18 Amazing Benefits of Yoga, According to Science
Yoga is becoming more mainstream in western cultures as those who practice it realize the numerous physical, mental, and emotional benefits that come with the ancient art.
Science has proven that yoga can have a transformative effect on the body, resulting in everything from lowered blood pressure to disease prevention. Here are some of the many health benefits of yoga, as proven by science.
1. Regular Yoga Practice Relieves Stress and Anxiety
Almost every benefit that comes from regularly practicing yoga stems from the activity’s proven stress-reducing properties.
Stress has become the norm in our everyday society. With high-pressure careers, children’s demanding schedules, and little time to focus on self-care, more adults than ever are experiencing dangerously high levels of stress.
Those who experience frequent stress and anxiety are at a higher risk for clinical depression, high blood pressure, chronic disease, insomnia, and a host of other problems. When the body becomes regularly anxious or stressed, it may never get the signal to return to normal functioning.
This can lead to a prolonged ‘fight or flight’ response that is incredibly draining on the body and the mind.
Preliminary research shows that practicing yoga can have the same stress-reducing effects as exercise and relaxation techniques, which makes sense because it is essentially the combination of the two.
The controlled breathing that is inherent in practicing yoga is probably the biggest factor in reducing stress. When focused on breathing, participants have little room to engage in irrational fear, worry, or other obsessive thoughts, many of which are contributing to their stress levels.
Yoga also helps increase mindfulness and the focus on gratitude, both of which help to ease anxiety.
When we take the time to practice yoga, we are taking time to care for ourselves. This has taken a back seat in our current culture, and yoga can teach us to get back to basics.
Focusing just 20 to 30 minutes a day on the self-healing practice of yoga can then lead to other beneficial activities. It can be a gateway to a more calm, focused life.
Bottom Line: Yoga can help reduce stress and anxiety by focusing on breathing and increasing mindfulness and focus on gratitude.
Massage and Yoga Gift Certificates
Breezeway and Balanced You Studios offer gift certificates in any amount for massage and yoga classes.
There is no better way to take care of your loved ones than giving the gift of self-care. Connect with any therapist or instructor to purchase.
Non-Drug Therapy to Treat Back Pain
http://www.local8now.com/content/news/New-guidelines-outline-how-to-treat-back-pain-414637613.html
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – New guidelines from the American College of Physicians say the first line of therapy for back pain should be non-drug treatments.
Jay Dee Clayton finds peace from his pain through yoga.
“Whenever I start to feel a little twinge, I pull my knee out and stretch the area that’s giving me a problem and it dissipates. It goes away,” he said.
But, yoga wasn’t the first place he looked for relief.
“I took medication immediately after the surgery and I didn’t like feeling like my head was on a balloon string, so I looked for alternative methods of just managing through it,” he said.
Several months ago, Cecelia Aurand also went looking for relief.
“I’ve had spinal stenosis and back pain for quite a while,” she said.
She, too, first tried the prescription route.
“It didn’t really help. After I had the surgery it did help for a time but it didn’t last,” she said.
So, she turned to acupuncture where she says she saw immediate results.
“Within three sessions, I was walking normal again. It was amazing,” she said.
“Many people are able to reduce or completely discontinue the use of pharmaceuticals to manage pain because of acupuncture,” said Dr. Will Foster, an acupuncturist at Traditional Health Clinic.
The fact that both Clayton and Aurand were able to find relief outside of pain pills doesn’t surprise Dr. Samuel Yoakum.
“There are certain types of pain that pills treat really well. They don’t treat chronic back pain well,” he said.
New guidelines from the American College of Physicians back this up.
The guidelines say the first line of therapy for back pain should be non-drug treatments. For pain lasting less than three months, those include heat wraps, massage, acupuncture and spinal manipulation. The authors stress that clinicians should avoid costly and potentially harmful treatments like narcotics.
For pain lasting more than three months, treatments include stretching and strengthening exercises, tai chi, yoga, acupuncture, and mindfulness techniques like meditation to relieve stress.
If those fail, anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen should be considered first, then medications that can dull nerve pain, like tramadol or duloxetine.
“Be as active as possible. That’s what we take from these guidelines more than anything else,” said Dr. Yoakum.
Not all insurances cover alternate therapies. It’s important to consult with your physician or a specialist to diagnose what type of back pain you have and what treatment plan would be best.
Thank you to all who attended this amazing workshop
with Ramesh and Radhika.
Ramesh Bjonnes has been teaching yogic meditation for the past 35 years. He lived in India and Nepal in the 1980s learning directly from the traditional teachers of yoga and Tantra. He is the author of two books on yoga, Sacred Body, Sacred Spirit (InnerWorld) and Tantra: The Yoga of Love and Awakening (Hay House India). Tantric scholar and Professor of Religion at the University of Rochester, Douglas Brooks, says that “Ramesh Bjonnes is an important voice for the study of living Tantra.” Ramesh is the co-founder of the Prama Institute outside Asheville, NC, where he lives and teaches.
