Saturday, November 30, 2013

Reduce Holiday Stress With Yoga Lessons!


 
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The Holiday season is fast approaching! Even though the  holidays are a time for being with family, for eating good food, for presents and fun, the holidays can also be very stressful. Dealing with the throngs of shoppers, family visits and endless holiday parties can take its toll on both the body and the mind. Yoga lessons are just the thing to ease the tension.

Studies have proven that yoga reduces stress and anxiety physically and mentally. According to University of Maryland Medical Center: Yoga improves fitness, lowers blood pressure, promotes relaxation and self-confidence, and reduces stress and anxiety. People who practice yoga tend to have good coordination, posture, flexibility, range of motion, concentration, sleep habits, and digestion. Yoga is a complementary therapy that has been used with conventional medicine to help treat a wide range of health problems. Studies show that yoga may help the following conditions:

  • Anxiety and stress
  • Arthritis, both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
  • Asthma
  • Cancer, as an additional therapy to reduce stress and strengthen the immune system. One study of 68 breast cancer patients found that those who practiced yoga has less anxiety and depression compared to those who didn't. Even the DNA damage from radiotherapy was slightly less in the yoga group compared to the control group.
  • Long-lasting back pain
  • Depression
  • Diabetes
  • Epilepsy
  • Heart disease, by lowering cholesterol levels, lowering blood pressure, lessening stress, and reducing how often people had chest pain and how severe it was (when combined with a healthy diet)
  • High blood pressure
  • Hormonal problems
  • Irritable bowel syndrome
  • Lung diseases
  • Pregnancy
  • Migraine headaches
In addition, yoga postures that stretch and strengthen joints in the upper body may improve grip strength and reduce pain in people with carpal tunnel syndrome.*

Yoga practice has also been shown to lower the levels of the stress hormone, cortisol in the body. Excessive Cortisol not only causes feelings of stress and anxiety but also depression, osteoporosis, diabetes, and heart disease. High levels of cortisol have also been linked to excessive abdominal fat and weight gain. Yoga induces a "relaxation response" associated with reduced nervous system activity and a feeling of well-being due to an increase in endorphins-a feel good hormone. According to  another  study, 'Antioxidant Effects of Regular Yoga Training,'  yoga  efficiently strengthens the antioxidant systems & decreases oxidative stress.  
Yoga studies have proven that regular yoga practice not only reduces stress but also helps in the treatment of stress related diseases. So this holiday season, grab your mat & come to yoga class!

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