But First, Yoga
But First, Yoga
New science continues to confirm what ancient Vedic priests knew 5,000 years ago: yoga is good for your body and mind. Plus, a special podcast featuring Allison!
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Hello, A & P readers! Allison here today. I am so excited to be sharing this issue of Age and Prosper with you because we are talking about one of my great loves. No, not Tom, though he’s great and all. No, not cheese. I’m talking about YOGA! Swoon!
Yoga is not new. Although there is little consensus on yoga's exact chronology or origins other than its development in ancient India, the word “yoga” first appears in the Rig Veda, an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns used by Brahmans, the Vedic priests, written between 1500 and 1200 BCE. The word “yoga” is derived from the Sanskrit root “yuj,” meaning “to yoke” or “to unite.” The practice aims to create union between body, mind and spirit, as well as between the individual self and universal consciousness.
I know, blah blah blah. You either know what yoga is, or you think you know what yoga is. Let’s talk about what it does. Because what it does is, well, almost everything.
Above, a portrait Tom took of Allison with the tree of life projected onto her face.
Numerous contemporary scientific studies show yoga’s benefits in the realms of arthritis, osteopenia, balance issues, oncology, women’s health, chronic pain and more. I’m talking weight loss, increased energy, immune function, even smoking cessation, people! It’s true: recent studies in 2020 and 2022 have shown that people trying to quit smoking experienced a greater craving reduction and inhibitory control with less physical and cognitive effort after yoga than they did following aerobic exercise or a wellness education session.
And we haven’t even talked about the mental health benefits of the practice yet. Mindfulness is, admittedly, a modern buzzword, freshly commodified and pushed at us from all angles (I’m resisting the urge to launch into a tirade about mom influencers right now; you’re welcome). But mindfulness, or living with intention and a focus on being present, is a powerful tool for mental health. Trust me, I know.
I recently had the honor of being interviewed by Kate Doran, yoga teacher extraordinaire and owner of Savannah Power Yoga, where I practice. Kate hosts a podcast called Stories from the Mat, where she talks with practitioners about the transformative power of yoga, and she invited me to share my yoga journey and why my practice means so much to me. I invite you to listen, on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. I speak frankly about my experience with motherhood, anxiety, grief and more. Spoiler: yoga keeps me sane.
Above, thumbnail of Allison with her good friend and yoga teacher, Lauren Purvis, who got Allison back into yoga last year after a long hiatus. Listen for the full story.
Don’t want to take my word for it? I don’t blame you. Luckily for you, this is Age and Prosper, and we like proof (and pudding). Studies have shown that yoga can ease symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and insomnia because the practice encourages you to slow the breath and focus on the present, shifting the balance from the sympathetic nervous system and the flight-or-fight response to the parasympathetic system and the relaxation response.
It’s not just in your head: yoga lowers breathing and heart rate, decreases blood pressure, lowers cortisol levels, and increases blood flow to the intestines and vital organs. Plus, dopamine! Like any physical exercise, yoga gets the good stuff pumping to the brain. A recent study out of England has shown that yoga showed greater reductions in depressive symptoms than treatment as usual and attention control, and that greater reductions in depressive symptoms were associated with higher frequency of yoga sessions per week.
Above, Kate Doran, owner of Savannah Power Yoga, taking a flight in crow pose.
And since no Age and Prosper is complete without a nod to longevity, how’s this for you, lifted from this Harvard Health Publishing article: “Studies using MRI scans and other brain imaging technology have shown that people who regularly did yoga had a thicker cerebral cortex (the area of the brain responsible for information processing) and hippocampus (the area of the brain involved in learning and memory) compared with non-practitioners. These areas of the brain typically shrink as you age, but the older yoga practitioners showed less shrinkage than those who did no yoga. This suggests that yoga may counteract age-related declines in memory and other cognitive skills.”
Indeed, the scientific validation of yoga’s value in health care is such that the U.S. Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs have been working with the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) and the National Institutes of Health to examine how yoga might be used to benefit service members and veterans.
As always, you do you. But first, do yoga. What are you waiting for?
Here are the current top scientific backed benefits of yoga:
This Harvard Study proposes yoga improves frailty by incorporating yoga into routines which can enhance both walking speed and ability to rise from a chair. These two factors are typically linked with a reduced risk of frailty and an increased likelihood of living a longer life.
This article from Longevity Live showcases that even online yoga is beneficial if you can’t make it to a class near you. Here is one of the top, free YouTube Yoga Instructors, Yoga with Adrienne.
This article from Eat This Not That writes about how the practice of yoga can have significant effects on your health and longevity, as it improves immune function, overall wellness, and lifespan.
Until next week, Age and Prosper! Namaste.