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Fitness, Weight loss, Yoga and Stretching

Yoga and Meditation

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As people pay more and more attention to their health, yoga movement began to appear on our side, yoga with its movement soothing, remarkable effect by people’s welcome. So what are the benefits of long-term yoga practice?

DO YOU REALLY NEED A YOGA MAT?

Young woman performing simple yoga move in front of laptop following an online class

Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash

When the weather turns cool our appetite is big, inadvertently will consume large amounts of fat, in fact, in the winter the energy needed to power a body and summer is not much different, but the weather’s cool movement is relatively small, yoga through the various curved back, turn around before extrusion, stimulate our glands, adjusting endocrine, make the person produces heat capacity increased, to help us better control appetite, prevent the body fat. During the practice of yoga, people often sweat, and at this time the sweat will expel toxins from the body. Also can through the body twisting pull god, massage and other methods to stimulate the body has the effect of detoxification organs, so regular practice yoga, help to discharge toxins in the body. The quality of our breath often directly affects our mind and body. When we learn how to control and moderate our breath, we can find that we can control our body and mind more effectively. Yoga can help us learn to master our states of mind and eliminate the stresses that we face in our daily lives.

Can yoga help you lose weight?

Some people can have such perplexity, be oneself after practicing yoga, feel oneself slim many, but seem weight did not go down, however, is this why? In fact, speaking of weight loss, mainly to consume calories, and want to consume calories, mainly by reasonable exercise and reasonable diet, but yoga is just a kind of exercise muscle, so it is not so much to achieve the purpose of weight loss, accurate speaking, should be thin.
Another kind of circumstance, is when people in a state such as state of mind is not very good, she’ll want to find a vent, want to go to eat to solve, but if this time to practice yoga, you can transform the outlet, so as to change your state, let you get a better state of mind.
Is yoga have more feelings than any other sport, is running or fitness Kubla khah dripping wet, yoga is one of the most natural fitness ways, through yoga training system can not only change the human body, still can massage visceral organs, improve a person’s status, and so on, the whole people will look brand-new, insist on yoga after a period of time, the figure will be more beautiful, size is also beautiful. So yoga is through which several aspects to change a person, shape your beautiful figure?
1. Burn calories
In doing yoga, although do not need strenuous exercise, but each time the consumption is very big, if a week to adhere to 2-3 times of yoga training, each time in more than 40 minutes, so the effect of weight loss and weight loss is very obvious, calories are consumed, so the fat can not accumulate naturally.

2. Eat a balanced diet

After practicing yoga, yoga can also lead people to the dietary balance, in after a period of time, you will find that the diet habit can be, you will no longer like high-fat high-calorie foods, thus to fruits and vegetables and protein, so your intake of rich nutrition, weight loss is also more obvious, and most importantly, don’t worry about to rebound.

Yoga meditation methods

  1. Learning yoga, from the pranayama of the body to the cleansing of the mind, is a chain reaction. Your thoughts and emotions exist in your body. By exercising and relaxing your body, your body continues to practice yoga, focusing your mind on stretching and strengthening parts. When you relax and focus on stretching, your body produces a feel-good “endorphin” that stabilizes your mood. This releases negative emotions and leads to positive thoughts, leading to a state of “peace of mind” and “unity of body and mind”. Through yoga meditation can also eliminate our eye fatigue, and can promote the blood circulation of the eye, because yoga meditation, often need to close your eyes for a long time, can let our eyes get rest for a long period of time, which makes power be enhanced, and it also can improve our ability to focus of the eyes, at the same time can eliminate we fear in the heart of the world. It is also possible to enter visualization at home at any time. Just find a visual object, such as a crystal, a fishbowl, a potted plant, a picture, etc. These objects help us to focus our attention, gradually eliminate external distractions, and slowly turn inward to experience peace and serenity! Imagine yourself lying on a piece of green grass, soft, continuous, bursts of fragrance blowing. There is not a cloud in the blue sky. The babbling brook, flowing slowly from the side, called not famous wildflowers, competing to open. In the distance, a cow was walking with her calf, and children were frolicking beside her. A cricket was bouncing around in the ground, and the birds in the tree were singing.
  2. Things to note before yoga meditation:
    1. Choose a place where you feel like you can get your mind off the fray, which will help you get into a meditative state.
    2. Choose a regular time of day — early morning and late afternoon are ideal.
    3. Use the same time and place to relax and calm your mind more quickly.
    4. Sit with your back, neck and head on the same level, facing east or north.
    5. During meditation, keep your body warm (wrap a blanket around your body when it’s cool) and guide your mind to remain calm.
    6. Get your breathing on a regular basis — breathe deeply for five minutes, then calm down.
    7. Create a rhythmic breathing pattern — inhale for three seconds, then exhale for three seconds.
    8.When you haven’t completely calmed down, don’t force yourself too much. It doesn’t matter.
    9.After quiet down, let the consciousness stay on a fixed target, which can be in the middle of the brow or heart position.
    10. Get into a meditative state with your chosen meditation technique.
    11.Before the arrival of a very pure state of meditation, don’t force, let the free state continue to exist naturally.
    12.After a period of practice, the free state of mind will slowly disappear and eventually, enter the pure.
Exercises, Fitness, Mental Wellbeing and Motivation, Recovery and Prevention, Yoga and Stretching

