Yoga is Great!

[51anna]

I have done yoga since I was a teenager. I has helped save my poor back and as I get older, I appreciate that it helps me maintain good balance. But, I didn't realize how super yoga is for us. This is from oprah.com:


Heart Disease

Several trials have found that yoga can lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and resting heart rates, and help slow the progression of atherosclerosis—all risk factors for heart disease, says Erin Olivo, PhD, director of Columbia University's Integrative Medicine Program.

While almost any exercise is good for the heart, experts speculate yoga's meditative component may give it an extra boost by helping to stabilize the endothelium, the lining of the blood vessels that, when irritated, contributes to cardiovascular disease. Since the lining is reactive to stress, and meditation can lower stress hormones, yoga may be causing a cascade of events that could reduce your risk of a heart attack or stroke.

Depression

Low brain levels of the neurotransmitter GABA are often found in people with depression; SSRIs, electroconvulsive therapy, and now yoga, it seems, can boost GABA. Preliminary research out of the Boston University School of Medicine and Harvard's McLean Hospital found that healthy subjects who practiced yoga for one hour had a 27 percent increase in levels of GABA compared with a control group that simply sat and read for an hour. This supports a growing body of research that's proving yoga can significantly improve mood and reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Breast Cancer

Research is becoming clear on this: Women who do yoga during and after treatment experience less physical discomfort and stress. Earlier this year Duke University scientists reported results of a pilot study in which women with metastatic breast cancer attended eight weekly yoga sessions. The doctors found that the women had much less pain and felt more energetic and relaxed.

Menopause

A preliminary study at the University of California, San Francisco, found that menopausal women who took two months of a weekly restorative yoga class, which uses props to support the postures, reported a 30 percent decrease in hot flashes. A four-month study at the University of Illinois found that many women who took a 90-minute Iyengar class twice a week boosted both their energy and mood; plus they reported less physical and sexual discomfort, and reduced stress and anxiety.

Chronic Back Pain

When doctors at the HMO Group Health Cooperative in Seattle pitted 12 weekly sessions of yoga against therapeutic exercises and a handbook on self-care, they discovered the yoga group not only showed greater improvement but experienced benefits lasting 14 weeks longer. A note of caution: "While many poses are helpful, seated postures or extreme movement in one direction can make back pain worse," says Gary Kraftsow, author of Yoga for Wellness, who designed the program for the study.

[nandm]

Great post. It is right on the money.
I have been in the process of getting up off the couch and doing it but I can't seem to get past the book "yoga for dummies." LOL.
I am just kidding. I did yoga for a while after my wreck in 2001. It helped a lot with my recovery. I do hope to find my way back to it soon.
Thanks for the reminder of all the reasons to hurry up and get started again.
Judith

[Brittany Marie]

I've wanted to try yoga for ages.
It looks so relaxing and calm yet you're still working out at the same time.
Question to yoga doer's: Do you really get so relaxed that you fart when your in weird positions? Or have you ever seen that happen to someone around you?
(I'm being serious too)

[Done-With-It]

I've heard stuff like that before, but not in Print! I love Yoga too.

lol, sometimes on Saturdays I take my dog @ 6:30 am, (Yuck)

They have Yoga for Dogs in the Park..
It's so fun! The dogs love it!

[Brittany Marie]

That is soo cute!!! Dogs doing yoga, I love it!
What kind of dog do you have?

[Done-With-It]

A Yorkie! She's our Pink Lady Mascot! There is a picture of her. (Go Look, she's dressed in Pink)
Sorry Anna didn't mean to hijack your thread.

It really is good for dogs also though.

I printed out that article though, I didn't know a lot of that stuff in there.

[Brittany Marie]

Awwww I nearly bought a yorkie last year!
They're adorable.

[indigo]

Yes I'm a great believer in yogo too, I'm not supple though due to traffic accidents, why I do believe I'm a wreck lol.

[gypsytears]

Originally Posted by Brittany Marie

I've wanted to try yoga for ages.
It looks so relaxing and calm yet you're still working out at the same time.
Question to yoga doer's: Do you really get so relaxed that you fart when your in weird positions? Or have you ever seen that happen to someone around you?
(I'm being serious too)

Hasn't happened in any of the classes I've been to but I suppose it's just a matter of time .

Truthfully... I try to focus on myself and the asana and not the other people in the class so I just may not have noticed.

Yes, it is relaxing & calming. Depending on the class, can be a real work out.

[Digginit]

I agree, Yoda is great! <snicker>

“Named must your fear be before banish it you can.” ~yoda

Peace~
dig

oh, btw....I always thought I'd like yoga too.