Radhika Banu Bjonnes is an experienced yoga and meditation teacher with a personal, caring, and friendly style of imparting her lessons. Radhika is part of the growing “slow yoga” movement, and believes that a gentle yoga practice reaches deeper, makes us calmer and stronger. She taught yoga at the esteemed Ananda Marga Yoga Academy (AMYA) in Singapore for over 10 years. Here, she immersed herself in the study and teaching of Rajadhiraja Yoga, a traditional system of yoga focusing on breath retention and deep breathing while holding poses for a certain period. Radhika holds a Registered Yoga Teacher certification (500 RYT) with Yoga Alliance; a 60 hour certification and a 400 hour Diploma in Rajadhiraja Yoga from AMYA, and a 100 hour certification in Yin Yoga from Victor Chng.
Introducing Acro Yoga at Breezeway!
Starting on the first Tuesday in November, we’re pleased to welcome Rebekah Luhrs to Breezeway for AcroYoga classes.
Rebekah is a certified yoga instructor who has been doing AcroYoga since 2011. After several years of teaching both in the US and internationally, she is excited to be offering weekly acro classes in Knoxville. Meryl Kerns will be joining her as assistant teacher.
AcroYoga is a dynamic partner practice that blends the wisdom of yoga, the dynamic power of acrobatics, and the loving kindness of healing arts. New content will be explored each week while reviewing components taught in previous classes and workshops, providing a space for students to form strong foundational skills. AcroYoga as a practice that is available for every body, age, and ability.
Namaste Knoxville!
Breezeway and Balanced You Studios featured in Cityview Magazine
Breezeway Yoga and Balanced You Studios were recently reviewed in Knoxville’s Cityview magazine. We were thrilled to see instructor Jill Bartine on the cover as she is such an amazing spokeswoman for our studios and for yoga. The article offers a broad view of the Knoxville yoga scene and the various great yoga studios within our community. Click the page at left to read the article.
News from Breezeway
Breezeway Yoga Studio in the Knoxville News Sentinel
Article by Carly Harrington, Knoxville News Sentinel
Driving down Kingston Pike past the Kroger in Bearden, you may never notice the shopping center’s somewhat hidden breezeway connecting various businesses.
Just beyond Wigs by We3 and Roger’s Shoe Repair shop, Patty Dougherty said she found the perfect location to open her newest yoga studio.
“It’s right in the heart of one of the busiest parts of town, but it’s set away at the end of breezeway. I feel like you should have a yoga studio near where you live, and so many of my clients live in this area. It made sense for me to open the studio. The clincher was when I found the location,” she said. “It was such an ideal location that I was willing to make it work no matter what I had to do.”
Breezeway Yoga Studio, a cooperative of yoga instructors and therapists who offer various styles of yoga, opened in the Knox Plaza shopping center Aug. 1.
The studio is located just down the road from The Practice Yoga in Western Plaza, which recently closed. It was where Dougerty’s four largest classes were taught.
At the other end of Bearden, Dougherty, a clinical therapeutic practitioner, also co-owns Balanced You Studios at 6712 Kingston Pike with Rebekah Knause. It’s a smaller studio that opened two years ago and can accommodate up to 10 students or private or semiprivate instruction.
“The first business is great. It’s profitable. I just needed a place for a larger class,” she said.
Dougherty grew up in Knoxville, beginning her career working as a writer, producer and director at WBIR Channel 10. She was promoted to Chicago but later started freelancing, allowing her to travel around the world. She eventually made her way to Southern California, living on a sailboat for seven of her 10 years there.
At the time, her weight had topped out at more than 200 pounds. Dougherty had just started studying yoga and mediation when her doctor suggested putting her on various medications.
“I looked at this stack of prescriptions and said, ‘No way,'” she recalled. “Once I recognized how beautiful I could heal myself, that’s when I decided to start getting trained.”
When her father became sick, Dougherty began commuting back and forth to Knoxville. In 2010, she moved back, making Knoxville her home.
“My heart was breaking every time I left Knoxville,” she said. “I decided I wasn’t willing to leave my mother, so I just came here to stay.”
Breezeway Yoga Studio, which features cork floors, will offer classes that include yoga basics, restorative, vinyasa, power, flow and yin yoga. It will soon offer ashiatsu massage therapy, which uses feet to apply pressure instead of hands.
Business reporter Carly Harrington may be reached at 865-342-6317 or harrington@knoxvillebiz.com.
The planters are planted, the draperies are hung, the flowers are blowing lightly in the breezeway. Isn’t our entrance inviting? 🙂
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