New Year’s Resolutions
02 Jan 2019
After Christmas you may have over-indulged a little, or maybe a lot, on food and drink. Most of us make a New Year resolution and most of us go on to break it faster than it takes to get the wrapper off a Chocolate Mini Roll. So if you’ve sworn never to let another glass of wine or a Quality Street pass your lips again or if you’re terrified to get on the bathroom scales and no longer fit into your new jeans it’s time to seriously think about your health and fitness.
Together with a sensible diet, practicing yoga regularly is an excellent way to stay trim. Regular yoga practice increases muscle tissue and raises the metabolism, both of which help to burn extra calories even while asleep. Yoga tones muscle so improving their shape. They become firmer and tighter so the outline of your body will look slimmer and fitter. Improved posture from regular yoga practice also helps to improve our appearance, by standing taller, having better poise and looking more confident.
Other physical benefits are equally important especially in winter when the body benefits more than ever from regular exercise. Staying active with regular yoga practice strengthens our immune system and helps to ward off colds, flu and all manner of other undesirable bugs.
Regular yoga practice also has dozens of benefits for our mental well-being. Apart from the pleasure of meeting other people and getting out of the house to socialise, it can also be a great help in preventing SAD (seasonal affective disorder). This condition occurs in tens of thousands of people during winter due to the short daylight hours. Many people don’t even recognise that they are suffering, but just feel a bit “down” or miserable without any real reason. Yoga exercise boosts areas of the brain that naturally make “happy hormones”, the chemicals called endorphins and serotonin. It goes without saying that the chance to relax and slow down, even for a few minutes each day is very important to our health. Science has shown that regular relaxation actually alters the way our brains work, making us happier. Regular yoga practice helps to improve our sleeping patterns too. Scientists discovered that after practicing yoga people slept more deeply and woke up feeling more refreshed. Sounds like yoga practice should be top of everyone’s list of New Year’s resolutions!!
Let’s hope this is the year when you discover what the all round benefits of regular yoga practice mean to you.
A very happy, healthy and peaceful 2019.