Practice Yoga for Yourself, Your Energy, and Your Life

Here’s an energy tip that crosses the boundaries of many of the categories in this site: Practice yoga.

Yoga is good for overall health and well-being; it’s an exercise that improves strength and flexibility; it can foster personal and spiritual development; it promotes sleep; it may aid in detoxing the body; and it is the ultimate example of mono-tasking, providing kind of focus needed to better organize your thoughts, you priorities, and your life. And yes, it is a wonderful way to manage stress, promote relaxation, and increase energy.

You don’t have to know your Asthanga from your Vinyasa to be impressed with the myriad benefits you can derive from yoga. Research backs up what practitioners have known for centuries – yoga, with its precise moves and controlled breathing, can relieve anxiety, increase concentration, promote a meditative state, and improve mood and energy.

A recent study points to why yoga may be effective at improving mood. An hour of yoga produced a 27 percent surge in brain levels of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), a neurotransmitter that’s often low in people who are depressed or anxious. Yoga has also been shown to reduce fatigue in subjects with multiple sclerosis and relieve lower back pain in chronic sufferers. In yet another study, this one on subjects with chronic insomnia, researchers found significant improvements in sleep in those who practiced 30 to 45 minutes of Kundalini yoga once a day for eight weeks.

Reduction in fatigue, pain, and anxiety translates into one thing everyone wants: more energy for living!

But wait, there’s more. Yoga can also reduce heart rate and blood pressure, increase lung capacity, improve body composition, relax tense muscles, and improve overall physical fitness. Talk about an energy super-charge!

The practice of yoga began thousand of years ago as a way to attain spiritual enlightenment through physical and mental training. Today there are many yoga disciplines that vary in style and intensity, but all remain rooted in yogic tradition by incorporating various asanas (poses) and pranayama (breathing techniques).

In yoga, breath signifies prana, or vital energy, and is the connection between the physical and the spiritual. Practicing yoga helps develop mind-body stamina. By focusing on the breath, you can clear the mind of distraction, as you ease the body into a pose. Yoga practitioners often describe that increase in focus and clarity as feeling like the energy equivalent of a penetrating laser light.

In principle and practice, yoga promotes flexibility. Asanas can be adjusted to meet in individual’s fitness level or to work around an injury. With thousand of poses and a wide variety of disciplines to choose from, yoga can be fashioned to suit a wide range of personalities, sensibilities, and goals. Done consistently, it can almost definitely send your energy into the stratosphere.

FIND YOUR FORM
The most common form of yoga in the United States and Europe is hatha yoga. It encompasses a variety of styles, both strenuous and gentle; some focus on the physical, others the meditative. Some forms of yoga are exacting in the number and sequence of asanas, and others are more free-flowing.

Lyenga yoga emphasizes precision and form, and employs belts, pillows and other props to help students reach poses that would otherwise be beyond their limits. I Ashtanga yoga, on the other hand, asanas are performed one after another, quickly and continuously. Bikram yoga is a particular style developed in Los Angeles by Bikram Choudhury, a former Olympic gold medalist. It is practiced in a hot, humid room (typically from 950F, or 350C, to 1150F, or 460C) and is rapidly gaining popularity around the world. Then there are the many hybrid classes, which mix and match yoga styles. Why not try a few, and pick the one that most suits you and gives you the greatest sense of well-being and increased energy?

Whether your ultimate goal is a lifetime of inner peace or just an hour of peace and quiet, by practicing yoga – clearing your mind, challenging your body, and controlling your breathing – you can attain a state of relaxation and invigoration.

WORTH KNOWING
“Trying to find the right yoga class is like trying to find the right date”, says Cyndi Lee, founder of Manhattan’s Om Yoga. Asthanga may be a perfect match for your best friend but way too sweaty for you. Here area a couple of tips to keep in mind when hunting for the right class.

• If you’re a yoga novice, regardless of your level of fitness, begin with the beginner class. Give yourself a chance to develop proper breathing technique and good form.

• When searching out a yoga class, ask friends for recommendations, read class descriptions, sample various yoga styles, and try classes with different instructors until you find the right fit.

• Be sure to tell the instructor that you area a first time student, and always mention any physical limitations.