Feeling Good: It’s Not a Stretch
Who wouldn’t want to feel more energized and have a smile on their face all day?
But short of popping some “happy pills,” it seems there’s no easy way. Until now. Enter yoga.
Yep, some simple yoga-style stretches and poses could do the trick. People who did them for 5 weeks reported a lift in their moods and more spring in their steps.
Positive Poses
A type of yoga that focuses on mood-boosting poses seemed to be particularly helpful in raising spirits in a recent study. In fact, people’s moods not only generally improved about halfway through 5 weeks of doing Iyengar yoga, but posers also felt a bit better after class, too. Talk about instant gratification.
More Ways to Smile
If yoga doesn’t fit into your feel-good plans, try one of these better-mental-place lifestyle changes:
Put on your walking shoes. You could start to feel better after just 30 minutes of hoofing it.
Think fish, nuts, and flaxseeds.
Indulge in a snooze. Skimping on sleep opens the door to blue moods.
Don’t lose that loving feeling. Uh, huh.
Finding Your Place on the Mat
You don’t have to jump up and down like you’re on a pogo stick to get fit. There are kinder, gentler ways to exercise, and these methods hail from the East.
Many recent studies have shown that certain exercises originating in Eastern cultures can offer just as many physical and psychological health benefits as the more vigorous exercises that often dominate Western workouts. Even better, these Eastern exercises tend to be easier on the body. For example, the gentle art of t’ai chi exercise not only can help build muscle, but it has been shown to help reduce arthritis symptoms and improve your balance.
Whether your goal is to reduce stress, make your muscles strong and flexible, or boost your weight loss efforts with extra calorie burning, according to recent research you can find what you’re looking for in Eastern-influenced exercise disciplines, such as yoga, t’ai chi, or Qigong.
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