The Science and Myths of Yoga
September 21, 2016Quotes accompanied by perfect “yoga bodies” are all over Instagram and social media, twisted into intricate and stretchy poses. Albeit fun to look at and are inspiring, they can also be intimidating. The good news is that yoga’s benefits are easily obtained in poses that do not require flexibility or heavy exertion.
Yoga can assist in strengthening the muscles, improving joint mobility, and developing cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory fitness. Perhaps most importantly, yoga can help us cultivate a mindset needed to improve our relationships with ourselves-- essential to developing healthy behaviors and potentially losing weight. Wait, so how does a physical flowing practice with a bunch of poses change the way we think?
Yoga for Healing and Behavior Change
To deeply grasp the benefits of a gentle yoga practice, it helps to start with the nervous system.
The nervous system has two main settings:
- “Fight or Flight” (rev me up!)
- “Rest and Digest” (cool down!)
Exercise generally triggers us into “fight or flight” mode by increasing the amount of cortisol, a stress hormone, so that our heart can pump faster to deliver oxygen to our muscles and prepare for movement. (Side note: high levels of cortisol over long periods of time are linked to weight gain!) Consequently, we shift the body into “rest and digest” mode by slowing down our breathing. This also decreases the amount of cortisol production, which lowers stress in the short-term. Yoga is one of the few forms of exercise that combines both exercise and deep breathing, which allows the body to simultaneously negotiate with both spectrums of the nervous system. It is through this mechanism that students have cultivated the “inner balance” that flows off the mat into other aspects of their lives.
Okay… so how do we actually apply that to when we’re at work and it’s 3 PM and we’re tired and irritable, and we just want a cookie (or four) and a coffee? It may seem that we are needing sugar when the reality is we have been expending our personal energy all day and have not taken a moment to ourselves! Oh, what a familiar place for me! What is important to understand is that cravings are triggered by a lack of balance somewhere in the body. You can help your balance by an easy exercise that you can do (no equipment or weights required!).
A deep, count-to-4, inhale and exhale, can give us the time we need to check in with the body first and evaluate: What is it I really need right now? Is it compassion? Is it understanding? Is it connection? Is it space?
All that aside, yoga would not strike most as a way to replace a cup of coffee or a snack, but a few sun salutations can certainly reduce the power of cravings. Following a meal, in order to digest, blood gets delivered to the belly and often can leave the brain fatigued. A few inversions (standing forward fold, or downward-facing dog), can oxygenate the brain enough to help you focus and re-connect with your intentions.
What about in the long run? Practicing a few home sun salutations a day, or attending regular classes that fit your schedule, can build your self-efficacy (your belief in your ability to succeed).
3 Benefits for Sun Salutations in Your Day
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You build resilience.
A yoga pose should never be painful, but some may be uncomfortable (chair pose is my nemesis!), especially for the first time. It is normal when trying out a new pose for a specific muscle group to feel tired. You may come out of the pose, or be tempted to. By focusing on systematic inhaling and exhaling, the thought of holding an uncomfortable pose becomes less daunting. In time, we learn to sink into poses and breathe through sequences. Discomfort becomes non-threatening, perhaps even strengthening.
Yoga teaches us how to sit with discomfort and observe its passing, without necessarily needing to eliminate the feeling immediately. We apply this mentality in allowing a craving to pass, or choosing to have a difficult (but perhaps necessary) conversation with a colleague, partner, or family member.
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Your stress decreases.
Slow “ujjayi” breathing suppresses cortisol production, which lowers our heart rate and makes us feel more at ease. You can practice this any time of day by inhaling slowly through the nose and directing the breath to the belly, opening the mouth, and exhaling by constricting the back of the throat (think audible, hot, steamy breath to fog up a window!). When we close our practice in savasana (“dead man’s pose”), we practice deep relaxation in a state of total awareness. In doing this repetitively, we learn how to catch ourselves when we are tense or unbalanced and train ourselves to transition to a more relaxed state.
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You feel less joint and muscle pain.
Gentle yoga is like an awesome massage for the body and mind. You are engaging and strengthening muscles while lubricating the joints, which get stiffer as we age. As you develop muscle mass, you create a natural brace surrounding the joints, which creates support and allows joints to begin to heal. Yoga’s nature of combining poses with counterposes (e.g. a pose contracting the quadriceps followed by a pose that stretches them) allows you to release built-up tension in the muscles and direct negative energy out of the body.
Scheduling personal time for relaxation and rejuvenation is essential to creating a lifestyle you love! What can you eliminate in your schedule to make more time for self-care? While you can experience similar benefits in any physical activity so long as it brings you joy, gentle yoga combines both a physical and mental component to overall well-being, making it a powerful supplement to your exercise regimen.
 | ABOUT THE AUTHOR As both a yoga/fitness instructor and a student getting her bachelor’s degree in pharmaceuticals, Natalie Kennedy has been a leader in the fitness and wellness communities at University of California, Irvine as well as a health coach for peers and co-workers. As an instructor at Mixx Yoga, she teaches both Gentle Yoga to relieve stress, and a faster-paced yoga to rev the metabolism. She also coaches online evening meditation for people with insomnia and anxiety disorders. |
