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Reducing stress in your life should be made a priority. Whether you have a goal of achieving a physique that is appealing to the eye, or if reaching your full training potential is more important, either way you need to minimize stress.
So what can we do so minimize our stress when there is so much going on at home, in the workplace and all around us…Yoga! Now before you totally dismiss the idea of this you’ll need a deeper understanding of how beneficial yoga can be for everybody.
What is Yoga?
The word Yoga came about from the Sanskrit word “yuj” which means to unite or to integrate.
Yoga is much more than standing or sitting in weird positions, it is more than a group of people gathering together to breath deeply and hum.
Yoga is all about harmonising the body and mind, peace of mind leads to happiness and who doesn’t want to be happy?
The aim of yoga is to achieve mind but also body balance and the best way to do this is through exercise, breathing plus meditation. Sounds easy right? But have you ever tried to sit without thinking of anything, sitting but being aware, with the mind neither leaning forward nor backwards, not thinking of past neither the future, just being present.
The different types of Yoga
Although there are multiple forms of Yoga Each type of Yoga is aimed at achieving the same goal.
Hatha Yoga –Hatha yoga is easier to learn and is great for beginners
Ashtanga yoga – this type of yoga is much more demanding as it infuses various poses also breathing techniques.
Vinyasa Yoga – Vinyasa yoga is much more subtle, if you are recovering from an injury then this is for you.
Benefits of Yoga
Improve your Flexibility
Improving your range of movement and flexibility will help with your everyday life. Tight muscle lead to dysfunction plus imbalances, attending to these will also improve your workouts in the gym.
Build Muscle and Strength
It's all good working on the muscle you can see in the mirror or that impress the opposite sex, but it is just as important to build and strengthen postural muscles; with yoga you can do this.
Helps you Focus
The majorities of us struggle to focus and fail to pay full attention on what is in front of us. Even with everyday conversations, is your mind fully engaged? Or are you thinking about what you’re going to do next, or how nice last nights dinner was. Participating in yoga will help you become more aware, awake and present.
Makes you Happier
The cause of a lot of unhappiness can be self created through thought, creative thinking and giving energy to emotions that further our unhappiness. Through forms of meditation during yoga, meditation can help us take responsibility for our own state of mind and to change it for the better.
Relaxes your System
Yoga teaches you to relax, by controlling your breathing and by shifting your mind to a present state. How do you feel right now? Not how “did” you feel when you couldn’t get a seat on the tube, how do you really feel right now?
Gives you Peace of Mind
A peaceful mind is a happy mind, stay in the now.
All forms of yoga have vast amounts of benefits, I would suggest attending a few classes of various forms of yoga and figure out which one suits you best.
Make feeling happy a priority, book a class into your diary now! Book a consultation with us and we can coach you towards a happier fitter life.
Namaste!