Weight Loss and Yoga

[ivhild...@yahoo.com]

Yoga can be a fun and fulfilling part of an overall weight management
strategy with the added benefits of stress reduction, control over
cravings and impulses, even spiritual growth.
Or, as is too often the case, yoga can lead to pain and joint injury.
Yoga-related injuries have grown exponentially over the last few
years. This is due in part to the rapid spread and "Americanization"
of yoga -- it is now socially acceptable, even en vogue in many parts
of the country to practice yoga, whereas just two decades ago yoga was
seen as suspect, even cultish.
It could be argued, however, that yoga, intended to be a spiritual
practice, should have no injuries whatsoever.
Two factors are to blame in the rise of yoga-related injuries:


Yoga instructors with inadequate training. Many gyms employ yoga
teachers with no more than a long weekend of formal education in the
instruction of yoga.


Students overeager to "achieve" poses their bodies aren't ready for.
As a culture we are obsessed by being more successful, rich, and
beautiful. Unfortunately this spills over into yoga when students try
to force their bodies into the poses they see models "performing" on
magazine covers.

The problem is compounded by weight. A person struggling with obesity
or even just a few pounds over optimal weight has more stress on the
joints already. Force the body into a pose it's not accustomed to --
or enter or exit the pose unsafely -- and you will soon have an injury
on your hands.

One of the first precepts of yoga is the Sanskrit word ahimsa, which
most often is translated as "non-violence." It's ironic that yoga is
used sometimes as a tool of violence against the self, when someone
strives to be someone else with a different body, rather than accept,
love, and nurture themselves into health.
It doesn't have to be this way.
First, find a teacher with at least a 200-hour certification, minimum.
Next it's important to develop a yoga practice that's suitable for
your body as it is today -- not how you'd like it to be. With that in
mind, yoga can be a very powerful tool for weight management.
Use yoga to breathe more deeply and simply relax. Yogic breathing
(pranayama) increases the delivery of oxygen to the cells, allowing
the organs to function as they should. This will give you more energy.
Deep breathing also triggers the "relaxation response," reducing
stress and the production of cortisol. Cortisol is one of the "fight
or flight" hormones that your body produces when it gets stressed --
like when a tiger is chasing you, or its modern equivalent: traffic
and work. Overproduction of cortisol can lead to damage in the
cardiovascular system as well as -- get this -- weight gain.
Conscious relaxation, as opposed to unconscious relaxation like
sitting in front of the tv, activates the parasympathetic nervous
system and the creative side of the brain. This allows you to explore
creative possibilities for your life, maybe showing you choices you
didn't know you had and new ways to meet life's many challenges.
Secondly, explore yoga postures, also called asanas, slowly and easily
while your body builds strength and flexibility. There's no need to
force yourself into anything. Take your time.
The experience is what is most important, not what you look like in
the mirror. When your body becomes stronger and more flexible, your
mind and emotional well-being will become strong and flexible, too. A
daily practice of yoga could very well open the door to self-
acceptance. It's a spiritual awakening.
When you accept yourself as the beautiful expression of the divine
(however you define it) that you already are, self-nurturing will
automatically arise. Profound and lasting change -- including weight
loss -- can occur much more easily when we accept who we are, not when
we reject and commit violence against
ourselves.
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