Yoga: The Perfect Remedy

Do you suffer from back pain, headaches, allergies, even insomnia? Rather than opening the medicine cabinet for that magic pill, try rolling out your yoga mat instead. Not only does yoga complement your fitness program by increasing flexibility and strength, it further benefits your health by releasing stress, banishing fatigue and fighting disease. Yes, yoga’s healing powers go far beyond what we see on the outside (beautifully toned muscles and stunning posture); yoga heals us from within, too.

Yoga has been around for centuries, yet research is constantly being done to show us the many benefits yoga has on the body and mind. While moving through various poses (called asanas) and utilizing breathing exercises (known as pranayama), yoga acts as a therapeutic remedy for almost any ailment. So, let’s take a deeper peek into yoga’s many benefits.

Remedy: Pranayama
Breathing is undoubtedly one of the most natural things you do everyday. So natural, in fact, that you probably never think twice about it—unless you are racing towards anaerobic levels on your Spin bike. Nevertheless, yoga gives you the opportunity to “check-in” with your body and truly focus on your breathing. “Finding your breath” is actually one of the first things you will do in any yoga practice. Yoga emphasizes breathing to calm the body and relax the mind. In addition, breathing exercises will allow you to move deeper into specific poses, send more oxygen to your brain, and keep your body warm and revitalized.

Remedy: Asana
Standing on your head calms the brain and strengthens the body. Twisting your body into pretzel-like positions energizes the spine and stimulates the liver and kidneys. In yoga, each pose, or asana, helps to improve flexibility, strength or balance; but even more, each pose represents a certain healing quality. For example, Bow pose clears congestion in your chest and opens the heart. Downward Dog pose releases sinus pressure and clears your thoughts. Dancer pose aligns your body and teaches you to overcome distraction. And, Corpse pose normalizes blood pressure; thus Corpse pose, ironically, may help prevent cardiovascular disease. Each pose is unique. Each pose is special. Each pose may be just the remedy you seek.

Remedy: Balance
Yoga provides balance in your life—literally and figuratively. With yoga, improved balance is not only evident on the mat (standing tall on one leg in Tree pose); balance is also very evident when it comes to your day-to-day responsibilities outside of your practice. In his book, “Yoga for Life,” yoga master Alan Finger writes, “In today’s society it is common, unfortunately, to get trapped in a cycle of stress. When the stressful situation disappears, nature intends for the body to return to a balanced state.” Yoga helps reduce stress by teaching your mind to resist distraction. Not only does this “staying in the moment” help alleviate stress, it teaches you to become more disciplined in all areas of your life. Fingers writes, “With a regular yoga practice, you will most likely begin to view life’s inevitable challenges with serenity. Your daily life will be infused with the peaceful energy and harmony that are the mark of a productive, balanced yoga session.” This holds true. A student of mine believes yoga has helped her become more patient with her children. Even more, she believes she has become more patient with herself (learning new poses and perfecting strength holds without becoming frustrated).

So much more appealing than popping a pain killer, yoga will provide your life and body with the ease and therapeutic comfort it seeks. Sure, yoga may not solve every problem in the world, but it certainly comes close.