I tell you, Grace and I had fun with this. Can't believe she is only 3 years and 10 months old. Take a look!
And here are a few other poses that Grace enjoyed!!
Improved flexibility is one of the most obvious benefits of yoga. During your first class, you probably won't be able to touch your toes, never mind do a back bend. But if you stick with it, you'll notice a gradual loosening, and eventually, seemingly impossible poses will become possible. You'll probably notice that aches and pains start to disappear. That's no coincidence. Tight hips can strain the knee joint due to improper alignment of the thigh and shinbones. Tight hamstrings can lead to a flattening of the lumbar spine, which can cause back pain. And inflexibility in muscles and connective tissues, such as fascia and ligaments, can cause poor posture.2. Bone Zone.
It's well documented that weight-bearing exercise strengthens bones and helps ward off osteoporosis. Many postures in yoga require that you lift your own weight. And some, like Downward- and Upward-Facing Dog, help strengthen the arm bones, which are particularly vulnerable to osteoporosis fractures. In an unpublished study conducted at California State University, Los Angeles, yoga practice increased bone density in the vertrebrae. Yoga's ability to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol may help keep calcium in the bones.3. Worry Thwarts.
Yoga lowers cortisol levels. If that doesn't sound like much, consider these facts. Normally, the adrenal glands secrete cortisol in response to an acute crisis, which temporarily boosts immune function. If your cortisol levels stay high even after the crisis, they can compromise the immune system. Temporary boosts of cortisol help with long-term memory, but chronically high levels undermine memory and may lead to permanent changes in the brain. Plus, excessive cortisol has been linked with major depression, osteoporosis (it extracts calcium and other minerals from bones and interferes with the laying down of new bone), high blood pressure, and insulin resistance. In rats, high cortisol levels lead to what researchers call "food-seeking behavior" (the kind that drives you to eat when you're upset, angry, or stressed). The body takes those extra calories and distributes them as fat in the abdomen, contributing to weight gain and the risk of diabetes and heart attack.4. Breathing Room.
Yogis tend to take fewer breaths of greater volume, which is both calming and more efficient. A 1998 study published in The Lancet taught a yogic technique known as "complete breathing" to people with lung problems due to congestive heart failure. After one month, their average respiratory rate decreased from 13.4 breaths per minute to 7.6. Meanwhile, their exercise capacity increased significantly, as did the oxygen saturation of their blood. In addition, yoga has been shown to improve various measures of lung function, including the maximum volume of the breath and the efficiency of the exhalation.5. Pain Drain.
Yoga can ease your pain. According to several studies, yoga postures (asana), meditiation, or a combination of the two, reduced pain in people with arthritis, back pain, fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other chronic conditions. When you relieve your pain, your mood improves, you're more inclined to be active, and you don't need as much medication.6. Connective Tissue.
As you read all the ways yoga improves your health, you probably notice a lot of overlap. That's because they are intensely interwoven. Change your posture and you change the way you breathe. Change your breathing and you change you nervous system. This is one of the great lessons of yoga: Everything is connected - your hipbone to your anklebone, you to your community, your community to the world. Such interconnection is vital to yoga. This holistic system simultaneously taps into many mechanisms that have self-perpetuating and even multiplicative effects. Synergy may be the most important way of all that yoga heals.7. Joint Account.
Each time you practice yoga, you take your joints through their full range of motion. This can help prevent degenerative arthritis or mitigate disability by "squeezing and soaking" areas of cartilage that normally aren't used. Joint cartilage is like sponge; it receives fresh nutrients only when its fluid is squeezed out and a new supply can be soaked up. Without proper sustenance, neglected cartilage can eventually wear out like worn-out brake pads, exposing the underlying bone.8. Flow Chart.
Yoga gets your blood flowing. More specifically, the relaxation exercises you learn in yoga can help your circulation, especially in your hands and feet. Yoga also gets more oxygen to your cells, which function better as a result. Twisting poses are thought to wring out venous blood from internal organs and allow oxygenated blood to flow in once the twist is released. Inverted poses, such as Down Ward Facing Dog, Standing Straddle Splits, Headstand, Handstand and Shoulderstand, encourages venous blood from the legs and pelvis to flow back to the heart, where it can be pumped to the lungs to be freshly oxygenated. Yoga also boosts levels of hemoglobin and red blood cells, which carry oxygen to the tissues. And it thins the blood by making platelets less sticky and by cutting the level of clot-promoting proteins in the blood. This can lead to a decrease in heart attacks and strokes since blood clots are often the cause of these killers.9. Heart Start.
When you regularly get your heart rate into the aerobic range, you can lower your risk of heart attack and relieve depression. While not all yoga is aerobic, if you do it vigorously or take flow or Ashtanga classes, it can boost your heart rate into the aerobic range. But even yoga exercises that don't get your heart rate up that high can improve cardiovascular conditioning. Studies have found that yoga practice lowers the resting heart rate, increases endurance, and can improve your maximum uptake of oxygen during exercise - all reflections of improving aerobic conditioning.10. Strength Test.
