Tag: health
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How Yoga Benefits Sleep: Reasons to Do Yoga for Sleep
Sleep problems are common in the U.S. As many as 1 in 3 adults don’t get the recommended amount of uninterrupted sleep needed for good health, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The Mayo Clinic recommends adults get at least 7 hours of high-quality sleep per night. Poor sleep is associated with…
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10 Research Studies That Confirm Benefits of Meditation
Meditation is often an integral part of any yoga class you take, whether it’s closing your eyes and grounding yourself before your yoga practice, or coming into stillness during Savasana (Corpse Pose) to close a practice. The ancient Indian sage Patanjali, who compiled the Yoga Sutras that inform yoga teachers today, listed meditation as one…
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How Yoga Is Meditation in Motion: Benefits & More
One of my favorite ways to describe what you can expect from yoga is “meditation in motion”. Yoga truly provides mind-body benefits. It’s more than moving your body into interesting and challenging shapes. A yoga practice can help quiet the mind, improve focus and make you feel more at peace with yourself. If you’ve heard…
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Yoga & Headaches: How a Yoga Practice Can Help With Headaches
Almost everyone gets a headache once in a while, with Harvard Health Publishing reporting 95% of women and 90% of men get them at least one a year. Some people experience them more frequently, with causes ranging from drinking alcohol, to sleep disturbances, to posture, to stress. Headaches may also be caused by serious issues,…
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5 Mental Health Benefits of Yoga
I was chatting with my fellow Alexandria, VA yoga teacher and friend Nilina recently, and she told me something really beautiful about how yoga has inspired her. She said: “Yoga is much more than asanas. It’s about delving deeper within us. We start seeing the real us, which is comprised of both good and bad.…
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10 Research Studies That Support Yoga Benefits
Practicing yoga can make you feel great, but there are often so many more powerful transformations happening on and off the mat as a result of a yoga practice. There are real tangible physical and mental health benefits, which are supported by research studies focusing on the practice of yoga. Consider these 10 studies that…
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Yoga for Sciatica: Yoga Poses for Sciatica & Safety Tips
I’ve recently worked with several yoga students in Alexandria VA yoga classes who have sciatica and come to yoga for ways to stretch and relieve nerve pain. This shouldn’t be surprising, as sciatica is fairly common. According to Harvard Health Publishing, up to 40% of people will experience sciatica during their lives. The risk of…
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Side Body Stretching: Benefits & Side Body Stretch Ideas
There’s just something so satisfying about a good side body stretch. In yoga, we do a lot of folding into poses like Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend), so incorporating side body stretches helps balance out your entire body. Side body stretches, also known as lateral bends, help align our body’s systems. According to “Yoga Toolbox”, side…
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6 Ideas for Doing Yoga in Everyday Life
Your physical yoga practice can continue once you step off the mat from your Alexandria yoga class or wherever you take it. During the day, there are often plenty of opportunities to get some extra stretching and breathwork in. Consider these six ways for how to do yoga in everyday life and make yoga part…
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Pigeon Pose: Benefits & How to Do Eka Pada Rajakapotasana
Landing at number two in my top favorite yoga poses of all-time (number one is Supine Spinal Twist and number three is Dancer Pose) is Pigeon Pose, or Eka Pada Rajakapotasana. Pigeon Pose can be one of the most emotive poses in yoga. That’s because, with neuroscience backing, there’s a link between emotional storage and…