Green Yoga and Yams

Do you like yoga? Would you try it in a class? Could you try it in your home? Will you try it with a friend?

Dr Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham inspired a silly photo shoot with which my boys were happy to help and participate. I didn’t realize until I googled yoga and green eggs and ham that it is, in fact, a popular book used to engage kids in yoga through a series of fun postures. A friend suggested I change the 'ham' to 'yams'. It was relevant on a number of levels, not least of all because of I have tried yams in a variety of preparations and... I have yet to fall in love with them. Without further ado: our fun.

Would you try it on a boat? Will you try it over a moat?

Here is our tiny moat! Our boat picture didn't work out so well :)

Might you try it on a rock? Could you try it on the dock?

Will you do yoga in a tree? Upside-down on a deck?

With your nieces, with your children?

My younger son called this "lizard on a rock pose"

We had fun with the pictures and poses – there were plenty of silly, off balance and vetoed pictures.

However, the goal of my post today was to briefly address the health benefits of yoga as it applies to mental and physical health, regardless of your age, body type or size, or flexibility.

Yoga is an ancient Indian mind-body practice with increasing popularity and practice in the Western world. The word is derived from an ancient term that is said to mean “union” – likely of the individual spirit with the divine, or also, the mind with the body. The meditative aspect of yoga can be a spot of hesitation for some, but yoga, meditation and mindfulness (the act of simply being aware), have been studied for a variety of conditions including, but not limited to: anxiety in children and adults, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and quality of life among cancer patients. The research is promising, and more is on the horizon. In addition, these practices generally carry much lower risk than pharmaceuticals used to treat these health issues and can be used in conjunction with medication and/or psychological and behavior therapies to promote mental wellness and healing.

Mindful practices, such as awareness of breathing, yoga, meditation, etc., are the most important foundation for managing the stress and anxiety of daily living. I love these quotes from a couple of my favorite authors:

“Smile, breathe, and go slowly” – Thich Nhat Hahn

“When you lose touch with your inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself. When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world.” - Eckhart Tolle

For what it's worth, I still struggle with finding stillness.

The physical act of yoga, movement through various postures, can increase strength and flexibility, and is another popular reason for the practice. The evidence is a little more concrete when it comes to yoga’s physical benefits, including flexibility and balance. In addition, older adults benefit from yoga therapy in the form of increased balance and mobility as well as some promising research on cognitive function in older adults with cognitive impairment.

With the ever-expanding certified yoga teacher training courses available, yoga classes can be found almost anywhere: your gym, your community rec center, local studios.

It can be intimidating to start and sometimes expensive, especially in the case of a small yoga studio. So start slow, get a mat or a towel and some device to find yourself a free web based beginner video. I love www.doyogawithme.com (no financial relationship to disclose), but there are many out there. They have plenty of beginner courses of varied lengths and they explain how to do modifications so you can do poses safely and without injury. Although, this is one reason practicing with a teacher in a class setting might be a better place to start if you’re uncertain or if you have any known injury or chronic pain.

There is so, so much I could say, but… more for another post.

As a teaser, and something that completely excites the nerdy scientist in me, yoga and some other forms of exercise have been shown to reduce blood levels of inflammatory markers. Inflammation in the body is the root cause of countless illnesses, to some extent, 'the root of all bodily evil.'