It’s no secret that, in today’s world, things are happening at a rapid pace – that’s getting quicker and quicker as the weeks and months move on. In fact, we’re so busy that one day it’s Monday and, before we realise it, it’s Friday and we haven’t noticed Tuesday through Thursday slipping by.
We’re not being mindful of our day-to-day lives. And, truth be told, we actually don’t have time to do this because we’re so busy jam packing everything that we need to do into the short number of working hours that we have available to us.
The unfortunate result of this is that we stop listening to what our bodies are saying to us. If we hear them saying that they’re tired and need a break, we quash this and carry on going to the point of exhaustion. If we notice a tickle in our throats or think that we feel a fever coming on, we go to the doctor – as them to give us a shot to make us feel better – and carry on as normal. We don’t allow ourselves the time that is necessary to sleep and allow our bodies to recuperate the natural way.
So, what is the solution? If we carry on ignoring the signs that our bodies are giving us that we need to take it easy, we’ll ultimately be digging ourselves an early grave as we’ll be making ourselves more susceptible to ailments such as heart disease, cancers and the like.
Luckily, there is an answer that has been around to centuries upon centuries. It’s been tried and trusted and doesn’t cost the earth. It’s called Yoga.
Why is Yoga Famous for Decreasing Stress?
Many, many people think of the practice of yoga as just stretching or twisting the body into various impossible-looking shapes. Yoga poses are famed as being a great exercise. They can help you to loosen up the tense muscles in your body. This being said, yoga is about so much more than only physical exercise. The key to getting the best out of each pose is to focus not only on your body, but also on your mind and breathing.
Yoga can be very powerful in treating depression. Even if you feel that you can’t do yoga, the combination of meditation as well as physical movement offer two important elements for relieving depression:
- Meditation helps to bring a person into the present moment. It allows them to clear their minds. The controlled, focused movements that yoga entails also help strengthen the body-mind connection.
Breathing exercises are successful in reducing depressive symptoms. You may find yoga helpful as the exercise focuses on deep, controlled breathing.
Yoga and relaxation
Conscious relaxation is about intentionally relaxing your mind by consciously relaxing your ‘attention’ through the process of letting go of thoughts. This process trains your muscles to release their grip when you don’t use them. Conscious relaxation maintains the muscles as being responsive to the signals from your brain telling them to contract so that you can perform all the countless tasks of a busy day. However, it’s not keeping them in a constant state of tension.
Relaxation is a conscious practice which lies somewhere between effort and non-effort. To truly relax, you have to get to grips with, and practise, the skill. To truly get the benefits of relaxation, try the following techniques:
- Practise relaxation in a quiet environment where it is not likely that you’ll be disturbed by others or the telephone.
- Try putting a small pillow under your head as well as a larger one under your knees for support and comfort when you’re lying down.
- Make sure that your body remains warm. If required, heat the room first. Alternatively, cover yourself with a blanket. Specifically, avoid lying on a cold floor because this isn’t good for your kidneys.
Stress is ever present in every aspects of our lives. Fortunately for us, we’ve got yoga and it is proven to help reduce stress and the negative effects on our health that stress causes. So what are you waiting for? Get your yoga mat and head on down to your nearest gym!
Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy
We would love to educate you in the art of Yoga. Please contact Trifocus Fitness Academy to enquire about the Yoga courses we have on offer.
