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Is Yoga Just Stretching?
When we hear the word yoga many people think of a stretchy young woman twisted into a shape that is seemingly not natural. But there’s more to this ancient discipline than meets the eye. Yoga is not a glorified stretching routine. Rather it’s a way to unite the mind, body, and the spirit.
Yoga is physical strength
By practicing your yoga poses regularly, you can tone muscles without ever lifting a single weight. The reason is that in yoga your own body weight provides all the resistance needed to do everything from build biceps to develop deltoids. Yoga’s also ideal for those who want the look of sculpted muscles without the bulk of Arnold Schwarzenegger circa 1980.
For beginners who haven’t built enough muscle strength yet, yoga poses can be challenging. But with a little time and persistence, new students will soon start to see improvement in the way muscles look and feel.
Yoga is mental strength
A growing number of sports now recognize yoga’s value as a cross-training tool to improve player focus. Professional trainers in sports such as ice hockey, football, and boxing cite yoga’s ability to train the mind to shut out all distractions and focus on a single thought or goal. By practicing dharana, or concentration, players can perform at the top of their game. This kind of concentration is critical in all sports activities, whether it’s volleying a tennis ball or slipping a ball past a goalie.
Yoga’s focus on, well, focus, works just as well for those of us who only dream of playing professional sports. We all need the ability to concentrate—whether you are a student taking a test or a mom juggling a full-time job, three kids, and a husband.
Yoga is stress relief
Our world is in motion 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That’s why it’s more important than ever to relieve stress. During anxious periods, the body is flooded with cortisol, which is frequently called the 'stress' hormone. Cortisol’s job is to prepare the body ready for 'flight or fight'. It causes the blood pressure to rise and the heart rate to increase. The hormone also triggers muscle tension, which is why stress is often associated with neck and back pain as well as headaches.
If you’re chronically stressed—say by caring for an ill loved one or by staying in a less-than-ideal job—stress hormones constantly course through the bloodstream. The result is a beaten down body vulnerable to a host of serious conditions, such as stroke, coronary artery disease (CAD), and Type 2 diabetes.
And you don’t need to be a 30-year veteran of the yoga mat to get stress-reducing benefits either. Research from the Thomas Jefferson Medical College and the Yoga Research Society discovered that yoga immediately reduces feelings of anxiety. In fact, the study participants had far lower levels of stress hormones than those who tried to achieve relaxation through reading and writing.
Yogic relaxation techniques are so effective that they are being taught to children with attention disorders, such as autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), so they can diminish symptoms of over-stimulation. If kids can learn to use these techniques to create a calm mind, you can to.
Yoga is stretching
And, yes, yoga is about stretching, too. A regular yoga routine will go a long way toward increasing functional flexibility, or the ability to do normal activities. Poses encourage the muscles and ligaments to work together so the body has a full range of motion.
While it might not sound like a big deal to be able to do these simple daily tasks, it can mean a world of difference. An aging person able to put away their own groceries, for example, may be able to live independently for a longer period of time.
Going for a good stretch has the added benefit of reducing the risk of injury. That means you may have a decreased chance of twisting your back while moving furniture or pulling a hamstring while kicking a ball with your children.
Yoga is for you
Yoga is not just stretching. This art is an approach to wellness that includes the entire body, mind, and spirit. With regular practice, you can build a strong, flexible body, become more focused, and relieve the anxiety and stress you feel each day.
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