Say Yes to Yoga

College life is a busy time for all students – you’ve got classes, studying, exams, societies, sports, socialising – phew! There’s a lot going on – but it’s important that you don’t get completely absorbed in being on the go all the time. It’s easy to get overwhelmed amongst all the mayhem and the day-to-day roller-coaster of college never stops for a break. It doesn’t have to be so hectic though and you should take control of what’s happening in your life and take some time out to come up for air and take a deep breath and remove yourself from the hustle and bustle of the everyday life of a student. You don’t always have to be on the go! So here at courses.ie we Say Yes to Yoga!

One of the best ways to remove yourself from the hustle and bustle is to take up yoga. Yoga is the perfect way to create a time and a space for you to take timeout from the noise of the world and reclaim some quiet time. Yoga can be your time to retreat from the world around you into the world within you.

While many students will tell themselves that they are too busy to fit in 15/20 minutes a day, you are only as busy as you convince yourself you are. The best time is in the morning but if you can’t find time in the morning don’t let that stop you – the important thing is that you make the time to practise – it doesn’t have to be everyday and it doesn’t have to be for very long; even a couple of times of week will be of great benefit to you both physically and mentally.

So as well as yoga giving you a break from from the chaos of everyday life there are also many benefits that come with practising yoga – and the great thing is the benefits are the same for beginners and professionals alike. So don’t be put off if you think it’s something you won’t be able to do – yoga isn’t a skill or a sport or a talent. Yoga is something that everyone at any age in any shape can do and it will make their life better. So there’s no excuse! Get your yoga on!

Focus

Yoga is a great way to free the mind from the distractions of the external world. You’d be surprised how your mind is constantly at work and being bombarded with all the trappings of life and the world around you. When you are practicing yoga you are focused on your own energy – both mental and physical and you find a space that is free from distraction. In this space, you can look within and find peace.

Balance

Yoga is a great way to build balance and coordination. Any time you challenge your body to maintain balance beyond its everyday two flat-footed posture you are focusing on achieving balance. Even with the simplest balance poses you are honing your mind and body in a way that shuts out everything outside in a bid to attain harmony. In balance comes harmony. Practicing yoga positions helps you better understand your body and connects you with your centre of balance.

Strength

Unfortunately we all start to lose our muscle mass and strength from the age of 40 onwards. However, yoga is a great way to fight back! Transitioning into different poses in yoga is a great way to challenge your muscles to support the different weights of your body and exercise the muscles you don’t use every day and tone the muscles you do use. You’d be surprised to discover muscles you never know you had – and we’re not talking about barbell lifting ones!

Flexibility

Yoga increases flexibility and is a great way to fend off stiff joints and muscles that are the curse of many older people. Any basic yoga you do now will help you strengthen and stretch your muscles in a safe and effective way and will stand to your advantage when you are older. Yoga will help you to maintain a certain flexibility that would otherwise deteriorate and stiffen up. You want to do all you can now to keep that flexibility in your older years.

Spine

Yoga is a great way to awaken the energy of the spine. You have often heard of the bad posture we all suffer from in everyday life – be it the way we sit, walk, sleep – all of these put pressure on our spine. Yoga is a great exercise for building support around your spine and helps stretch the spine, loosen it, lengthen the spine, prevent or ease stiffness and help regain and retain posture and balance.

Health

Yoga is all about deep breathing and mental focus and is a great ways to alleviate stress. We talked before about how it can prove a safe space from the distractions of the world. On top of this, yoga also improves your physical health. Studies have shown that yoga directly benefits cardiovascular health and is effective in lowering blood pressure, blood cholesterol and blood glucose levels. Yoga brings together your mental and physical energies is a great way to get in tune with your body and your inner self.

So grab your yoga mat, join a class, start your own group or simply follow on online teacher and strike a pose – there’s nothing to it.