Yoga classes are extremely popular and easily found at community centers, local fitness clubs, yoga studios, or even online. More than 2000 years old, this ancient east Indian practice holds many benefits for your mind, body and spirit.
Fitness Benefits
Yoga builds flexibility, joint health, strength, and balance. Most people associate yoga with deep stretching, yet the poses also challenge a wide variety of muscle groups, particularly strengthening smaller muscles that help us maintain good posture and balance.
Yoga is a perfect cross-training exercise for those who spend time in strength or cardio work, and is a great choice for those who are just beginning a physical fitness journey and need help getting back into shape.
Internal Health Benefits
Research shows that yoga isn’t just great for physical fitness, it helps improve internal health factors, making it a wonderful addition to your wellness routine.
Yoga improves heart health, eases arthritis symptoms, reduces inflammation, improves blood circulation and immune response, and can reduce blood pressure. The great thing about yoga is that it is generally safe for people of all ages, and adaptable for those who have physical limitations.
Yoga is an Excellent Choice for Those with Skin Conditions
Many people who suffer from chronic skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, or TSW have trouble with conventional exercise. Heat and perspiration can be a trigger for a flare-up, or make existing symptoms worse. Rigorous exercise increases the need to shower more frequently, and showering can irritate inflamed skin conditions. And sometimes, when lesions are severe, those with skin conditions prefer to exercise at home, as going outdoors or to a fitness club seems too daunting.
That’s why slow, gentle yoga is a great option. You can have an effective practice session without heating up or working up a sweat. Plus, you can do just a few poses and still get great benefit. You can also stay home and follow a video class if you’re in the midst of a flare-up, until you feel comfortable going outdoors or to a group class again.
Another great reason yoga can help those with skin issues lies in how it reduces stress and promotes relaxation. The postures encourage deep diaphragmatic breathing. This style of breathing automatically switches off our sympathetic (think ‘fight or flight’) nervous system, and switches on your parasympathetic nervous system (think’ rest and restore’). This brings down stress not just during your yoga session, but for hours afterward.
Anxiety, depression, and sleep trouble are also common for those suffering from a skin condition. Studies showed that yoga can reduce the symptoms of anxiety and depression. Also, a bit of gentle yoga before bedtime can help you sleep better.
Keep it Safe
Yoga is considered generally safe, but there are a few cautions:
- Practicing on your own clean mat will help protect your skin from any dirt or germs on floor surfaces.
- If you’re just starting out, yoga can be challenging enough to make your muscles sore the next day. This is your body’s cue to take a rest day so that it can repair and build flexibility and strength in your muscles and joints.
- It’s best to study under a qualified instructor, letting them know of any physical limitations you may have. Go slowly and gently, and never push your posture to a point of pain. Sprains, and joint or muscle strain – including tendon damage, are possible yoga injuries.
- Your wrists can also be injured by supporting too much weight in certain poses – so be careful!
- Yoga injuries are rare, but more common in those over 65.
- Talk to a health care provider before doing extreme or prolonged inverted poses like headstands, as these can pose risks for certain people.
- Some styles of yoga hold their practice sessions in hot rooms. If the heat is hard for you to tolerate, or if you feel faint or woozy while you practice, get into a cooler room immediately and be sure to hydrate. This is a clue that you might need to explore other practice styles that don’t incorporate warm-temperature environments.
Conclusion
Our bodies were meant to move! Finding the right exercise and forms of movement you enjoy – like yoga – can go a long way in helping your overall health. Yoga is great for both body and mind, and is a relaxing self-care choice and a way to meet others. Check around your neighborhood for a yoga class. Many studios offer a free trial class or beginner discounts!
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About the Author
Olivia Hsu Friedman, LAc, Dipl.OM, DACM, Cert. TCMDerm, is the owner of Amethyst Holistic Skin Solutions and treats Acne, Eczema, Psoriasis, and TSW. Olivia treats patients via video conferencing using only herbal medicine. Olivia is Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Acupuncturists, serves on the Advisory Board of LearnSkin, and is a faculty member of the Chicago Integrative Eczema Group sponsored by the National Eczema Association.