Cheer up! with an easy yoga exercise 24-04-2015 T he practice of yoga asana (the postures) influences your mood. Do you want to know how?

A healthy posture like the one that yoga exercises promote makes you happier. More and more physical therapies are being used to support the treatment of mental disorders like depression, anxiety, stress or eating disorders. Personally, I have seen how people that were being treated for this kind of ailments improved significantly when they maintained a regular yoga practice. Because yoga...

 

• Integrates ‚Äì Your body is physically sustained by a network of connective tissue that makes the trillions of cells work harmoniously. The same way, you are a cosmic cell integrated in the universal fabric of existence. When you do yoga, you exercise the whole connective network of physical and non physical tissue.
• Changes the hormonal levels¬†‚Äì expanding postures that unfold in all spacial directions increase the levels of happy hormones. To change the biochemistry of the body is to be an internal alchemist. Yogins transform lead (stress hormones) into gold (the happiness neurotransmitters).
• ¬†Promotes self love- yoga makes you aware of the parts of you that are completely healthy and you start to see yourself from a different perspective. You cultivate compassion and unconditional love towards yourself, learn how to listen to yourself and start taking action towards your healing.

Now you try:

A simple exercise of contrast that I love to do is what I call "slouchy posture to shining asana". You can practice it in front of the mirror, in the elevator, waiting for the bus, everywhere really. Stand with a slouchy posture, as if you were texting on the phone with a shrunk body. Try to breathe and you will see how challenging it is to for the air to come in deeply. Now observe how you feel, the sensations on the body and mind.

Next, rise your heart and pressing the feet on the ground lift the head to the sky. Breathe deeply. Bring the front of the shoulders and the ears back. Observe how you feel. Probably much better and way more positive that in the previous posture. Do this simple exercise many times a day and you will transform your life.

Yoga affects directly the posture that you take in the world. The way you position yourself in space influences your inner attitude in life and changes your emotional state.