Movement is Medicine!
This might sound strange, but its true!
Hippocrates taught that Food is medicine! This is definitely true; but why aren't we focused more on movement?!
Did you know Yoga, Chi Gong, and Tai Chi have been given an almost "supernatural" reputation by our ancestors?
Here is just some of the reasons why!
Benefits of a Movement Practice:
Increased Mindfulness - Leading to healthier brain function, and a stronger Mind-Muscle Connection.
Both the Central Nervous System and Peripheral Nervous System are STRENGTHENED by a Yoga Practice.
Stronger Muscles - And not just the big ones - A movement based class is going to lead to stronger, healthier muscles with functional patterns.
Yoga doesn't just strengthen your antagonists or agonist muscles, but also the synergistic, stabilizer and neutralizer muscles as-well, leading to a healthy and balanced system that functions smoothly.
Deeper Breathing - Your lungs are not responsible for the movement of your inhalation or exhalation. The actual process of respiration comes from the movement of a number of muscles. And I'm not just talking about the Diaphragm.
We have about a dozen muscles responsible for assisting in respiration and when you are not breathing properly, your body gets used to this slow, shallow breath, and these muscles become weak and tight like any other unused muscle.
By Breathing deeply, you are stretching + Strengthening these muscles guaranteeing your lungs a healthy future! Not only that you are stretching into the cartilage in your rib cage leading to healthy bones!
Circulation of Bodily Fluids - Did you know the body is 60% water? Out of that 60%, how much do you think is blood?
Only 8% of our bodily fluid is blood, by that calculation we have TWICE as much lymph as we have blood, and even more interstitial fluid and intra-cellular fluid than lymph. Considering the Circulatory system is the only system which has a direct pump (the heart), how do all these other fluids keep moving and circulating through the body? Via the movement of the Diaphragm and Skeletal Muscles.
Combining breath + movement is a great way to circulate the lymph and other fluids throughout the body. The bodily fluids have one of the biggest contributions to homeostasis in the body, and are in many ways literally our "life force", so movement work such as yoga or chi gong is helping us to circulate this "life force" through the body increasing health and longevity, renewing us and preventing stagnation.
Increased Balance - And did you know Balance is NOT just about standing on 1 foot? By increasing your balance you are also helping to balance the left and right hemispheres of the brain - Strengthening not only your body but your mind as well!
Increased Relaxation + Stress Reduction - As your mind begins to relax, your muscles will also relax allowing increased range of motion in your joints. Actually stretching a tight muscle is not really stretching at all! It is true that it isn't the body that is stiff, but the mind!
By relaxing the mind, the proprioceptors in our body begin to send signals to relax the muscles, allowing us to stretch muscles effortlessly, increasing communication, range of motion, reducing pain and lowering cortisol levels. Cortisol, the stress hormone, has been linked to everything from aging to cancer! By relaxing the body and mind, cortisol levels drop leading to an overall sense of health and well being!
Movement also keeps the vital organs in healthy functioning, digestion regular, and sleep deep!
Stay tuned for more information from Dan The Yoga Man!
There can be no question that Movement is Medicine! And it is as important as the food we eat!
