We all know that yoga has some health benefits. Our PE teachers forced us to stretch, so yoga has to be similarly physically beneficial, right? But yoga might be so much more than just a good workout. More and more people are talking about the ways yoga impacts our mind. In fact, using yoga for wellness could be one of the easiest ways to create a healthy body and mind.
Harvard’s Mental Health Letter points out, “The evidence is growing that yoga practice is a relatively low-risk, high-yield approach to improving overall health.” Let’s talk more about why yoga might be a great tool in managing your stress or anxiety.
Yoga as a pause button.
For starters, it doesn’t require much from you. Put on some stretchy clothes, roll out a towel, and you’re ready to get started. From minute one of doing yoga, you’re creating space for self-care. It’s one thing to hear the medical professionals at Harvard linking yoga and mental health; it’s another thing for us to tell you that we’ve personally tried it and seen it in action.
Yoga is essentially an opportunity to hit pause in our hyper-busy world. Do you ever feel like you can’t catch your breath? Do you wish you could just press stop on everything? Yoga isn’t going to give you some magical control over time, but it will give you a space to cultivate your own ability to manage the pressures put on us by time, life, the people around us, or whatever else is causing us anxiety or stress. It’s time you carve out to rest from notifications and screens and social pressures. It’s time for just you.
If you’re feeling anxious but you’re not sure what’s triggering you, we couldn’t recommend yoga more. It’s common to not have clarity around what’s causing feelings of stress and anxiety. Oftentimes, it’s no single thing, but rather a combination of life’s inputs. You can’t control those inputs – but yoga can give you the tools to control how you respond to them and what you output.
Yoga and self-love.
Many of us move through the world feeling disconnected from our physical bodies and engaging in harmful, negative self-talk. We tell ourselves that we’re not thin enough, attractive enough, strong enough, or flexible enough. This feeling of “not enough” can cause anxiety and stress that makes us not take care of ourselves in the way we should. By regularly tuning into our bodies and breath through a yoga practice, we begin to appreciate our bodies in an entirely new way.
With each pose, yoga focuses on opening or strengthening an area of the body that may normally go unnoticed or unappreciated. Many people leave yoga class saying, “Wow, I didn’t even know you could stretch that part of the body!” By becoming more connected with our physical selves, we can begin to feel more at home and comfortable in our own skin. What’s more, there is a huge sense of accomplishment that’s felt once you can get in a specific yoga pose for the first time! Using yoga for wellness proves time and time again that a physical practice can lead to an intense internal transformation.
Yoga and your breath.
So how does it work? Yoga’s not a magic pill. It’s really just an opportunity to be mindful. Let’s say you do yoga for an hour. That’s sixty minutes you commit to yourself. Most yoga centers around breathing. For an hour, you pay attention to your breath. You nourish your body by taking fresh oxygen into your lungs. You control your breath, giving you a sense of greater control over every aspect of your life. What does every stressful situation have in common? Every time, you can always turn mentally inward and focus on your breathing. Your breath is an amazing stress management tool. By honing that tool in a low-stress environment (i.e. when you’re practicing yoga), you’re better able to use it when you need it.
Yoga and your body.
As you move your body into various yoga poses, you control how far you’re going to push. You never have to put yourself in any position that feels uncomfortable. Modifications are encouraged! But as you get more comfortable, you’ll find yourself feeling stronger and more open. You’ll be amazed what your body can do. As you practice yoga for wellness, you engage your cardiovascular system, improving blood flow and helping your organs stay healthy.
Part of the reason yoga is so great for stress management is that there’s a definitive link between physical and mental health. Many of us are daunted by cardio or entering into a high-intensity gym environment. That doesn’t mean we should steer clear of physical activity, though. Taking care of our bodies empowers us to take care of our minds.
Practicing yoga is a great way to strengthen and balance our bodies without committing to workouts that make us feel like we’re going to pass out. Yoga is for everyone. Little kids and the elderly can practice. Bodies of every shape and size can practice. You don’t need any experience or training beforehand. Stepping onto your mat is stepping into a time where you can practice judgment-free self-care for your physical body.
Getting started with yoga for wellness.
If you’d like to see if yoga is a fit for you, we’d like to invite you to either (or both!) of our two weekly classes where we practice yoga for wellness. They’ll be led by our Wellness Coordinator, Whitney Carver, RYT. Whitney became a yoga instructor to bring the amazing benefits she personally experienced from yoga to as many people as possible, especially those who may not normally think yoga is for them. We hope you’ll join us!
Sunday Flow (90 Minutes)
- Meet us Sundays at 1:30 p.m. at Marion Cannon Park (5287 Teton Ln) in Ventura for this more active class. It’s an all-levels, invigorating vinyasa flow class that emphasizes linking breath, movement, and intention through creative sequences with a long cooldown at the end. This class will leave you feeling sweaty, refreshed, stretched-out, and relaxed.
Wednesday Yin Flow (90 Minutes)
- Join us Wednesday evenings at 6:00 p.m. at the Ventura Counseling & Wellness Center (5450 Ralston Ave, Suite 100) for a restorative and relaxing class with a focus on calming the mind, becoming more flexible, and reducing pain. This class uses props including blocks, bolsters, and straps to help you feel comfortable holding each pose for an extended length of time. A sound healing session will close each class.
No experience is necessary to enjoy yoga for wellness! If you have a mat, please bring it. Come join us as we change our breath to change our lives.
