| We all know that exercise can improve us physically - | | | | the brain (i.e., breathing through the left nostril will |
| lowering our cholesterol, decreasing our predisposition | | | | increase activity on the right side of the brain). This |
| to heart disease, and enhancing our immune system - | | | | ultimately results in better communication between the |
| but, what we might not be aware of is the mind, not to | | | | brain's two sides, creating better mental function and |
| be left out, can also be improved through exercise. | | | | enhancing a person's ability to learn. |
| The reasons for this are biological and emotional, | | | | Mindfulness, a foundational component of yoga helps |
| benefiting the exerciser on several levels and leaving | | | | students to embrace, and focus on, the present |
| us to discover, when it comes down to it, that the | | | | moment, can also assist mental function. This is |
| mental benefits of exercise are as important to our | | | | because those who practice mindfulness train their |
| overall wellbeing as the physical ones. | | | | brain to work in a certain way. By relaxing, and |
| Rather than mindlessly putting on the running shoes, or | | | | severing the rope that keeps you clinging to stresses |
| climbing onto the treadmill to discharge energy and get | | | | and worries, yoga calms the mind. A calm mind is |
| the blood flowing, participating in yoga can give you | | | | better at retaining information, remembering information, |
| both exercise for the brain and the heart. While | | | | and concentration skills. A calm mind focuses on |
| providing physical benefits, it also powers your brain's | | | | attention, and possesses an advanced ability to |
| ability to focus and to recognize unconscious habits | | | | perceive sensory information. Because of this, some |
| that don't support your structure in gravity or your full | | | | people suggest that yoga, a vehicleof calmness, gives |
| potential as an emotional spiritual being. | | | | you the amazing ability to open up completely to the |
| Yoga is often described as a type of exercise, | | | | present moment and just be more "on" - whether it is |
| although much more than an exercise routine, when | | | | in making a decision quickly, being emotionally |
| practiced consciously, it greatly aids our mental | | | | responsive, or seeing another solution to a problem |
| capacity. While mental health can be difficult to quantify | | | | with ease. |
| - there is no blood test that reveals emotional health - | | | | There have also been studies that concluded certain |
| people who practice yoga regularly can not help but | | | | yoga positions can alter a person's position on things; |
| adopt better moods, possess more energy, and have | | | | specific poses relay specific moods. Researchers at |
| an outlook submerged in positivity. In a nutshell, yoga | | | | the University of California, for example, performed a |
| makes you feel good, and good energy always results | | | | study that found certain yoga poses were more |
| in better mental clarity and performance. When you | | | | mood-altering that others. One finding concluded that |
| are filled with positive, life affirming emotions, your mind | | | | bending over backwards was one of the best ways |
| reacts in a way that makes thinking and achievement | | | | to improve your frame of mind, giving those in bad |
| virtually limitless. | | | | moods something to fall back on. |
| From a biological standpoint, the ways yoga aids the | | | | While the spotlight tends to shine on the physical |
| brain can be explained in medical journal fashion. To | | | | benefits of exercise, the mental ones are quickly |
| begin, yoga is a science and an art that coordinates | | | | coming out of the shadows and into their own. Yoga, |
| the movement of the body with the breath, improves | | | | because it exercises your physical body, is a mindful |
| oxygenation of the blood, allowing better blood flow to | | | | practice that helps you to embody your thoughts, |
| the brain, ultimately producing clearer, more concise | | | | emotions and your spirit. Providing the physical benefits |
| thoughts. Yoga can also boost dopamine and other | | | | of other exercise, yoga is helping the mental benefits |
| neurotransmitters, boosting both moods and the | | | | of fitness to get discovered and becoming increasingly |
| retention of memories. | | | | well known for giving those who practice it a piece of |
| An essential part of yoga, breathing, is also a | | | | open mind. |
| cornerstone of the mental aid exercise provides. While | | | | TWISTED is a medical yoga studio at the Center for |
| breathing does facilitate circulation - allowing vital | | | | Osteopathic Medicine in Boulder, Colorado. Twisted |
| minerals and nutrients to get where they need to go | | | | integrates osteopathic medicine, hatha yoga and |
| and letting all organs of the body, including the brain, | | | | mindfulness practices to teach optimal balance |
| function more adequately - breathing also helps the | | | | between physical, mental, and emotional health. It aims |
| brain in a more direct manner. For example, a practice | | | | to educate and help people to live a healthy life from |
| that is sometimes used in yoga is the act of | | | | the inside out. Rehabilitation programs offer a |
| concentrated breathing through one nostril at a time. In | | | | comprehensive treatment regime for the whole being, |
| EEG studies - studies that monitor a person's brain | | | | empowering each person one breath at a time to |
| pattern - this practice shows that breathing through | | | | stimulate the body's natural healing potential. |
| one nostril can increase activity on the opposite side of | | | | |