Five Excellent Reasons for getting your Warrior 2 on!

1. Stress-Busting!
The tension and stress relief that so many practitioners claim to be the single greatest reason to practice yoga occurs on multiple levels. First, it happens at the physical level of the body. (Read more) Asana (the practice of physical yoga poses) is designed to facilitate the release of large muscle groups and connective tissues. Releasing the tension in these systems of the body happens first by strong engagement of the area, followed by the natural ‘rebound’ of a stretch or release. For example, warming up the hips with strong lunges, squats or balance poses then facilitates a willingness of the hips to open and release their tightness in a pose such as Pigeon. Second, tension release happens at the energetic level of the body. (Read more) Tension that we unconsciously hold in the energetic channels of the body, called nadis, and energetic centers, called chakras, is massaged and squeezed out of those channels and centers through asana, the breath, and the practice of surrender.

What follows tension release? Relaxation. Physically, yoga turns on the parasympathetic nervous system, which triggers the relaxation response and lowers levels of cortisol (the stress hormone that creates a build-up of abdominal fat) in the body! Energetically, relaxation is the equivalent of releasing our desire to control and manipulate our lives, as well as releasing our fear of losing control. To the degree that we surrender our tight hold on our lives and move into the flow of the moment, we find relaxation.

Practicing this art of surrender on physical and energetic levels helps us to surrender in real life, keeping physical, mental and emotional tensions from gaining a foothold in our bodies and minds. Through yoga practice, we become aware that a peaceful, relaxed body and mind are at our fingertips all the time, not just at the end of a yoga class!

2. Rejuvenation – the JUICE!

First let me define ‘the Juice!’ By this I mean, the sweetness, the essence, the marrow of the practice of yoga, and ultimately, of life. This is what kept me coming back for more during seven years of practice, before I had to show up to yoga because I was the teacher! So how is it that after every single yoga class, no matter what asanas are practiced, no matter what your level as a practitioner, how is it that you ALWAYS leave feeling better than when you arrived?! Well, here’s my shot at explaining it. First, you just released all that gunky tension (see #1), right? So physically, your breath is deeper, your blood oxygen levels are higher and your circulation better (see #6 to come) at a cellular level! Energetically, the nadis and chakras are clearer and prana (energy/life force) can now flow uninhibited through your body. On the most subtle level, you’ve surrendered your concerns, are present to the beauty of the moment, and have gotten in touch with your own inner spark! Now THAT is some juicy sweetness!

3. Improve your Breathing and Lung Function

Here’s where the benefits of practicing yoga become beautiful and layered and start to loop back in on themselves! Actively practicing the extension and deepening of the breath happens in every yoga class. The effects of that? Improved lung function, (Read More) Did you know that if you’re exclusively a “chest breather”, over the length of your life you’ll eventually lose the capacity of the lower lobes of the lungs to even function?? improved blood oxygen levels (equals happy cells), and relaxation (Read More) Deep breathing turns the fight-or-flight response OFF and the relaxation response ON – see #1. Interestingly, yogis perceive the breath as “prana” or life-force, which means improving the quality of breath also improves the quality and strength of your body’s energy, today and for the length of your life!

4. Flexibility

This is the one everyone associates with yoga. Flexible, bendy, pretzel people. And as important as flexibility is, I’m sure you’re seeing by now that it’s not the whole picture! As tension in the body’s muscle groups is released through asana, then those same muscle groups are capable of lengthening, also through asana. So over time, a practitioner of yoga finds increased range of movement and decreased aches and pains that are associated with stiffness in the body. And yes, then those twisty poses become more accessible to all of us!

5. Strength

Ah, strength training! You may be surprised to find your yoga class requiring as much or more of your body in strength as it does in flexibility! Who knew?? Asana uses every muscle in the body, from head to toe. Bearing your body’s own weight in standing poses and arm balances increases bone density. Expect toning of legs, back, shoulders, and arms. It’s the reason Madonna’s arms have done more for the yoga industry in the West than any other single factor (yes, alas we are human and vanity motivates where even enlightenment fails to!) And if you’re looking for more than Madonna’s arms, look no further – yoga promises to strengthen and discipline the mind as well.