How Yoga Is Good For Your Health

One of the biggest things I took from my yoga therapy training was that stress kills, ages and makes you sick. Sorry not to sugar coat that, but it's the truth. Yoga believes that stress is the root of all disease. How, well, when you're stressed it puts strain on your body. When the body is strained it doesn't function well and things start to break down. We become more susceptible to illness and disease.

One major system in the body that is affected by stress is our digestive system. When we're under constant stress, this system will slow down. It does this so energy can be sent to other systems in the body that need to be vamped up in order to deal with the stress on the body. This causes us to have poor digestion which can lead to a lot of health problems like heartburn, ulcers and IBS to name a few.

Besides our digestion, stress affects other parts of our body. The most common we see due to stress is high blood pressure, heart disease, chronic pain, weight gain, sleep loss and skin conditions like hives, eczema or increased allergies. Stress brings on these things and eventually it all starts to snowball. You'll come to the point when you realize that your health is in a very bad place. I bet if you sit down and think about it, all of your problems started to show up during a stressful period in your life. Remove the stress and you'll begin to gain back your health.

One reason our society is so stressed out, is that we're constantly on the go and in the know. With smart phones, the Internet and a constant bombardment of news and information we never get the time to shut our brains off. We no longer have the time to focus on one thing. If we try, we're constantly interrupted by a beep from our phones notifying us of texts, emails and updates. This lack of focus and concentration ages us and can actually make us dumber.

Stress causes your body to slow down major systems that allow you to function in a healthy manor. It hypes up your brain and thoughts which leads to poor sleep and anxiety. Are you starting to see how stress leads to poor health? The way to fix this isn't just in a pill. It's all about giving your body and mind time to slow down. Shutting off your stress response and getting your body back to neutral. Yoga is the perfect tool for that.

Yoga gets your body moving. It squeezes, twists and pulls it which wakes it up and motivates it to start working better again. It teaches you to focus on one thing, your breath, for longer than a few seconds. This gives your brain a break and allows your body to come out of fight or flight mode and into relaxation. This allows you to reboot. Yoga sticks with you so when you have a stressful moment you can simply take a few deep breaths and trigger that sensation of relaxation that you've learned in class.

The science behind yoga and how it helps with stress and our overall health is being studied. Things that long practitioners of yoga already knew are now being proven by science. Institutes like Kripalu's Healthy Living is dedicated specifically to how yoga can lead to a healthier life.

Yoga is a great way to get yourself back to health. If you have a serious medical condition, it's important to work with your current health professional in incorporating yoga into your life. Many yoga therapist will work with your doctors to help find the perfect yoga practices to help you get back on track. Be mindful in choosing the right practice for you. You'll know when you find the right fit.

Like medicine, yoga must be done every day. Not necessarily a full practice, but the core beliefs. The Niyama's and Yama's are a great way to do this. By living the life of a yogi, meaning incorporating focused attention, relaxation and healthy living, your stress will begin to fade and become more manageable. You'll learn about balance and how you can choose happiness over anxiety. You'll figure out that you're ok just the way you are and that by accepting that you'll remove a lot of the stress that invades your life. You'll see how yoga can have a profound affect on your health.