6 ways to live better through yoga

Holding the body still in different poses, modulating the breath through exercise, and chanting Om can help heal chronic illnesses, squeeze stress out of the body, and gain a sense of calm—no matter what your life circumstances might be. Yoga can do wonders for the mind and body. Here are 6 ways how it can slowly but surely transform your life:

1. Learn to breathe deeper, better 

If human beings were to use their lungs to maximum capacity, they could fill it up with up to 6 liters of air. However, when we breathe in and breathe out without thinking we ‘shallow breathe’ or ‘chest breathe,’ which involves a smaller intake of oxygen. Yoga through various inhaling techniques trains us to take deeper breaths and become aware of each breath.

According to yoga instructor and transformational coach Amarjit Singh, being aware of the breath allows us to become present in the here and now. Singh says unconscious breathing activates the medulla oblongata, a primitive area of the brain; while conscious breathing activates the cerebral cortex, a more evolved area of the brain. When activated, the cortex sends messages to parts of the brain that regulates emotions, allowing individuals to reach a state of balance and calm. Therefore, just by being aware of the breath, our consciousness rises from the instinctual to the elevated.

2. Find Fflexibility in the body

When we think yoga, we usually imagine yogis twisting and turning their body into unimaginable postures. Most beginners start yoga trying to do poses like touching their hands to their toes, while keeping their knees unbent. Few months down the road, the same students ease confidently into a headstand.

Yoga through slow, subtle movements of the body helps stretch muscles as well as joints. When we push our body to lift heavy weights at the gym or undergo high-intensity interval training, lactic acid is released in our body, which accumulates in the muscles, causing it to become stiff. Yoga allows the body to release the lactic acid and allows movements in areas of the body that are often ignored.

Certified Rolfer Shawn Kirby says that even though rolfing involves deep tissue manipulation to release and realign the body, regular yoga has allowed his body to become more supple. Earlier, he confused yogic flexibility with the idea of stretching the body and forcing it to perform postures in a competitive spirit. This approach to yoga, driven by a sense of ego Kirby says, can be counterproductive and cause injuries. He gradually learnt to train his mind to visualize movement to stretch muscles of his body that were stiff. Bringing conscious attention to these areas of the body, allowed the most unyielding muscles to release.

3. Combat stress with sanity

In ordinary circumstances, our body releases small doses of the hormone cortisol to metabolize glucose and regulate blood pressure. When our body goes into high stress, for example in case of a severe accident, our brain injects the blood with high doses of cortisol, to help combat excessive pain or bleeding.

According to yoga columnist Sarah Court, inability to manage stress from day-to-day challenges of life can trigger a similar response by the brain. This leaves the body prone to high blood pressure problems, bad immunity, and excessive weight gain. In order to operate normally, the body’s nervous system needs realigning to balance its cortisol levels. Yogic breathing exercises such as in pranayama, allows the nervous system to go from a sympathetic or “fight or flight” state to a parasympathetic or “rest and digest” state, which employs controlled movements of the diaphragm.

4.   Improve the quality of your sleep

Social media updates, multiple screens which emit blue light, work related stresses—are all reasons why finding sleep might not be easy for many adults. Yoga postures and exercises allow the nervous system of the body to calm down after hours of overstimulation and turn the senses of the body inward. Some of these include yoga nidra, which is a guided form of relaxation; savasana, which involves lying listless on the floor pretending to play dead; the child’s pose and the cat and cow pose, both of which help release stress trapped in the spine.

Researchers at the Harvard Medical School examined the affects of yoga on sleep. The study sample included people suffering different types of insomnia, such as primary insomnia that develops on its own, and secondary that develops as a side effect of another illness. The participants in the study were trained in basic yoga then asked to practice daily for eight weeks, while recording their progress in sleep diaries.

The study probed into time spent sleeping, number of episodes of waking, quality of sleep, and duration of sleep interruption. 20 participants who successfully finished the study showed improvement in sleep efficiency, total sleep time, total wake time, wake time after sleep onset, and the amount of time it took to fall asleep.

 5. Improve your sex life

Yoga can help strengthen the spine by releasing stress strapped in the lower back. It can allow the body to become more flexible and have greater range of motion in the hips and thighs. Yoga can also help meet fitness goals that allow individuals to feel more confident in their skin. It can kick stress, anxiety, and anger out of the body, which can than help an individual build a more positive outlook toward life. All in all, these factors can be the building block for good sex with your partner.

Studies have also proven that yoga allows for increased blood circulation in the genital area, which allows men and women to get aroused more easily and remain aroused for longer periods of time. 12 weeks of regular yoga is all that is required to increase libido, sexual desire, boost confidence and performance in bed.

Yoga helps manipulate the flow of energy in the body. Yogis believe that seven chakras or ‘wheels of light,’ located along the length of the spine give out energy, which helps maintain the physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of an individual. Yogic practice has shown that the Muladhara or root chakra and Swadhistana or the sacral chakra are linked to sexual urges in the human body. Yoga postures such as the warrior pose and cobra pose can help open up these chakras, which often get blocked and thus repress the body’s natural urge to have sex.

6. Eat well, digest better

Eating out often means dumping the body with inorganic foods which is easily stored as stubborn fat, consuming processed foods or sodas, and ordering glasses of sugary cocktail to accompany heavy meals. Stress contributes to eating disorders in our day-to-day lives, whether that means not being aware of what we put inside of our bodies or skipping important meals like breakfast.

According to a study published in the journal of American Dietetic Association, regular yoga is directly proportional to mindful eating. Just doing yoga poses allows individuals to become more aware of when they are eating, what is the quantity and quality of food they are consuming, and when to stop.

Yoga also helps to better digest the food that has been ingested. Yogis believe that twisting and turning the body in asanas allows waste and toxins to eject easily out of the digestive tracts. Studies have proven that yoga helps reduce stress in organs, which in turn reduces ulcers, constipation, and an irritable bowel syndrome. Overall, yoga is a way of life that allows the mind to get in tune with the body, allowing individuals to listen to the needs of the body and care for it intuitively.