4 Ways Starting Yoga Today Could Change Your Life Forever

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Life under lockdown is challenging in all sorts of ways. One of the things I am missing the most is my Sunday evening yoga class – from 6.30 ’til 8pm it’s the perfect way to draw a line under one week and commit to starting a new week with good intentions. Like me, many of us are struggling to attain peak productivity when working from home, while others are struggling to cope financially having either lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic or placed on unpaid furlough. Moreover these are dreadful times for all of us. Literally. They’re full of dread. While we may be past the peak of infection, the death toll continues to rise and we continue to feel depressed and powerlessness in the face of both huge loss of life and widespread economic disruption.

But even though the darkest clouds shines a glimmer of hope. Many enterprising people under lockdown have started to develop new skills and habits. One of the most popular of which is taking up yoga from the comfort of their own homes. 

Now is the perfect time to get into yoga

You may well have been considering getting into yoga for some time… but been nervous at the idea of joining a class as a complete newbie. Now is the perfect time to get into yoga because you can learn the basics at home with the right YouTube channel and some very affordable equipment like a mat and a couple of blocks. Not only can yoga be the perfect cure for the sadness and anxiety we feel under lockdown, it can change your life beyond the lockdown in a number of ways…

It can provide you with a natural high when you need it most

Feeling down in the dumps? Feeling sluggish and lacking energy or motivation? Yoga can give you just the pick-me-up you need. The “yoga high” is an especially potent endorphin rush which can boost your mood, your energy and your immune function.  

It can help you to clean up your diet

In scary and uncertain times, it’s only natural that we want to gravitate towards comfort foods as we raid nearby supermarkets for fatty, sugary and salty snacks or order our evening meals on Deliveroo. However, the fleeting satisfaction that unhealthy food options give often gives way to guilt and frustration. Yoga helps you to re-frame the way you think about food. Check out these yogi diet tips. A healthy and ethical diet can give you a healthy and ethical outlook. 

It makes you look and feel younger

Yoga eases stress and anxiety, curbing the body’s inflammatory response in stressful situations. Not only can this help us to sleep easily at night and protect us from a range of chronic illnesses, it helps us to look and feel younger. Even if you’re still very young now, yoga can help you to retain your youthful looks and attitudes. 

It can improve mental focus, concentration and memory

Finally, the benefits of yoga fgo far beyond the physical. It can even help you in your work, career and academia, too. Just 20 minutes of yoga asanas / poses every day can boost your brain in a number of ways, improving concentration, allowing you to focus better and making it easier to retain new information.