International Day of Yoga

All of us have heard of yoga, and a lot of us have probably even tried it, but there is so much more to it than what you see on the surface. To celebrate this year’s International Yoga Day on 21st June, we wanted to delve deeper into how it can benefit you.

Different styles of yoga

There are so many different styles of yoga, from Vinyasa and Hatha, to Ashatanga and Restorative. The list is endless. There is a style out there to meet almost everyone’s needs. Vinyasa, for example, has more movement in the practice, whereas Hatha is for a more balanced practice or for those in search of a gentler type.

More than just movement

Whilst yoga is great for getting the body moving, it’s also about connecting with your body. There are eight limbs of yoga including postures, breathing and meditation. It is a process of training your body to become more self-aware. 

Benefits

Yoga has so many positive impacts on your body and mind that we could write an entire blog on that alone. Here are a few of the main ones:

• Helps to improve balance and flexibility
• Can help with the relief of back pain
• Helps to relax you, which means it helps to manage stress and help you to sleep better
• Improves overall health

Yoga and Chiropractic

Practicing yoga once or twice a week can complement your chiropractic care really well and can help with the relief of back pain. Chiropractic focuses on the health of the spine, and, at Willow, we aim to educate our patients on how to take care of their spine whilst being more aware of when their spine needs extra support.

As yoga helps you to be more aware of the nature of your body, this works really well with being able to tune into your body to see when your spine needs that extra support. Not only this, but the less stress you have, the better your body can heal itself. When the body experiences too much stress, whether that’s physical, emotional or chemical, it struggles to cope.

Chiropractic’s aim is to realign the spine to allow for the body to work as efficiently as it can and heal. Therefore, by using yoga to relax, the less stress your body experiences and allows for the healing process to take effect more quickly.

Why not try it this International Yoga Day? Whether it’s a gym class or an online video, you’ll feel great.

We’d love to hear if you already use yoga to help maintain a healthy lifestyle or complement your chiropractic care- what’s your favourite style?