Beyond the mat

Practicing yoga regularly can have positive effects on both physical and mental health. Some of the physical benefits of yoga include improved flexibility, strength, balance, and endurance. It can also help reduce pain, inflammation, and the risk of certain chronic diseases.

But, as you mentioned, yoga can also have benefits beyond the mat. Practicing mindfulness and self-awareness through yoga can help improve your relationship with food and eating habits. This can lead to healthier food choices, better digestion, and improved overall nutrition.

Yoga can also help reduce stress and anxiety, which are often linked to emotional eating and other unhealthy food behaviors. By reducing stress levels, yoga can help break the cycle of emotional eating and promote more mindful eating habits.

Overall, incorporating yoga into your lifestyle can have a positive impact on both physical and mental health, including your relationship with food and eating habits.

Types of yoga

That's a great explanation of Hatha yoga! Another popular style of yoga is Vinyasa, which focuses on the flow of movement and breath, linking one pose to the next in a continuous sequence. Ashtanga yoga is another popular style, which involves a set sequence of poses that are performed in a specific order. Other styles include Bikram yoga (performed in a heated room), Iyengar yoga (which uses props like blocks and straps to help with alignment), and Kundalini yoga (which incorporates breathing exercises, chanting, and meditation).

Regardless of the style of yoga, the ultimate goal is to bring balance and harmony to both the body and mind. Through regular practice, yoga can help reduce stress and anxiety, improve flexibility and strength, and promote overall physical and mental wellbeing.

A better body image

Yes, that's correct. Yoga encourages a non-judgmental and accepting attitude towards oneself and others. The focus on breath and mindfulness helps individuals develop an inner awareness and a better understanding of their physical and emotional states. This can lead to improved body image, self-esteem, and overall well-being. In fact, research has shown that yoga can be effective in reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress, and can improve mood and overall quality of life.

Becoming a mindful eater

Mindfulness refers to focusing your attention on what you are experiencing in the present moment without judging yourself.

Practicing yoga has been shown to increase mindfulness not just in class, but in other areas of a person's life.

Researchers describe mindful eating as a nonjudgmental awareness of the physical and emotional sensations associated with eating. They developed a questionnaire to measure mindful eating using these behaviors:

• Eating even when full (disinhibition)
• Being aware of how food looks, tastes and smells
• Eating in response to environmental cues, such as the sight or smell of food
• Eating when sad or stressed (emotional eating)
• Eating when distracted by other things

The researchers found that people who practiced yoga were more mindful eaters according to their scores. Both years of yoga practice and number of minutes of practice per week were associated with better mindful eating scores. Practicing yoga helps you be more aware how your body feels. This heightened awareness can carry over to mealtime as you savor each bite or sip, and note how food smells, tastes and feels in your mouth.

A boost to weight loss and maintenance

The practice of yoga and mindful eating can promote a more positive relationship with food and eating, leading to a healthier body weight and BMI. By being more in tune with their bodies and hunger cues, people who practice yoga and mindful eating may be less likely to overeat or eat in response to emotional or environmental cues. This can lead to a more balanced and healthy diet, which can contribute to weight management and overall health.

Enhancing fitness

Yoga is known for its ability to soothe tension and anxiety in the mind and body. But it can also have an impact on a person's exercise capacity.

Researchers studied a small group of sedentary individuals who had not practiced yoga before. After eight weeks of practicing yoga at least twice a week for a total of 180 minutes, participants had greater muscle strength and endurance, flexibility and cardio-respiratory fitness.

Cardiovascular benefits

Several small studies have found yoga to have a positive effect on cardiovascular risk factors: It helped lower blood pressure in people who have hypertension. It's likely that the yoga restores "baroreceptor sensitivity." This helps the body senses imbalances in blood pressure and maintain balance.

Another study found that practicing yoga improved lipid profiles in healthy patients as well as patients with known coronary artery disease. It also lowered excessive blood sugar levels in people with non-insulin dependent diabetes and reduced their need for medications. Yoga is now being included in many cardiac rehabilitation programs due to its cardiovascular and stress-relieving benefits.

Before you start a new exercise program, be sure to check with your doctor.

Researchers are also studying if yoga can help people with depression and arthritis, and improve survival from cancer.