SUBSCRIBE
Fri, Jul 1, 2022
Health For Mzansi
  • Trending
  • My Health
  • Conversations
    • Podcast
  • Grow It
  • Recipes
  • Choices
No Result
View All Result
  • Trending
  • My Health
  • Conversations
    • Podcast
  • Grow It
  • Recipes
  • Choices
No Result
View All Result
Health For Mzansi
No Result
View All Result

4 ways yoga could improve your quality of life

by Staff Reporter
8th Oct 2021
in Trending
Reading Time: 5 mins read
A A
4 ways yoga could improve your quality of life

Awaken the force. In the past decade, science has begun to explain exactly how the regular practice of yoga and meditation can transform people’s minds and bodies. Photo: Supplied/Health For Mzansi

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Whatsapp

In the past decade, science has begun to explain exactly how the regular practice of yoga and meditation can transform people’s minds and bodies. Studies show that yoga can lower symptoms of anxiety and stress, improve sleep quality, boost immune health and improve memory.

Across the globe, millions have lost their lives to Covid-19. The pandemic has also led to severe mental distress as populations around the world grapple with lockdowns, curfews, social distancing measures and a variety of other pandemic protocols. In addition to that, the pandemic has also revealed deep societal inequalities, which became more pronounced with the inequitable distribution of vaccines to poorer countries. Against this backdrop, the principles of yoga are more relevant than ever.

There’s no such thing as being too fat, too thing, too old or too young for yoga. Yoga is for everybody. Photo: Supplied/Health For Mzansi

Yoga is the physical practice of “asanas” or postures that prepare the body for meditation. Those who practise it learn to align with the purest parts of their common humanity. The practice has very ancient roots but it’s only over the past decade that science has begun to truly explain – from a neurological, psychological and cellular viewpoint – exactly how it can transform people’s minds, bodies and even their societies. Studies show that a consistent yoga practice can improve quality of life in four key ways.

ADVERTISEMENT

Anxiety and stress

Recent clinical trials have found that yoga and meditation can lower symptoms of anxiety in both children and adults. This is pertinent at a time when the incidence of mental disorders has risen sharply. A survey carried out last year showed that people who practice yoga had less depression, stress and anxiety due to the pandemic.

Yoga can enhance your mood and overall sense of well-being. Photo: Supplied/Health For Mzansi

Sleep

Clinical trials have shown that yoga can improve sleep quality. Specific breathing and sleep techniques are now being studied as treatments for sleep disorders and people with nightmares due to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

ADVERTISEMENT

Generally, practising yoga to calm the mind before bed can result in a good night’s sleep, which is essential for good mental health and memory.

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau  & P. Murali Doraiswamy

Immune health

Scientists researching how yoga and meditation affect people’s bodies are finding that it can reduce inflammation and boost immunity against some diseases. This is because yoga causes the body to produce infection-fighting cells and reduces the effects of inflammation.

Yoga is the physical practice of “asanas” or postures that prepare the body for meditation. Photo: Supplied/Health For Mzansi

Mental agility and social cognition

Yoga can also help to boost your brainpower and has been linked to sharper attention and better memory. In addition, it may also improve ‘social cognition’, which is a person’s ability to read and recognise others people’s emotions and needs. And researchers are actively studying how yoga and meditation might help prevent the memory loss and brain-shrinkage that occurs as people age.

It isn’t a cure-all for every disease, nor should it act as a replacement for medical care. But by lessening anxiety and stress, and improving sleep and cognition, yoga can make people happier and more self-aware. This will slowly improve how people interact with each other. Indeed, researchers have found that people who practise yoga for many years are kinder and more compassionate.

These effects are exemplified by the way yoga has changed our own lives. Sophie was raised in a happy home in the Canadian countryside. But, as a young woman, she later dealt with anxiety, self-esteem problems and even an eating disorder. She was pregnant and in her thirties when she attended her first yoga class and immediately felt like she had found a new home.

ADVERTISEMENT

To this day, yoga gives her the strength to manage her mental health and lead a very public life as an advocate, mother of three, and wife of the prime minister of Canada.

