Yoga isn’t new, it’s been around for over a thousand years. It’s one of the best activities you can do to keep your body in good alignment and to relieve stress.
Yoga classes involve a series of gentle exercises designed to strength, flexibility, and overall health and wellbeing. The nature of the exercises varies between different forms of yoga and between different teachers.
One of the impacts of yoga is a calming effect and focusing on centering your breath and body. There’s also a calming aspect to yoga classes. Often these calming moments are found at the end of class.
With a restorative yoga class, the entire class is about calming. So it’s good for relieving stress and lowering blood pressure. The calming process comes from practicing stillness, along with the gentle movements.
As you try to decide which type of yoga you should try, there are a few questions and considerations to make.
Restorative yoga is a very specific type of yoga with unique benefits. It’s particularly suited to people who are stressed, tired, low on energy or suffering from renal fatigue.
Yoga is the great chronic stress antidote. Strange then that only on the rarest of occasions will it be prescribed by a physician. It clears the mind, relaxes the muscles and strengthens the immune system.
It facilitates the process of cooling down an over-stimulated sympathetic nervous system – the part of the nervous system that works overtime to produce the flight and fight syndrome – and boosting the calming effect when the parasympathetic nervous system is stimulated.
For anyone who is depressed yoga is a must do activity.
Tai Chi is an ancient martial art form that’s been around for hundreds of years. While tai chi may have had a martial arts foundation these days it’s evolved into a form of meditation through motion, promoting serenity and inner calmness.
There are distinct tai chi styles including Chen-style, Yang-style, Wu-style, and Sun-style. While there are differences between the styles, they all help improve your health and wellbeing. Here are seven reasons to try tai chi.
- If you want to boost your metabolic health start doing tai chi. Because it boosts your parasympathetic nervous system it lowers your blood pressure, reduces stress and boosts your immune system. It’s been shown to increase good cholesterol and reduce bad cholesterol.
- Tai chi is good for elevating mood and relieving depression.
- Tai chi can improve your blood glucose levels so it’s an ideal activity for diabetics.
- Because of its slow, calm flowing movements, Tai Chi can reduce an overactive mind and allow you to get a better night’s sleep.
- Studies show that practicing the gentle flowing movements and controlled breathing boosts the immune system and stimulates the lymphatic system. This means less colds and flu and a greater resistance to auto-immune diseases.
- If you want to reduce stress then tai chi is one of the best ways to do it.
- Tai chi has been shown to enhance bone density along with strength, mobility, and balance.
Tai chi is easy to practice. You don’t need any special clothing or equipment. You can do it on your own, with a video or in a class. You can do it inside or out. The benefits are legion. Find out more about Tai Chi For Life