PREGNANCY EXERCISES. Where To Start?

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If you are an expectant mum, whether this is your first pregnancy or not, this is an important time in your life. You want to stay healthy and well for yourself and your baby.  And staying active can help you to do exactly this!

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Want to move fast? Jump to the right section below.

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At first, we would suggest you to consider very basics in a relation of exercise and pregnancy. You can visit NHS website to familiarise yourself with some simple exercise tips for expectant mums.

BENEFITS OF STAYING ACTIVE IN PREGNANCY

Physical activity will help you to sleep better, control pregnancy weight gain, improve your mood, just to name few benefits.

Expect to be less tempted to take part in physical activity in your first trimester due to morning sickness and your body getting used to a new way of existing. However if you manage to do some type of activity you will feel miles better for it! Don’t worry if you cannot, most pregnant women are ready to do more in second and third trimester.

START WHERE YOU ARE

Don’t overdo it! Think about your current activity levels. Whether try to maintain these or build up gradually if you are not achieving daily recommended dose of exercise. Always remember to be gentle with yourself, one step at a time.

ENJOYMENT

Make sure you enjoy what you do! You want to increase positive energy in your life. You can try Pregnancy Yoga, swimming or just stick with daily walking. You can get yourself some nice equipment to boost your motivation too.

SOCIALISE

Now, during the Covid-19 pandemic, there are many online classes for pregnant women, a good example being Us Mums programme (East Yorkshire, Hull). Check you local exercise providers and connect with other expectant mums to avoid social isolation. Mental well-being is at least as important as staying physically active! Please read more about this HERE.

PROFESSIONAL ADVICE

Exercise adaptations for each trimester differ. Seek an advice from a fully qualified and experienced pre/post natal instructor to be entirely sure that you are performing exercises in a safe and effective manner, especially if you do home workouts. We would recommend to use REPs registered exercise professionals.

PELVIC FLOOR HEALTH

We cannot stress enough how important it is to take this seriously! Your pelvic floor can be weakened by pregnancy and you don’t want this to happen. In a long run it can cause urinary incontinence and even more serious problems. This is why you MUST include pelvic floor exercises in your daily self-care routine. You will find more information at NHS website and you can find many health professionals, including women’s health physiotherapists, advocating pelvic floor exercises.

Diane Mawer, Clinical Lead for physiotherapy in obstetrics talks to mums in the pelvic health workshop in Hull (Image: Joanna Lovell)

Have you ever before been told to do Pelvic Floor exercises? Please let us know in the comments section below!

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY….

It is baby steps. Don’t rush. Take your time & enjoy this beautiful journey to the motherhood!

Keep an eye on our learn section, more advice about health and exercise in pregnancy coming soon!

Exercises, Fitness, Mental Wellbeing and Motivation, Workouts

The Link Between Exercise and our Mental Well-being

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When we think of health, the first thing that springs to mind is physical health, such as going to the gym or going for a run, we never really associate it with mental health. However, our mental health is just as important as our physical health as it affects how we think, feel, and act. It also harbours how we manage our emotions, stress levels, anxiety, depression, sleep patterns and how we socialise with others in our day to day lives. We don’t typically associate our physical health with our mental health as the link between the two is not easy to recognise, so here are some examples of how the two are intertwined. Furthermore, if you would to find out more on each topic, the link at the top of each section will take you to one of our guides with more in-depth information available.

