Yoga has been sweeping the nation over the past decade. It was once looked at as an odd or eastern superstition has now become a Western staple. Not only is yoga beneficial in helping strengthen muscles, increase flexibility and help you sleep better; it also has the ability to help you decrease stress levels! If you feel that things are piling up on you and your stress level is out of control why not give yoga and visualization a try?
Yoga comes in many different variations but almost all of it uses the same principles. Yoga is simply a method of balancing the systems of your body through poses and deep breathing methods. Yoga is such a beneficial element because it stretches your muscles, massages internal organs and leaves your mind in a peaceful state. If you look at the full concept of yoga you will find that it also includes balancing your diet and other aspects of your life.
Take a little time to research yoga and find what will fit you best. A couple things you need to take into consideration are the dedication you will be able to put into yoga, your physical skill level and what classes are available to you.
Still skeptical that yoga is beneficial in helping reduce stress levels? Not only does yoga focus on the poses and breathing, it also emphasizes a healthy and balanced lifestyle. Following a healthy and balanced lifestyle is going to help you function better, feel more energized which in turn will help you feel less stress. Yoga is going to help you build stamina and strength which will help you deal with physical attributes of stress when you do have stress in your life. Aside from everything else mentioned, yoga emphasizes proper breathing techniques. Normally we don’t focus on our breathing, it’s just something we do, and we take short shallow breaths. Yoga teaches you how to focus on long deep breaths which changes the carbon dioxide levels in your blood which will relax you. And last but certainly not least, yoga helps promote a full, restful night’s sleep which is vital in the healing that your body and mind need each night! All of these factors give you a better stress level coping mechanism.
Yoga alone is relaxing and effective in reliving stress but if you add visualization techniques it will be even more beneficial. Visualizing simply means to visualize images that will guide your mood. It’s pretty self explanatory – if you think of sad things you’ll become sadder, if you think of stressful things like work, etc then you’ll become more stressed but if you think of peaceful things you’ll become more relaxed and less stressed. So obviously the idea is to think of peaceful, relaxing images.
Yoga and visualization techniques will take time, practice and patience to master but it’s well worth it. These techniques are great tools that your body can use to help you relax, sleep better, stay healthy and happy.
Recent Comments