As mental health advocates, we both strive to find ways to help the most vulnerable. Yoga practice doesn’t need to be long or complicated. Whether you are sedentary or super active, whether you are diagnosed with a mental illness or suffer daily anxiety (like most of us), whether you are a seasoned yoga teacher or just a beginner, yoga can adapt to you.

This article was first published by the World Economic Forum.

ALSO READ: How dance therapy can boost mental health

Tags: Fitnessmeditationwellnessyoga
Share130Tweet81Send
Previous Post

Recipe: Radical spring couscous salad

Next Post

How to get kiddies keen on gardening

Staff Reporter

Staff Reporter

Related Articles

Tips and tricks to help your baby sleep better
Trending

Tips and tricks to help your baby sleep better

by Staff Reporter
1st Jul 2022
0

The phrase 'I slept like a baby' doesn't always ring true for many parents. To assist moms and dads to enjoy a good night's sleep, a study has revealed how responsive parenting...

Read more
Sleep deprivation is detrimental to your health.

Why you should log off, shut down and sleep

30th Jun 2022
When is a disease deemed a global emergency?

When is a disease deemed a global emergency?

29th Jun 2022
Monkeypox: Disease experts give the true facts

Monkeypox: Disease experts give the true facts

28th Jun 2022
Next Post
The benefits of getting children interested in gardening are endless. But it takes a little effort from the grownups. Photo: Supplied/Health For Mzansi

How to get kiddies keen on gardening

Prevent weight gain over time by burning a couple of hundred calories extra every day.

Weight gain: 10 small changes you can make today

How to cope with diabetes in the family

How to cope with diabetes in the family

Stories

Finding a happy medium: Divorce vs co-parenting
Loyiso taps into liquid gold of extra virgin olive oil
Youth transform dumping site into thriving food garden
Winter: An ideal time to plant root veggies, take stock
Early pregnancy care essential for moms-to-be
Meet Mzansi’s Keto Queen, Sharney Blackway
Heart health: Keep your diet lean, clean and green
Yummy Meatless Wellington
No Result
View All Result

Categories

  • Choices (40)
  • Conversations (76)
  • Featured (1)
  • Grow It (52)
  • My Health (103)
  • Podcast (44)
  • Recipes (56)
  • Remedies (5)
  • Trending (276)

Recent

Wake-up call: Invest early in children’s mental health

Wake-up call: Invest early in children’s mental health

1st Jul 2022
Tips and tricks to help your baby sleep better

Tips and tricks to help your baby sleep better

1st Jul 2022
Sleep deprivation is detrimental to your health.

Why you should log off, shut down and sleep

30th Jun 2022
Health For Mzansi

Contact us
Office: +27 21 879 1824

Marketing: +27 71 147 0388
News: hello@healthformzansi.co.za
Advertising: sales@foodformzansi.co.za

Privacy Policy
Cookie Policy

cropped-Untitled-design-28.jpg

Heart health: Keep your diet lean, clean and green

cropped-Dr-Leago-Sebesho.jpg

Brilliant, young Bara doctor a star on the rise!

cropped-poster-2022-06-06T090553.304.jpg

Youth transform dumping site into thriving food garden

Wake-up call: Invest early in children’s mental health

Tips and tricks to help your baby sleep better

Why you should log off, shut down and sleep

The heavy mental toll of carrying extra weight

Olive vs vegetable oil: Soak up the best of both worlds

When is a disease deemed a global emergency?

No Result
View All Result
  • Trending
  • My Health
  • Conversations
    • Podcast
  • Grow It
  • Recipes
  • Choices

© 2021 Health For Mzansi | Farmers For Change Pty (Ltd)

By continuing the use of our Website, you are explicitly and actively consenting to our processing of your personal information as per our Privacy Policy.
Cookie SettingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Go to mobile version
Finding a happy medium: Divorce vs co-parenting Loyiso taps into liquid gold of extra virgin olive oil Youth transform dumping site into thriving food garden Winter: An ideal time to plant root veggies, take stock Early pregnancy care essential for moms-to-be Meet Mzansi’s Keto Queen, Sharney Blackway Heart health: Keep your diet lean, clean and green Yummy Meatless Wellington