Yoga; Mind Body Exercise

Yoga is a way of balancing your body, mind, emotion, and spirit through gentle exercise, meditation techiniques, philosophies of spiritual wisdom. Yoga allows you to harness you energy and lead your body toward enlightenment. There are many health benefits of yoga, such as increasing your flexibility and strength, improving your posture, reducing you stress levels, and many more. Since there are so many different aspects of yoga, there are many ways to approach it. Lately Yoga has been becoming somewhat of a trend, and a well known aspect is Asana which is the poses that help strengthen your body and help increase your flexibility. Asana involves stretching, bending, and balancing in a way to help align your body. A study from 2005 states that yoga significantly improves bodies flexibility, strength, balance and endurance when practiced on the regular; holding poses for approximately 30 seconds. Improvements lead to improvements in every day way of life. Check out the study at Yoga Study 2005. Yoga is one of the best "mind body" exercises and therefore can help make both your mind and body feel good.

Starting to Feel Good

You're body is you're temple. Beginning a workout routine is the beginning of a new and healthier lifestyle. There are many excuses people use for not working out, but the better outlook on life is to focus on why you NEED to work out. The benefits will outweigh whatever struggles one may face stopping them from making a lifestyle change. A lot of people focus on the health benefits for the body, which is very important, but what I believe to be the best motivation to get started is the effect exercise has on your mind. After a workout I always feel so powerful, so proud, so relieved of stress; it's my own natural high. The reason for this feeling is endorphins; they lift up the spirit and make one feel at peace. Endorphins are actually nerve endings that respond to the brain releasing a feeling of happiness. Physical activity causes endorphins to flow throughout your brian. Endorphins are actually natural chemicals in the brain that make you feel good activated by exercise! For more information, check out this article on endorphines: Examining the Natural High.
Exercise is a real boost for me and it not only enhances my mood short term, it provides a long term confidence boost as well. After long term commitment into an exercise program one will begin to experience the greater feeling of empowerment.