Why is it around this time of year everyone reverts back to old habits and acts like a couch potato? What is it about vacation mode that makes it hard to get back into your fitness routine. Can someone tell me please? If you’ve been following my blog, you know I recently returned from holiday last month on my first cruise adventure. If you missed that post you can check it out here. Well it’s been one month since returning from vacation and I’ve definitely been slacking. Yup. I own it and take full accountability. Instead of my pre-vacation mode of exercising 4-5 days a week, I’m down to one. Horrible I know. I admit it. In the midst of my laziness I also caught a cold and took a while to get back to 100 %. (I’m still working on that as I type this). So in an effort to not feel like a complete failure I decided to try the lazy man’s workout- yoga.
I’ve heard about yoga through friends for the longest time and never tried it. I thought since I’m so not flexible in the least, yoga would do nothing for me. Despite my feelings, I gave it a shot. I turned on my On Demand and selected Yoga for Beginners. I started with a 20 minute yoga session. To my surprise I actually liked it. Flexibility is definitely a weakness of mind and something I need to work on. Sure I wasn’t able to do all the poses however I did do 90% of them, which surprised myself. That made me feel good. Most of the positions were standing so I think that helped. I also noticed I had to focus intently on my balance and stability. It’s harder than it looks.
Overall, my first impression of doing yoga is essentially combining relaxation and stretching with meditation and concentration. I did this first yoga session first thing in the morning as that’s when I’m stiff however I can see how the benefits could be useful after a long day at work as well.
As you know I’m a big advocate for us pet parents to incorporate wellness as a part of healing. We need to focus on both our physical wellness but also our mental wellness. Speaking of benefits, here are some of the physical and mental benefits of yoga as taken from the American Osteopathic Association:
Physical Health Benefits include:
· Increased flexibility (I knew this one)
· Muscle strength and tone
· Improved respiration, energy and vitality
· Balanced metabolism
· Weight reduction
· Cardio and circulatory health
· Improved athletic performance
· Protection from injury
There are also a number of mental benefits to doing yoga as well. Yoga benefits our mental health in the following ways:
Mental Health Benefits include:
· Relieves chronic stress (I heard of this before)
· Improved concentration
· Relaxes the mind (Yep)
· Creates mental clarity
· Helps with insomnia
· Increases body awareness
Who knew there were so many benefits to doing yoga? I didn’t realize but glad I tried something new that also benefits my overall wellness. You may find this helpful in changing up your routine or if you aren’t feeling 100% like me. Think of yoga as just another tool to help in the process of healing and overall wellness. Good stuff.
Will I try it again? Yes…right after I take a cat nap!
Comment below and share. Have you tried yoga before?
Works Cited: The Benefits of Yoga – American Osteopathic Association. (2016). Retrieved October 23, 2016, from http://www.osteopathic.org/osteopathic-health/about-your-health/health-conditions-library/general-health/Pages/yoga.aspx
Leave a Reply