Why Should I Do Yoga?
4 Ways Yoga Benefits Your Total Wellness, Freedom & Peace
As you are looking for ways to renew and reset your mind, body, and soul in 2023, many ideas may be running through your mind. Freedom and peace are the true marks of a life well-lived. So, how can you be more proactive in your quest for freedom and peace? I’d like to share some thoughts from my life experience with you.
Where do I start?
While there are many ways you can work towards your total well-being (mind, body, and soul), I invite you to consider Yoga as one accessible way connect to your most significant empowerment and enlightenment. When you are on a yoga mat, there is no one else on that mat but YOU. The yoga mat can be your vessel for finding freedom & peace, without even taking a vacation.
The six feet of padded foam goodness is your transportable, personal playground to free your mind, body & soul. While on the yoga mat, even if you’re not advanced with postures or overly flexible, you can navigate to your freedom & peace through silence, stillness, reflection and mindful movement.
I will never forget the day while at the 2017 Asheville Yoga Festival in Bhakti Yoga Teacher Rusty Wells’ class, that I discovered that my yoga mat could be a destination for me to free my mind of relationship woes while in a prolonged Warrior 2 pose.
Too often in our lives, we are measured by how we serve others; are you a good mother, a good wife, a good daughter, a good worker? When do you take time to acknowledge who you are to and for yourself? How do you dedicate time to your wellness? The yoga mat is an excellent place to do just that.
Regardless of your starting point, the practice of Yoga can be beneficial for you. You aren’t too old, too fat, or too broke to start enjoying the benefits of Yoga today. Beyond any negative ideas you may have about beginning Yoga and your body, the Yoga benefits go beyond a number on the scale or how easily you can touch your toes.
1. Yoga Improves Flexibility, Movement, and Balance
As we get older, we more than likely have started to feel stiffness in our back and joints. Yoga is a great way to start warming up your muscles and increasing blood flow. Yoga is also recommended to lessen chronic back pain and the tenderness you may feel due to inflammation or arthritis. There is nothing on earth better for your spine’s mobility than a good, robust cat & cow (and if you have knee issues, you can absolutely do cat & cow from a seated cross-legged position).
2. Yoga Improves Sleep
Most of us are not getting the recommended hours of sleep each night. Thoughts racing through our minds or the stress of our daily schedules often keep us lying awake at night. Yoga is suggested as a part of your evening routine to help get your body and mind ready for a better night’s rest.
3. Stress Management
A consistent practice of Yoga has been shown to lessen stress and increase mood and energy levels. In reducing overall body stress and inflammation, the benefits of Yoga are far-reaching in all areas of your overall health and well-being.
4. Community Building
Throughout our lives, we have benefited from community and connection. Finding a supportive yoga community will lessen loneliness and boost your sense of connection and self-care. At Freedom at the Mat, we are proud of the community we have curated and supported through online yoga classes and other tools to help you find your own freedom.
Visit www.freedomatthemat.com to view our free online movement, meditation and conversation videos, and experience how we support you on your journey to overall health and well-being and FREEDOM AT THE MAT.
