If you are one of my cherished yoga students you may already be aware of the blessings of practicing yoga on a regular basis.
Within just a few weeks you may have been feeling and seeing changes in your body and possibly even your mind and spirit.
The Sanskrit root of the word ‘yoga’ stands for ‘union’ or ‘connection’. In my experience yoga definitely unites and connects body, mind and spirit. And I would like to take it even further. I believe that yoga can connect us all on a level of acceptance, awareness and compassion. Yoga embraces all sentient beings and invokes their well-being, health and happiness.
By teaching I have come to realize that if we understand how similar our most basic needs are, we can unite and support one other to each reach our highest potential.
Yoga unites people with different backgrounds, age, color and body shapes, and invites us to discover the connection between us while releasing (self) judgment and (self) criticism.
Yoga encourages us to listen to our own bodies, thoughts and intuition. By listening within you realize that you are your own teacher and know what is right for you. It strengthens us in letting go of comparing ourselves, freeing us from negative thoughts and emotions.
Yoga offers endless benefits for everyone, no matter the age, body shape or condition.
This blog offers you a collection of inspirational articles about yoga and all the health benefits this ancient practice provides.
Have you ever thought that you may be too old to do yoga? This article invites you to draw inspiration and marvel at some yogis in their 90s. Please click HERE for the full story.
The following article is about a 84 year old yoga practitioner and teacher. He started taking yoga classes in his 50’s and look at where he is now. To read the full article, click HERE.
A new study about the health benefits of yoga was presented at this year’s annual meeting for the American Pain Society in Palm Springs, Florida, by Dr. M. Catherine Bushnell, the scientific director of intramural research at the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
She claims that yoga, a body-mind practice, may produce more gray matter in the brain which counteracts the effects of chronic stress on the brain. The research reveals that gray matter correlates with pain tolerance. To read the full article, please click HERE.
“Take A Deep Breath To Good Health: 6 Conditions Yoga Can Treat”.Did you know that practicing yoga may be as effective as brisk walking or biking to reduce the risk of heart disease? According to the study published in the “European Journal of Preventive Cardiology (2014; doi: 10.1177/2047487314562741), regular yoga practitioners improved their body mass index, blood pressure, as well as both LDL and HDL cholesterol levels.
Myriam Hunink, PhD, senior study author from Erasmus University Medical Center, states in her news release
“Although evidence of yoga’s beneficial effect in cardiovascular health is growing, a physiological explanation for this effect remains unclear. Also unclear are the dose-response relationship and the relative costs and benefits of yoga when compared to exercise or medication. However, these results indicate that yoga is potentially very useful and . . . worth pursuing as a risk improvement practice.”
To read the full article on “Science Daily” please click HERE.
Yoga is so good for everybody. You are never too young, too old, too thin, too big, or too stiff to start your practice.
If you already have a yoga practice, I would love to hear from you. What has yoga done for you?
If you haven’t done yoga before and have any questions, please let me know!
Wishing you happiness, harmony and health on your yoga journey and always!
Namasté!
