Shirley Archer: Integrative Health, Holistic Wellness, Rethinking health promotion

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YOGA REDUCES STRESS & BOOSTS LIFE QUALITY

EVIDENCE BASED

YOU ONLY NEED TO TRAIN ONCE A WEEK TO GAIN MANY BENEFITS

I totally understand that you’re busy, but finding only 90 minutes per week to practice yoga can provide significant rewards that make it well worth your investment, according to research.

In this study, yoga students who participated in class at least once weekly enjoyed a significant reduction in stress levels and improvement in their quality of life.

Just taking one 90 minute class, designed for stress reduction, over 3 months delivered these benefits to participants:

  • significantly less stress

  • less anxiety

  • less depression

  • fewer physical complaints

  • better mental/emotional quality of life

  • better physical quality of life.

Researchers compared results with another group that practiced twice a week and a group that did no yoga. Interestingly, people who practiced once and twice a week experienced the same level of benefits and more people were able to maintain once weekly practice. The class consisted of back bends, standing postures, forward bends and inversions. Each class concluded with 15 minutes of savasana or deep relaxation.

Mounting evidence shows that the debilitating consequences of excess stress in modern industrialized countries worldwide are a factor in as many as 60% of all physician visits. Stress contributes to heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases, chronic pain, delayed wound healing, depression and cancer. And research has shown that both objective stress and perceived stress are related to shortened telomere length, a biomarker of aging.

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