Strong muscles do more than look good. They also protect us from such conditions as arthritis and back pain, and help prevent falls. And when you build strength through yoga, you balance it with flexibility. If you just lifted weights, you might build strength at the expense of flexibility.11. Spinal Rap.
Spinal disks - the shock absorbers between the vertebrae that can herniate and compress nerves - crave movement. That's the only way they get their nutrients. If you've got a well-balanced asana practice with plently of backbends, forward bends, and twists, you'll help keep your disks supple.12. Standing Orders.
Your head is like a bowling ball - big, round, and heavy. When it's balanced directly over an erect spine, it take much less work for your neck and back muscles to support it. Move it several inches forward, however, and you start to strain those muscles. Hold up that forward-leaning bowling ball for 8 or 12 hours a day and it's no wonder you're tired. And fatigue might not be your only problem. Poor posture can cause back, neck, and other muscle and joint problems. As you slump, your body may compensate by flattening the normal inward curves in your neck and lower back. This can cause pain and degenerative arthritis of the spine.13. Sugar Show.
Yoga lowers blood sugar and LDL ("bad") cholesterol and boosts HDL ("good") cholesterol. In people wit diabetes, yoga has been found to lower blood sugar in several ways: by lowering cortisol and adrenaline levels, encouraging weight loss, and improving sensitivity to the effects of insulin. Get your blood sugar levels down, and you decrease your risk of diabetic complications such as heart attack, kidney failure and blindness.14. Space Place.
Regularly practicing yoga increases proprioception (the ability to feel what your body is doing and where it is in space) and improves balance. People with bad posture or dysfunctional movement patterns usually have poor proprioception, which has been linked to knee problems and back pain. Better balance could mean fewer falls. For the elderly, this translates into more independence and delayed admission to a nursing home or never entering one at all.15. Loose Limbs.
Do you ever notice yourself holding the telephone or a steering wheel with a death grip or scrunching your face when staring at a computer screen? These unconscious habits can lead to chronic tension, muscle fatigue, and soreness in the wrists, arms, shoulders, neck, and face, which can increase stress and worsen your mood. As you practice yoga, you begin to notice where you hold tension: It might be in your tongue, your eyes, or the muscles of your face and neck. If you simple tune in and pay more attention to these areas, you may be able to relieve some tension.To see all 38 ways yoga can improve your health and well-being click on over to the Yoga Journal Website. http://www.yogajournal.com/health/1634
Taking up yoga could help reshape your eating habits, which may help you lose weight. In a Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center study (see my side bar for the entire article on the research), of 303 adults who were physically active, researchers found a link between doing yoga and eating mindfully: yoga practicing participants reported focusing only on their food while eating, for instance, or ceasing to eat once they felt satisfied. No such link was found among those who did other forms of exercise.
"Since yoga heightens your awareness of your body in general, it makes sense that it would hlep you to pay more attention to your eating patterns and appetite", says J. Adam Rindtleisch, M.D., of the University of Wisconsin Integrative Medicine Clinic. Many other mind-body methods--including meditation and tai chi--can also deepen your body awareness and motivate you to eat more consciously he adds. Those practices can also reduce stress, which could help you savor your food rather than frantically speed through each meal.
For a head start on becoming a calmer, more mindful eater, take a moment before your meal to breathe deeply and offer gratitude for your food. As you eat, tune into the sensations you experience with every bite. "When you're aware of how each morsel of food affects you." says Rindfleisch, "you're more likely to feel full not only physically, but also mentally." - E. B.
Downward Facing Dog
Stretches spine, hamstrings, glutes, calves; strengthens deltoids, triceps
Warrior II
Stretches hips, inner thighs, chest; strengthens quadriceps, abdomen, shoulders
Plank Pose (Modified Plank shown- full plank, knees lifted)
Strengthens arms, back, shoulders, core, quadriceps
Fierce Pose (otherwise known as "Chair Pose")
Stretches spine; strengthens quadriceps, ankles, back
Tree Pose
Stretches hips, inner thighs; strengthens legs, spine, core
Garland Pose (Sumo Squat - Mongolian Style!) - Not shown
Stretches low back, groin, hips, ankles
Boat Pose
Strengthens core, psoas, quadriceps
Bridge Pose
Stretches front of body; strengthens hamstrings, glutes
Half Lord of the Fishes
Stretches hips, shoulders, back, neck; strengthens spine
“When you use it [a Neti pot] properly, it reduces dust and other contaminants in the nose, and it’s a very effective way to clean the sinuses. Modern studies are showing that it’s as effective as drugs for preventing sinus infections. Regular use of a neti pot is also hugely beneficial for people with nasal allergies and headaches. It just takes all the gelatinous goo out of there.
