Yoga - Natural Remedies, Part 1, Coming to the Clinic, Part 12

     Two weeks ago, I brought back everyone’s favorite series of blog posts. On that particular post, I was giving you hints for getting a good night’s sleep. I see now that I hadn’t mentioned yoga at that time, so decided to discuss it now.

We all know that searching the internet can give us all sorts of information, some accurate and some not so much, so I try to go to more reputable websites such as WebMD or Mayo Clinic’s for my info.

Some of those websites say that the benefits of yoga include:

    

     1)     Improve quality of life

     2)     Reduce stress, anxiety, and depression

     3)     Relieve back pain

     4)     Lower heart rate and blood pressure

     5)     Improve fitness, strength and flexibility

     6)     Strengthen muscles and endurance

     7)     Help with weight loss    

     8)     Increase energy and may decrease body aches

     9)     Increase positive feelings, coping, and well-being  

    10)  Enhance alertness and enthusiasm

    11)   And yes, help with insomnia

Can yoga really do all of that? As with anything else, it depends on the individual person, the other things they are doing in their life (both good and bad habits), their commitment to practicing their yoga, if they can do it via YouTube video at home or attend a regular class, current medical conditions, etc. In general, though, you are not too old or too young or too out of shape (or have too round a shape), to give yoga a try.

As with anything you do to yourself, start slow, listen to your body and if you have a medical condition, check with your health care provider first.

I started doing yoga off and on about three years ago and for the last year have made it my morning ritual nearly every day. Does it help me with all those things? Probably not, but at least it generally makes me feel better most days.

I’ve checked out a few different yoga channels on YouTube, but by and far, get the most out of Yoga With Adriene. If you are going to go that route, or even if you rather attend a class, choose the right one for you. There are different types of yoga as well, some are more physical and some are more relaxing, so again, do your own research based on what you want to get out of it.

Also, it is one of the cheapest forms of exercise. No special equipment required. It took me a year to buy a yoga mat and I usually wear my pajamas. You can find YouTube videos for free and classes don’t cost much, you can sometimes find free ones too.

[I feel I need to add a side note. On Sundays, I write a devotional blog and the four books I’ve written are for a Christian audience. I don’t like to be preacher, but I also won’t deny that I love God and live for His Son Jesus. With that being said, some people may call me a hypocrite for promoting yoga as it was originally based on ancient spiritual practices with connections to Hinduism and Buddhism. I think of all the other things I could be doing – and that other people do, sometimes in the name of Christ, and I just can’t see this as a problem. I pray while I’m doing my yoga and when the instructor says things like “namaste”, I say to myself, “God is good.”]