Gentle Yoga Helps Mind and Body

After experiencing an injury or illness, becoming physically active again may be a challenge. Low-impact exercise, such as yoga, is the best way to get started on your journey of regaining strength and flexibility. Beginning yoga, also known as gentle yoga, teaches you controlled breathing techniques, enhances your flexibility and strengthens your muscles while working at a slow, gentle pace. It’s also enjoyable.

Gentle yoga is a mind and body practice. Many find yoga not only beneficial to their fitness, but also helpful in decreasing aches and pains and alleviating stress and anxiety. Yoga can also enhance overall well-being and improve quality of life. Yoga is not only beneficial to those recovering from illness or injury, but also beginners, athletes, and anyone in between. For this reason, yoga is one of the most popular exercises in America. It is so diverse and universal that almost everyone can do it, regardless of age, fitness level or physical limitation.

Yoga improves flexibility using a combination of stretching and meditation. Stretching a muscle or tendon improves muscle elasticity and creates muscle tone. Other benefits include increased muscle control, flexibility, and range of motion, as well as alleviating and preventing cramps. Meditation is used to promote relaxation, ease the mind, and create a sense of well-being. Meditation also encourages deeper, more relaxed stretches. Meditation combined with exercise is great for physical and mental stress reduction.

Building natural strength is one of the foundations of yoga. Whether using light weights or going weightless, you can improve strength using the weight of your own body and holding poses for a length of time. Having strong muscles has many health benefits, such as improved joint function, increased bone density, increased metabolism, weight loss, improved cardiac function and elevated HDL cholesterol.

If you are recovering from injury or illness, and/or looking for a good beginning exercise—try gentle yoga. Gentle yoga is the perfect exercise to transition into a more fit and active lifestyle. To get more information on fitness and wellness programs, click here or contact Sheltering Arms in Richmond, VA at (804) 764-5275.