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Can Yoga Slow Down Aging?
Wrinkles. Aches. Pains. Aging is a natural biological process and, no matter how hard we might try, it’s a process we can’t avoid. And while there are no magic anti-aging pills or fountain of youth potions, there is a smart strategy to naturally slow down that process: yoga. Check out these ways yoga can help you look and feel more youthful:
Live for now
Have you ever driven home regretting something you said to a coworker? Have you ever lost sleep as you tossed and turned, thinking about how you’ll make the next mortgage payment or car payment? The fact is that for many of us, stress isn’t necessarily something caused by what’s going on at that exact moment. It’s about worrying about the past or fretting about the future. Like immediately stressful situations (for instance, the stress you feel during a car accident) that anxiety over the past and the future ages the body.
Yoga teaches us to live in the here and now. Through postures, like Warrior II, and meditation, yoga encourages us to feel the ins and outs of our own breath, to bask in the warm sun coming through the window, to be completely present in whatever is going on in that moment.—not what happened yesterday or what may happen tomorrow.
While yoga gives us valuable time to de-stress so we’re ready to confront those challenges we do need to deal with, it also gives our bodies a break from the physiological effects of stress. It’s less time to worry—which means the body is less likely to age prematurely.
Prevent those pounds
Regular yoga practice also helps keep practitioners feeling youthful by keeping weight in check. This is especially important as we age. After all, experts say the metabolism slows down about 5% for each decade beginning in our 30s.
Research supports yoga’s role in maintaining a healthy weight. A University of Washington study found that middle-aged yoga participants lost 5lbs over a 10 year period, while their non-yoga counterparts gained nearly 14 pounds over the same period.
Maintain the metabolism of your younger self by practicing yoga 2 or 3 times a week. By keeping off that weight that comes from a slower metabolism, our bodies can stay active longer—that means you’ll look and feel younger far into your golden years.
Alleviate the aches
A common sign of aging is the loss of elasticity that leads to tightness and even injury. Yoga combats that natural loss of flexibility by maintaining healthy ligaments. As a result, you’ll find yourself able to reach behind the sofa to grab that feisty toddler or bend into the car trunk to lift that bag of groceries.
While run-of-the mill stretching can provide some improvement in flexibility, studies shows that yoga is twice as effective as stretching when it comes to relieving the tightness that triggers lower back pain. Research also supports yoga’s effectiveness in battling joint trouble. A 1988 study found that specific yoga postures were effective at relieving the symptoms of the joint ailment carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in seniors.
Bust those wrinkles
Does yoga prevent wrinkles? You bet. A small German study of women found that yoga practitioners were less likely to furrow their brows or clench their jaws—stress reactions that etch deep lines and wrinkles into the face. In fact, yoga is so good at creating those feelings of relaxation that some students call the practice a “natural facelift.” No Botox. No surgery. Just the kind of relaxed state of mind you need for a face that looks youthful, healthy, and worry free.
Kick out the cortisol
One of the most powerful anti-aging benefits of yoga comes from its well-documented ability to reduce levels of the stress-inducing hormone called cortisol. When we experience stress, this is the hormone that kicks the body into “fight or flight” mode. Cortisol raises blood pressure, increases the heart rate, and floods the bloodstream with insulin—in other words, it prepared ancient people to fight or flee sabre-toothed tigers or whatever scary prehistoric creatures might have been stalking them.
While small doses of cortisol aren’t harmful, the body can break down when it’s flooded with a constant stream of it. As a result, stress plays an important role in the development of a host of chronic diseases, from coronary artery disease to Type 2 diabetes. A 2008 study by scientists at UCLA also found that cortisol actually ages body cells.
Numerous studies have shown that yoga is a sure-fire way to reduce cortisol, creating a body and mind that’s less stressed—and less likely to age before their time.
Yoga is natural anti-aging
For the entire history of mankind, people have searched for ways to look and feel younger. It turns out that the answer has been around for thousands of years. Slow down aging—and the mental and physical problems it brings—by regularly incorporating yoga into your routine. There’s no reason to wait; start using the power of yoga to naturally de-age your body and mind.
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