The health benefits of yoga are little secret these days.
Sarah has been practising (and writing about) the 5,000-year-old tradition for years. Most of the IQS team practise, too (most recently at an amazing class at Urban Yoga in Sydney). Heck, there’s even an international day to celebrate the joy of the sun salute!
Here’s why we love yoga for energising the body, calming the mind, curbing food cravings and even helping break sugar addiction. Now that’s something worth bending over backwards for!
Yoga: good for the body…
Those downward dogs are doing wonders for us physically.
Regular yoga practice is known to improve flexibility, core strength and posture, making for an all round healthier and more energised you.
And while the actual science around yoga is still relatively young (compared to the ancient tradition), there’s evidence to suggest that yoga also:
- lowers blood pressure
- increases lung capacity
- reduces chronic pain
- ramps up your sex drive
- and even steadies blood-sugar levels in people with diabetes
Good for the mind…
It’s not much of a stretch to see how yoga can be just as great for our minds as it is our bodies.
Research shows that mindfulness and meditation, controlled breathing and low-intensity exercise (yoga in a nutshell) increases the levels of “feel good” chemicals serotonin, dopamine and gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) in the brain, as well as lowering levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
It’s a neat little recipe that leaves us feeling more relaxed, mentally stronger and better equipped to handle the stressful situations life throws our way. It can even improve our sleep.
Can curb cravings…
The stress-busting powers of yoga could help to banish bad food behaviours, because there’s actually a link between our stress levels and the food we crave.
Research suggests that high levels of cortisol cause us to opt for high-fat, high-sugar foods, which in the short term calm the stress centres of the brain (and is perhaps why some would call them “comfort foods”).
But they provide little comfort in the long term. High-sugar foods in particular wreak havoc on our adrenal glands and cause inflammation throughout the body, pretty much mirroring the effect that straight-up stress has on us. Essentially, they’re making a bad situation much worse.
And break sugar addiction!
It stands to reason then that activities like yoga can help give us the tools we need to break the addiction cycle, not only by making us less stressed and more energised physically, but also by encouraging us to listen to our bodies and be more mindful of what they really need.
So, if you’re quitting sugar with us in this round of the 8-Week Program and those nasty sugar cravings have taken hold, try some of these poses to detox, relax and energise your mind and body.
You’ll feel like a “happy baby” in no time!
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