentle flow of ocean waves; the in and out of your breath. When you first experience that, that is when you realize that there is something more to this yoga “stuff.”
Yoga is not just about stretching. Yoga is the flow and synchronicity of your mind, your body and your spirit together. This is an exercise for all aspects of your being not just stretching. And when you consciously bring your awareness back into that state of relaxation and into that state of mindfulness and consciousness, your body repairs and you grow stronger and you’re more grounded because of that.
