Yoga at work is worth it! 04/17/2011
Excerpt from the Yoga Journal Article: Fortune 500 companies like Apple, HBO, IBM use yoga to increase productivity. Small & Mid-size companies too! By Nancy Wolfson | Decrease workplace stress At HBO in New York, employee health and fitness director Bill Boyle can't keep pace with the demand for yoga classes. He recently added a third class to the weekly schedule and would add more if he had room. Boyle attributes the boom in yoga at HBO to rising levels of workplace stress. "Everybody is under more stress now, and has to perform better, and work more hours per day. Yoga gives them a chance to take it all in stride." Boyle is convinced that the investment HBO is making to subsidize yoga classes for employees is well worth it. "The deep breathing and relaxation employees get from yoga help them to be more focused and less anxious. When they go back to work, they're in a position to make better decisions. You don't want people making business decisions when they're stressed." It's not just large corporations with deep pockets like HBO that are bringing yoga into the workplace. Students who do yoga at the workplace often move swiftly in and out of a class scheduled between meetings and work commitments. But yoga helps them go back to work with a clearer head. It provides an opportunity to let everything go for one hour during the workday, to find quiet and stillness, focus on breathing, and allow for relaxation. "A freer body gives you a more open mind," says Theresa McCullough, who teaches at HBO. "How you feel physically is going to affect how you function mentally," she reasons. Add Comment Ever notice how you can’t remember where your keys are when you’re stressed? (and maybe it’s getting harder to remember in general?!) The more frequently you activate your stress-response, the smaller your brain’s “hippocampus” becomes- a key area for forming explicit memories. Cortisol and related stress hormones weaken existing synaptic (brain) connections in the hippocampus and inhibit new ones! Stress stops new neurons from being formed in the hippocampus and as new memories rely on new neurons in the hippocampus, the more stress we foster, the harder it is to form new memories. Now... what did I have for lunch???  Take a Bite out of Stress! 05/12/2010
Healthy Digestion is the Key to Happiness. 05/12/2010
Improve your digestion using yoga! My Grandmother used to say that 'good bowels and a good disposition go hand in hand'; turns out- it's true! For years I had trouble mustering the happiness I knew my life deserved, until I cleaned up my diet, and started doing yoga regularly! During this journey Dr Jason Hughes told me, "Over 80% of your body's Serotonin is produced in the Small Intestine. This cannot happen if the small intestine is inflamed." As the old wisdom knew, great digestion enables great happiness! So, if your gut is inflamed through poor elimination, IBS, food sensitivities, or a highly-stressed state, not only are you more at risk for colon-cancer from this inflammation, but your body won't be able to produce enough serotonin for you to experience joy regularly in life! So how do we create happiness naturally from within? Decrease inflammation through Diet, Yoga, and Breath! This pursuit of joy, of health, and of personal empowerment through healthy digestion is what encouraged me to create a DVD that you can take home and practice daily in your own cozy surroundings, on your schedule. Through this DVD you can promote a healthy digestive system by increasing circulation, decreasing inflammation, and creating a 'rest and digest', relaxed state for your nervous system in which your body can heal and feel joyful. Do all that you can for to encourage happiness that radiates from within! I encourage you to come learn to breathe, twist, and relax for your best health and wellness. So far we've seen some amazing results from these techniques in improving digestive flow, producing abundant energy, revitalizing skin, increasing circulation, and creating overall feelings of well-being. Come join me for a breath-focused Yoga for Digestive Health session, purchase the DVD, or pass along this information to someone you love who may benefit from learning to breathe for optimal health. Warmly and with much love, -Sarah (604)726-6967 sarah@innertruthyoga.org Inner Truth Yoga- Inner truth yoga is a growing yoga and wellness company that was inspired by the journey into discovering joy within, and bringing it into life, one moment and one decision at a time. Thank you to the Executive Success Programs Community, and to Wanda Woods, for your incredible support in my own journey of personal growth and exploration. Your demonstrated commitment to building a more consistently ethical and compassionate world has been true motivation and has helped me in creating this, my own focus, and labour of love. From my inner truth to your inner health, -Sarah Improve your digestion using yoga! Oxygen is free, it is abundant, and it is one of the most under-rated tools for creating vibrant health. Learn to use it! Here's why... Because breath is the only system in our body that is both fully controllable, and fully automatic, by learning to work with our breath we can tap into the autonomic nervous system and affect our body's chemistry. Dr Andrew Weil, MD, in his lecture "Breathing: The Master Key to Self-Healing" talks about the vast health improvements he's seen his patients go through when they incorporate simple breathing techniques, as little as 5 min/ day, into their daily routine. These included, weight control, improved circulation (no more cold hands!), relief from anxiety and depression, improvement in heart-irregularities including atrial fibrillation, reduction in digestive upset including bloating, constipation, and irritable bowel, cancer remissions, allergies, and a variety of other health-concerns large and small that dissipated over time with short but persistent use of breath-techniques. By influencing our breath, we can affect our moods, digestion, immune system, hormones, and circulation. Ultimately, we can control our health with breath. In yoga for better digestion we use yogic breath techniques and gentle postures to retrain your diaphragm and lungs to breath deeply and fully, relaxing your body, increasing oxygen, improving circulation, and putting your health back into your hands... and your lungs! Our breath is indeed the master key to health. I encourage you to come learn to breathe for your best health and wellness. So far we've seen some amazing results from these techniques in improving digestive flow, producing abundant energy, revitalizing skin, increasing circulation, and creating overall feelings of well-being. Come join me for a breath-focused Yoga for Digestive Health session, or pass along this information to someone you love who may benefit from learning to breathe for optimal health. -Sarah sarah@innertruthyoga.org (604)726-6967 | Inner Truth YogaInner truth yoga is a growing yoga and wellness company that was inspired by the journey into discovering joy within, and bringing it into life, one moment and one decision at a time. ArchivesMarch 2012 CategoriesAll |
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