6 Compelling Reasons to Meditate

Meditation: Why it is good for your Mental and Physical Health

Meditation is the art of focusing 100% of your attention in one area. In the area of mindfulness meditation we're starting to get a better understanding of why it seems to be beneficial for so many aspects of life, from disease and pain management, to sleep, to control of emotions. What is Mindfulness exactly, as described by Perspectives on Psychological Science Study mindfulness is a "the nonjudgmental awareness of experiences in the present moment"

Here are 6 compelling reasons to begin a meditation practice:

• IT LOWERS STRESS - LITERALLY - Research published in the journal of Health Psychology shows that mindfulness is not only associated with feeling less stressed, its also linked with decreased levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
• IT CHANGES THE BRAIN IN A PROTECTIVE WAY - University of Oregon researchers found that integrative body-mind training -- which is a meditation technique -- can actually result in brain changes that may be protective against mental illness. The meditation practice was linked with increased signaling connections in the brain, something called axonal density, as well as increased protective tissue (myelin) around the axons in the anterior cingulate brain region.
• IT MAKES MUSIC SOUND BETTER -  Mindfulness meditation improves our focused engagement in music, helping us to truly enjoy and experience what we're listening to, according to a study in the journal Psychology of Music. 
• IT SUPPORTS YOUR WEIGHT-LOSS GOALS - Trying to shed a few pounds to get to a healthier weight? Mindfulness could be your best friend, according to a survey of psychologists conducted by Consumer Reports and the American Psychological Association. Mindfulness training was considered an "excellent" or "good" strategy for weight loss by seven out of 10 psychologists in the survey. 
• IT HELPS US EVEN WHEN WE'RE NOT ACTIVELY PRACTICING IT - You don't have to actually be meditating for it to still benefit your brain's emotional processing. That's the finding of a study in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, which shows that the amygdala brain region's response to emotional stimuli is changed by meditation, and this effect occurs even when a person isn't actively meditating.
• IT MAKES YOU A BETTER PERSON - Sure, we love all the things meditation does for us. But it could also benefit people we interact with, by making us more compassionate, according to a study in the journal Psychological Science. Researchers from Northeastern and Harvard universities found that meditation is linked with more virtuous, "do-good" behavior.

Interested in starting a meditation practice?  Be realistic in your expectations. Training or taming the mind is a skill to develop over a lifetime. Sure, there are some immediate benefits to be found, but some take longer than others. If expectations are too high then you may well feel disappointed and demotivated at some stage. So just take one day at a time. 
A wonderful method to try is simply breathing! Breathing Meditation: This technique takes those pre-yoga class "Oms" to the next level. Also called yogic breathing or Pranayama, this meditation style is all about controlling the inhales and exhales. Greatist Expert Dr. Jeffrey Rubin explains, "Longer exhales tend to be calming, while longer inhales are energizing. For meditative purposes either the ratio of exhale to inhale is even or the exhale is longer than the inhale for a calming effect."

Interested in exploring meditation a bit more, come try Candlelight Yin Yoga Sunday evenings 7:00PM-8:30PM at Sana Vita Studio.  This meditative style of yoga holds postures for longer lengths of time, increasing flexibility, melting away tension, decreasing feelings of stress and anxiety, and increasing a sense of calmness and peacefulness. CLICK HERE for more information of to sign up!

Source
Source
Source

Heart Happiness with Yoga

February is American Heart Month.  Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. The month of February is dedicated to raising awareness about heart disease and increasing knowledge about prevention.  Yoga can be used to improve heart health as a preventive measure. We offer Power Yoga, Yin Yoga, and Pre-Natal Yoga at Sana Vita Studio and for American Heart Month we have a wonderful Special of 3 Yoga Classes for $30!  

Why yoga?

Yoga Helps Beat Stress: When you encounter a stressful situation, the brain releases adrenaline into your system to help you either fight or flee the threat. This causes your heart to beat faster and your blood pressure increases.  While this response can help you protect yourself when facing a threat, living in a constant state of stress may wreak havoc on your cardiovascular system. According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, people who are prone to stress have a higher risk for heart disease than their calmer counterparts.“What we want is a nervous system that reacts to stressful situations when they happen, but then shifts back to relaxation,” Yoga may help by dampening your body’s reaction to stress. 

Yoga reduces inflammation:  Learning to relax through yoga may help decrease stress-related inflammation. A 2010 study published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine showed that when individuals who practiced yoga regularly were exposed to a stressor, they had less of a blood compound linked to inflammation than novice practitioners.

Yoga may lower blood pressure:  According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, long-term high blood pressure can weaken your heart and damage blood vessel walls, causing plaque to build up and potentially narrow or block arteries. This is a leading cause of heart attack and stroke.

While poor diet and lack of exercise are major risk factors, “we know there’s an element of stress involved in high blood pressure,” says McCall. A 2012 review published in the journal Holistic Nursing Practice suggests that yoga practice may be an effective treatment for high blood pressure because of its ability to decrease the body’s response to stress.

Yoga promotes physical activity:  People who are physically inactive are twice as likely to be at risk for heart disease as those who do exercise, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Yoga improves strength and flexibility, which contributes to cardiovascular health. 

Thinking prevention? As part of an overall healthy lifestyle, yoga can help lower blood pressure, increase lung capacity, improve respiratory function and heart rate, and boost circulation and muscle tone. It can also improve your overall well-being while offering strength-building benefits.  You may see benefits right away. After your first yoga class, your blood pressure will likely be lower, you’ll be relaxed and you’ll feel better!

Enjoy yoga at Sana Vita Studio with our February Special of 3 Yoga Classes for $30!
SIGN UP now and your heart will thank you for it!


SOURCE1

SOURCE2

SOURCE3

Is Wrist Pain Your Common Complaint?

Wrist pain is a common difficulty people experience with varying causes ranging from sudden injuries, repetitive stress, arthritis, and carpal tunnel syndrome. People also experience wrist pain in weight bearing exercises where hand and forearm are at 90-degree angles to each other. However, according to "Arthritis Today", exercise is a proven way to relieve arthritis pain and improve joint function. The Sports Injury Clinic states that Pilates will not make your pain worse or your joints more painful, instead you should expect improvement. If you do experience pain within your Pilates & Yoga practice during exercises such as cobra and plank, an easy solution is to decrease the angle of the wrist. Your first line of defense should be to make sure that you are not collapsing your body weight onto the wrist. There has to be an intention to lift up out of the wrist even as the body weight is supported. If that doesn't do the trick, a small pad, lifting and supporting the heel of the hand, can decrease the angle of the wrist enough to take pressure off the wrist joint. At the studio you can also request to use one of our wrist guards which will greatly decrease wrist discomfort.

Check out this great video for some grip strength exercises that can be don right at your desk to improve the strength of your hands, wrists and forearms.

WRIST STRENGTH VIDEO


SOURCE