Ginger Yogabread Men!

Via Foodiggity

Yoga and Stretching Equally Effective for Back Pain

Weekly yoga classes relieve symptoms of low back pain about as well as intense, regular stretching sessions, a new study shows.

The research found that yoga and stretching were equally effective in easing chronic back pain and improving function, but participants had to practice each regularly to see benefits. The subjects in both groups took weekly 75-minute classes and practiced yoga or deep stretching at home for about 20 minutes at a time at least three days a week.

Click here to read the full report on the New York Times website

9 Reasons why Yoga is Great for Golf

Yoga can help golfers reach a deep state of relaxation where the mind becomes clear and the game is played with single-minded attention.

Yoga is one of the fastest growing areas of fitness in golf today. When committed golfers are making progress, they’re in the ‘zone’ – immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity.

Golf uses the conscious mind, which is alert and logical as well as the unconscious mind, the source of intuition and long-term memory. To illustrate, body stance and stroke are learned in the conscious mind and stored in the subconscious mind. A yoga practice utilises the breath to bridge the conscious and the subconscious mind, which connects to the process of the internalised mastery of the sport.

Yoga stretches increase the range of motion of your entire body, which will respond effortlessly to the demands of your golf swing throughout your round. The best golfers have strong, stable lower bodies and flexible, mobile upper bodies. Their swings progress from the lower body to the trunk, the shoulders and lastly the arms.

Stay supple and be flexible in your spine, hips, shoulders and legs. Yoga sessions work towards core stability, toning, rotation, precision and strength, to improve your game at every stage.

As you tune into moving with the breath, the rhythm and tempo of your swing is improved with effortless effort. A regular yoga practice integrates the power of the body with the breath. Deep breathing through the nose encourages proper blood flow to the muscles and calms the nervous system. This indirect approach allows for optimal performance and skill development.

Clarity of thought and heightened focus is a guaranteed side effect of a yoga practice.

When you begin your game in a relaxed state of mind with a sense of competence and efficacy, then concentration and visualization capabilities are maximised.

As your strength and stamina in muscle groups involved in the mechanics of the swing grows you’ll add distance and accuracy to every club in your bag and be able to perform at your best on the course.
A yoga session increases attention to and understanding of physical symmetry, balance and core conditioning. This awareness reduces the risk of injury as well as giving more effective club control and weight distribution.

Learn how to prevent injuries and how not to strain yourself when playing, develop skills so that you can move your body safely in any situation on and off the golf course.
In Yoga for Golf class poses are selected that are most suited to the golfer’s needs.

Insight

Meditation teacher, author and clinical psychologist Tara Brach is my latest enthusiasm and inspiration. Not only are her talks fascinating she radiates light and clarity within the diamond facets of inquiry. To boot she has made her bounty freely available on her website and iTunes. Tara’s ability to bring lightness to serious subjects along side her capacity to embrace depth and paradox is admirable. If Tara were a band I’d be selling the tee shirts, Tara rocks!

Here’s a very short video to give an impression of the tone and timbre of Tara if you can hang on til the end it promises a giggle! (click on the video to start it playing)

This is the link to Tara Brach’s website and resources

www.tarabrach.com

Habits of Happiness

Its been an interesting week; firstly, I took part in study at Oxford University which involved an MEG brain scan, the research had nothing to do with yoga and meditation yet the doctor did tell me I have very high levels of Alpha brain waves. Alpha waves kick in when our mind and body are completely relaxed and free of stress.

It seems that my brain responds perkily to the long-term practice of yoga and meditation. Whenever I close my eyes in a situation, such as sitting and waiting, I habitually relax the muscles in my face, shoulders and belly and bring my awareness to my breath and then my mind wanders to pleasant daydreams.

Here are some of the benefits of increasing alpha brain waves:

The brain’s thought process is slowed and the mind is clear. The body is completely relaxed, free of all tension and is in a state of wakeful rest.

The alpha brainwave rhythm is generally associated with above average levels of creativity. Alpha brainwave levels are found to be much higher in artists, musicians, and creative thinkers. Creative problem solving is what we need to think of new, creative, innovative ideas for our lives.

High levels of alpha waves are associated with a balanced mood and stable emotions. The alpha brainwave state is associated with a very stable state of mind.

On one of the gorgeous spring days of last week the national press was reminding us that depression is on the up and up. Prescriptions have risen by 43% in the last 4 years apparently, so if you’re not depressed by the recession now the likely hood is according to those figures a possibility.

Yoga beats the blues, when we feel alone, alienated or depressed, we’ve lost our connection to who we really are. A regular yoga practice reconnects us with our true nature, to the wholeness we are beneath the current mood.

Another antidote to being down in the dumps is illustrated here in this inspirational TED talk by Chade-Meng Tan, one of Google’s earliest engineers, Chade-Meng Tan is now Google’s Jolly Good Fellow – the head of personal growth at the groundbreaking search company. The talk includes snippets about the happiest man in the world (as measured by science) Matthieu Ricard, a former biochemist and now a Buddhist monk living in the Himalayas.

Matthieu’s talk on the habits of happiness is well worth the time too. With beautiful photos, amusing anecdotes and fascinating information about the nature and science of the mind.