Melanie O'SheaYeh, I know – spiritual, ‘woo-woo’ woman who loves yoga, so bloody cliche…but, as a single mum of a child with special needs and another with learning disorders, plus a small business owner/operator, plus being an overly-responsible, ‘I’m Superhuman, just ask me’ Capricorn rising, I’m happy to be as cliche as they come if it means managing my stress better, and a happier, healthier life for me.
I won’t go into it in detail for this article, but suffice to say that the endocrine (hormonal) system in our bodies is constantly working for chemical homeostasis. This basically means your endocrine system likes to keep all of your hormones balanced and in the correct ratios 24/7, because chemical homeostasis means that all of the organs and bits and pieces in our bodies get all hormones, enzymes, nutrients, blood cells, etc etc that they need to run at their best, so that we feel our best.
Cortisol is one of those hormones we often hear mentioned. Often unfairly dubbed the ‘stress hormone’ – cortisol doesn’t in fact cause stress, but is released by the adrenal glands in response to stress. The evolutionary purpose being to create physical symptoms within our bodies that help us survive dangerous situations (eg. a sabre tooth tiger wandering into your cave looking for a tasty human for lunch), such as increased heart rate and all of your energy diverted to where you most need it (eg. to your legs, so you can take your chances at outrunning said sabre tooth tiger).
I actually think the more apt name for cortisol is ‘fight-or-flight hormone” – after all, this is its true purpose. So, cortisol is obviously a very necessary chemical when we’re in actual dangerous or life-threatening situations, when a temporary flood of cortisol usually has the desired effect – run from danger or do what you can to fight/protect yourself to avoid loss of life.
Trouble is, when we’re dealing with deadlines at work, kids bickering all day long, groceries that were meant to be picked up 2 hours ago, budget issues, endless school events to remember (etc etc) we tend to feel stressed, and the adrenal glands react as though we are in imminent danger, and release cortisol.
Now, if we are constantly in a state of stress, we constantly have high levels of cortisol in our bodies, and then we have other hormones reacting, trying to rebalance and get back to homeostasis. This of course creates a whole bunch of other problems for us silly humans: fatigue, menstrual irregularities, hair loss, weight gain/loss, frequent colds, etc.
I know I said I wouldn’t go into a lot of detail…would you believe that that is actually a very short, simple overview of the endocrine system/cortisol/stress? I swear it is!
Now, back to me and my cliche love of yoga…
You’ve probably already guessed it, but my
number one reason why I love yoga so much is…
#1 Stress management
Yep, we live busy, stressful lives, no doubt about it! I love that time on the yoga mat helps me to feel so much calmer and less likely to stress out over the small things (i.e. non-life threatening, but annoying/frustrating/upsetting).
I’m more likely to be able to keep a clear head and to be able to maintain a sense of peace in the face of minor shitstorms (eg. finding that I have no pasta in the house for spag bol when I’ve already cooked the bol).
I’m not saying yoga is some kind of magic that stops me from ever losing my shit over ‘nothing’, but after regular practice for a decent period, I’m definitely not as emotionally. mentally or physically affected by day-to-day ‘stressors’.
#2 Enhanced mind-body connection
There’s nothing like trying to balance your whole weight on your forearms to help your mind and body to work together! Modern-day humans, in general, really suck at listening to the messages and signals from their own bodies.
We tend to want to fight and push our own bodies – “no pain, no gain!” – rather than listen and nurture them. We tend to live much of our lives now with our logical mind in the Captain’s seat, and the logical mind is really quite shit when it comes to knowing what the body needs to be healthy and well.
When I am on the mat, trying to contort my body into the same shape as the yoga teacher, I can hear my logical mind taking charge – “If she can do it, so can you!” “Bend more! Why aren’t you bending more?!” – and I promptly tell it to shut up please.
When I shut all of that noise out, and just observe and feel how my body is responding, that is when I am pleasantly surprised by how strong, flexible and downright awesome my body is.
The best part is, with daily yoga practice, my mind-body connection continues to improve off the mat as well. It becomes easier to know what my body is trying to tell me, what it needs more/less of. Interested in intuitive eating? This is basically what it is – being aware of what your body’s signals are for more chocolate, less kale – and it requires you to nurture the connection between your mind and body.
#3 Stronger, more toned muscles
I love the shape my muscles take on when I’m doing daily yoga, plus stronger muscles help me to get through each day with greater ease and more energy. And, you can strengthen and tone most of the major muscles in the body with just 20-30 minutes of mat time a day. No need for hours at the gym pumping the weights!
And, because your are only working against the weight of your own body, and you’re simultaneously improving your mind-body connection, there’s much less chance of overdoing it and having to walk around like an arthritic 90 year old for two days after a session, telling everyone “yep, gotta love leg day! LOL!” like a turkey.
Muscle tone (and to a slightly lesser extent, muscle strength) is so important for helping us get through our day, whether seated at a desk or on your feet, without creating muscle/ligament/posture issues.
Speaking of posture issues…
#4 Better posture
I never had very good posture, tending to round and hunch my shoulders (I blame it on being a combination of tom boy and ‘early bloomer’, and wanting to hide my rapidly-developing chest), and my mum was forever poking her knuckle into my spine with a “stand up straight Melanie”. It’s OK, it wasn’t child abuse or anything because she was a nurse…
When I got into my 30’s I really started to notice that I was developing a bit of hump and my shoulders were really rounded, and I grudgingly admitted that my mum was right about my posture all those years ago.
As a student and as a mum, my poor posture had created all sorts of nasty aches and pains in my neck, head, jaw, chest, shoulders, back, etc. And, when your upper body isn’t sitting right, your lower body compensates (and vice versa), so then I ended up with knee, ankle, hip, pelvic aches and pains.
Internal organs can be affected by poor posture as well – digestive issues, menstrual irregularities, brain fog, shortness of breath can all be possible side effects of long-term poor posture.
Yoga has really helped to realign my spine and then my hips, pelvic, knees, ankles, neck, and opened up my shoulders and chest. Whether I am walking, driving, cooking, typing this blog, I do it with a much healthier posture now, meaning I can do it for longer and without suffering all of those nasty aches and pains, stiffness, and other issues.
I mean, I still have issues…but that’s a different article altogether… 😉
#5 Quality slumber
With better stress management, enhanced mind-body connection, healthier muscles, and improved posture, getting more quality sleep is kind of a given.
Not much else for me to say here, except that yoga tends to make me feel happier and healthier in an all-round kind of way, so naturally I sleep more soundly and wake up feeling more refreshed. Makes sense right?
In conclusion…
I think everybody should be benefitting from regular yoga practice!
As with anything new, make sure you start slow and don’t push yourself. Consider checking in with your trusted health professional if you have health conditions or mobility issues, especially if you haven’t done any regular exercise/movement for some time.
And, above all else, trust your own intuition in deciding whether yoga (or the type of yoga) is a good fit for you.
Finally, don’t forget to enjoy yourself and thank me later!
#yogabenefits #healthbenefitsyoga #yogabenefitsforwomen #yogaformentalhealth #womensmentalhealth #stressmanagementtips #bettersleep #hormoneimbalance #irregular menstrualcycle #betterposture #tonemuscles #bodyweightworkouts