Stress

Exercise is key for your head and not just your heart as it has been scientifically proven to lower stress levels. As we exercise, our heart rate increases, in turn, this generates an increased production of a hormone from our adrenal glands known as Norepinephrine which plays a significant part in our stress levels. Low Norepinephrine levels are usually linked to high stress, lethargy and low a concentration, therefore, it is clinically advised that we maintain adequate Norepinephrine levels through exercise in order to combat stress-related illnesses such as Asthma, Heart Disease, Obesity and Diabetes.

You can also try deep breathing exercises to reduce stress as they are easy to learn! Here’s how deep breathing exercises work:
1. Breathe in gradually until your lungs feel they’re at full capacity.
2. Hold your breath for a short moment.
3. Now, think to yourself “relax” as you slowly exhale.
4. Repeat each stage five to ten times.

The benefit of deep breathing is that it can be performed at any time, in any place. You should practice deep breathing in your own time and then use it when you start to feel stressed.

Depression and Anxiety

Another benefit that exercise has to offer for our mental well-being is that it reduces depression and anxiety symptoms. When we engage in physical activity, it boosts the feel-good chemical in our body known as an Endorphin. Endorphins decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression by communicating with receptors in our brains responsible for positive emotions. Many doctors recommend that if you are experiencing depression and anxiety symptoms, you should create an exercise routine throughout the week before turning to medication. 

Sleep

There is significant evidence that exercising makes it easier to fall asleep at night as well as increasing your sleep consistency. Moderate exercise, for instance, boosts the amount of slow-wave sleep you experience which gives the brain and body time to rejuvenate over night. Slow wave sleep also helps regulate your built-in alarm clock, known as a circadian rhythm that controls when we feel tired and alert. Secondly, exercise stabilises your mood and helps unwind the mind; the science behind this cognitive process is that as we engage in physical activity, our body temperature increases, creating a soothing and calming effect on our mind.

It is important to remember that exercising too close to sleep can often have a negative effect on your sleep pattern. The rule of thumb is that you should exercise at least one to two hours before going to bed, as exercise causes the brain to stay active which can keep you awake at night.

Brain boost

Last but certainly not least is the relatively unknown link exercise has with mental well-being as it helps boost our brainpower. Many studies found that exercise expands the Hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for memory, learning and the prevention of cognitive decline. Although this benefit is not as well known as the others, it could perhaps be the most important as it involves the brain, one of our most vital organs.

An abundance of advantages, with few costs!

The idea that exercise can improve your mental well-being is especially good news as exercise, in general, is relatively cheap. Exercise does not have to be carried out with expensive equipment such as ab or thigh machines that only work one part of the body; you can do most exercise for free such as a jog or a run, or with only a small initial purchase of some at-home gym equipment. A great idea to keep costs low is by purchasing exercise equipment that has multiple uses:

  • An exercise ball price starts from just £10. They are great for ab workouts; they can be used as a support during weight training activities, cardio exercise and can even be used while watching TV or working on the computer!
  • Resistance Bands typically start at £15 depending on the level of resistance you would like from the band. They are great as you can use them anywhere for shoulder and chest presses, curls, squats, and other exercises that involve pulling and pushing. 
  • Multi-gyms are relatively expensive and may feel like a huge investment, however, overtime, they may save you the money you’d spend on a monthly gym membership. They start at around £350 and allow you to work your entire body with various exercises. Before purchasing a multi-gym, I recommend reading through a buying guide and viewing the different workout plans available when using the equipment.  

So now, you may be asking yourself how much exercise is enough to improve your mental well-being? It is recommended that you exercise at least once per day, as it provides the most benefits to not only your mental health but also your physical health. The exercise you decide to choose is entirely up to you, but you should start by aiming to do either 15 to 20 minutes of vigorous exercise such as a workout using the equipment recommended or 30 to 40 minutes of moderate exercise such as a walk or a brisk jog!

I hope this blog has helped highlight the link between physical health and our mental well-being and set you on your way to an improved lifestyle by lifting yourself up when you start to feel down!