Yoga for a calmer mind – Over the years I have struggled with mild anxiety, and like everyone else have had times of extra stress as well as periods of lack of sleep. Even though these stressful and busy times aren’t magically whisked away, doing yoga certainly helps me get through these difficult periods with a bit more grace and hope than I would otherwise. Here are just some of the benefits I have felt when I have a regular yoga practice.
As I mentioned above, I have struggled with anxiety at times throughout my life. Whenever I mindfully choose to up (or honestly, restart) my yoga practice during periods of anxiety I find it much easier to navigate life during this time. And maybe it’s just a coincidence, but doing yoga seems to prevent anxiety from happening when I would expect it to.
I’ve noticed that most exercise helps to keep my anxiety at bay and helps me to wade through it successfully. However, there seems to be something extra special about yoga. I won’t stop going on my (almost) daily walks and my (admittedly not-very-often) trips to the gym, but I will definitely be mindful about doing at least a few yoga poses every day.
I don’t know about you, but when I’m in pain I feel like crap! I get migraines that send me to dark rooms for several hours, but even if I’ve got a small strain in my hip, knee, or wherever, I get whiny, and seem to concentrate only on how my pain is interrupting my day.
It embarrassingly took me a while to realize that I can prevent, or at least quickly heal, most of these pesky strains with yoga. Not to mention that having a regular yoga practice keeps me flexible — which makes me feel a lot more powerful in my body, and able to feel a lot happier.
When I get tense or stressed out my breathing gets shallow. And when that happens, I feel tired and frustrated. Yoga helps get my breathing back on track and quickly makes me feel better. Even if I only have time to do a few yoga poses, it helps. If I can proactively include a regular yoga practice in my life it keeps my shallow breathing more at bay since my body remembers to breathe deeply.
Having a regular yoga practice helps SO much with my sleep. I feel my body getting naturally tired when I should, and I sleep deeper and more soundly. Getting not only my ideal amount of sleep — but quality sleep — vastly helps my mood and mental health.
When I practice yoga regularly my body feels supple, I breathe better, and sleep better — therefore I have more clarity in my mind and more energy. Instead of reaching for unhealthy snacks, trying to stay up too late, or lounging on my couch regularly, I will crave healthier meals, be excited to go to bed (knowing I will sleep well), and move my body more. All these things together help me have a happy body, mind, and soul.
Prioritizing daily yoga and meditation can be difficult when it comes to time, cost, and convenience. What helped me increase my yoga and meditation practice was using Asana At Home. Asana at Home offers a huge variety of classes with so many great instructors! The gentle feedback you receive and the incredible support from other members during class are unbelievably helpful. The convenience of class replays and plentiful class times let me practice on my own schedule.
Author and Yogi Erika Palmer
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