What a lot of people don’t know is that the sinuses are linked closely to lung health. The sinuses are a major source of nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide opens things up: the blood vessels, the airways. When we intubate a patient through the nose, we always worry about how that will affect their breathing -- because it can reduce the lungs’ content of nitric oxide. So, it follows that keeping the sinuses healthy also keeps the lungs full of fresh, clean air.”
What some of my Prenatal clients have said about the Yoga that I teach....
From Amy, a prenatal student.
"I did thoroughly enjoy your prenatal yoga classes--the physical activity was wonderful. Also, I truly enjoyed the community of pregnant women in tune with our bodies and so positive and hopeful about the tiny bodies, minds and spirits of the babies in our tummies. Attending your classes made the L&D (Labor and Delivery) of my second baby even easier and smoother than that of our first baby."
From Cryss, a prenatal student.
"I love your yoga class. Being pregnant I am worried about popping my back like I used to and the weekly yoga classes help relieve the stress in my mid and lower back. I feel more relaxed after doing yoga, it is so wonderful I almost fall asleep at the end of the class. The meditation portion helps me learn to focus my mind on things that are not the present. It has helped me learn to cope with stress and breathe instead of getting so frustrated! Anyways, love it and would recommend it to anyone!"
From Lynn, a prenatal client.
"I used the various yoga postures that Gail taught us in class, to help manage the contractions. I had to be induced, and was able to walk around, sit on the birth ball, and use my Yoga breath, to ease the severity of my contractions. I didn't need to use any narcotics or pain relief. My pelvis was so opened up, that she came out after 4 pushes! After the birth of my baby, the nurses were so surprised how quickly I recovered. I was ready to go home that day! This was my smallest baby of 8 pounds and 4 ounces."
As I am getting deeper and deeper into one of the books that we are to read for the YogaFit Therapy course, I am amazed at all the benefits of a regular yoga practice can do for folks. And I’m a yoga teacher. (The more you teach yoga, it seems the more you want to know….and need to know!)
Please read on for more information about “Yoga as Medicine” by Timothy McCall, M.D. at http://www.drmccall.com/ ~Gail Pickens-Barger, E-RYT.
Yoga appears to be effective in the treatment of a wide variety of health conditions. In Timothy McCall, M.D. Book, “Yoga As Medicine”, he goes on to say: We’ll be reviewing the scientific evidence later but, for now, let’s see what people who’ve tried therapeutic yoga have to say. In 1983 – 84, the London-based Yoga Biomedical Trust, run by Robin Monro, PhD, surveyed twenty-seven hundred (2,700) people, most between the ages of thirty-one and sixty, who used yoga therapeutically. To be included, participants had to have practiced yoga for at least two hours a week for a year or longer.
Though the number of people with some of the conditions in question was small, the results (see the table below, and in Dr. McCall’s book, Table 1.1) were impressive:
The lowest success rate in the survey was for women with “menstrual problems,” two out of three of whom found that yoga helped.
Table 1.1 Conditions Improved by Yoga, Self-Reported
Medical Condition Number of Percentage Helped
People Reporting By Yoga
Alcoholism 24 100%
Anxiety 838 94%
Arthritis &
Rheumatic Disorders 589 90%
Asthma or Bronchitis 226 88%
Back Disorders 1,142 98%
Cancer 29 90%
Diabetes 10 80%
Duodenal Ulcers 40 90%
Heart Disease 50 94%
Hemorrhoids 391 88%
High Blood Pressure 150 84%
Insomnia 542 82%
Menopausal Disorders 247 83%
Menstrual Problems 317 68%
Migraine 464 80%
Neurological &
Neuromuscular Diseases 112 96%
Obesity 240 74%
Premenstrual Syndrome 848 77%
Smoking 219 74%
| It reduces oxygen consumption. | |
| It decreases respiratory rate. | |
| It increases blood flow and slows the heart rate. | |
| Increases exercise tolerance in heart patients. | |
| Leads to a deeper level of relaxation. | |
| Good for people with high blood pressure as it brings the B.P. to normal. | |
| Reduces anxiety attacks by lowering the levels of blood lactate. | |
| Decreases muscle tension (any pain due to tension) and headaches. | |
| Builds self-confidence. | |
| It increases serotonin production which influences mood and behavior. Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression, obesity, insomnia and headaches. | |
| Helps in chronic diseases like allergies , arthritis etc. | |
| Reduces Pre - menstrual Syndrome. | |
| Helps in post-operative healing. | |
| Enhances the immune system. Research has revealed that meditation increases activity of 'natural-killer cells', which kill bacteria and cancer cells. | |
| Also reduces activity of viruses and emotional distress. |
