I have been recommending yoga to my clients for some time now. There is lots of research which shows that it helps reduce anxiety. I am keen on it because of the breathing techniques. Shallow rapid breathing is implicated in anxiety and panic attacks and yoga can teach you deep diaphragmatic breathing, the sort actors and singers use. But as well as that, new research shows that stretching exercises, such as with yoga, increases the level of antioxidants in our blood, protecting us from cell damage. Antioxidants are also found in those superfoods - essentially any bright coloured fruit or veg. So for all these good reasons, read what Caroline Smart, a yoga teacher in Glasgow, has to say about yoga.
I was very lucky to discover yoga when I was 17. A TV series in the 70s called Yoga for Health hooked me and now, over 30 years on, I am a trained Yoga Scotland teacher. The great thing about yoga is that it is a journey to good health and it offers many different types of path to get there. May be you just want a gentle incline. Or perhaps you are after the challenge of a steep climb. You need to decide which path suits you best. Ultimately the goal is well being (both of body and probably more importantly, of mind). Sometimes people are put off by the strange sounding names: Iyengar, Bikram, Ashtanga, Dru. These are just the different teaching methods and may refer to the name of the teacher who inspired it (Iyengar) or the style (Ashtanga). See the glossary below for further information. All these types of yoga are essentially hatha yoga which means your route to total wellbeing is through a physical approach. You may have already come across some of the poses: cobra, tree, mountain, etc. Many are named after the natural world and the shape the pose makes.
Practising the poses gets your body a bit more supple and under your control. This doesn’t mean getting your feet hooked behind the back of your head stuff. A back bend might be simply lying on your tummy and lifting your head and shoulders off the ground. An upside down pose could be lying on the ground with your legs leaning up against the wall (believe me, this is very refreshing!).
And yoga can help you quieten your mind. Anyone out there with grasshopper concentration? No, it’s not a yoga technique! It is probably where most of us are today with the hundreds of distractions that fill our minds with a ticker tape of worrying thoughts. The quickest way to still an overworked mind is simply by turning your attention to your breath. Just focus on the breath being drawn in and out through your nostrils. Feel it on the inside of the nostrils as it enters the body, and then, when you are ready to breath out, feel it as it leaves the body. See? Everything else has been blocked out. Yoga teaches you how to fill your lungs with nourishing oxygen-rich air and then how to empty them completely.
Many of the problems associated with hyperventilation and panic attacks come from bad habits in breathing. Maybe over the years and leading a stressful life you have forgotten how to breathe properly and any breathing takes place in the top of your lungs. Yoga teaches how to relearn good habits. Visualise a jug filling a glass full of water. As you pour the water in, first the bottom of the glass fills, then the middle, then the top. To empty the glass, first the water comes out of the top, then the middle and then the bottom. So it is with belly breathing. As you fill the bottom of the lungs with air, it forces the diaphragm down leaving no room for the belly except to push outwards. As you empty the lungs and the diaphragm is drawn back into place, so your belly is drawn back into its usual position.
Your experience can often depend on the teacher. It may take a few tries to find both the style of yoga and teacher that are right for you. It is wise to find out whether the class is right for you - beginner or advanced.
For classes with me here in Glasgow, email ninianetta@yahoo.co.uk. For hatha yoga classes in Scotland visit www.yogascotland.org.uk.
Hatha: Classes with this name are probably more suited to beginners who want a gentle introduction to the poses and basic breathing techniques.
Dru: A graceful form of yoga based on flowing movement using the breath. Good for beginners.
Vinyasa: Relatively fast paced combining breath and movement. Salute to the Sun often introduces the class.
Bikram: A sequence of 26 poses carried out in sauna-like condition so that toxins are sweated out of the body. Better for advanced students who know the poses.
Iyengar: Usually quite physically challenging, using props such as belt and blocks. Often suited to men because of the physical strength aspect.
Ashtanga: Power yoga. Even more physical than Iyengar. Suits people with lots of energy to burn and who want a body like Madonna’s.
If you get deeply involved in yoga you may be interested in its traditional beliefs. For example, that yoga breathing directs energy (prana) around the body to ensure that the main energy channel travelling up the spine is free of blockages. To move energy upwards, there are 7 wheels (chakras) located from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. These wheels are also associated with emotional states: any blockages (or, indeed, too open a chakra) can cause problems. A blockage in the throat chakra (associated with communication) might mean that you find it difficult to express what you feel. Too open a heart centre (associated with compassion) might mean that you are taking on everyone else’s problems and becoming overwhelmed by them.
While these beliefs might not fit in with your view of the world, research does show that yoga practice reduces anxiety by reducing the levels of cortisol in the blood. Well worth a try.
I was very lucky to discover yoga when I was 17. A TV series in the 70s called Yoga for Health hooked me and now, over 30 years on, I am a trained Yoga Scotland teacher. The great thing about yoga is that it is a journey to good health and it offers many different types of path to get there. May be you just want a gentle incline. Or perhaps you are after the challenge of a steep climb. You need to decide which path suits you best. Ultimately the goal is well being (both of body and probably more importantly, of mind). Sometimes people are put off by the strange sounding names: Iyengar, Bikram, Ashtanga, Dru. These are just the different teaching methods and may refer to the name of the teacher who inspired it (Iyengar) or the style (Ashtanga). See the glossary below for further information. All these types of yoga are essentially hatha yoga which means your route to total wellbeing is through a physical approach. You may have already come across some of the poses: cobra, tree, mountain, etc. Many are named after the natural world and the shape the pose makes.
Practising the poses gets your body a bit more supple and under your control. This doesn’t mean getting your feet hooked behind the back of your head stuff. A back bend might be simply lying on your tummy and lifting your head and shoulders off the ground. An upside down pose could be lying on the ground with your legs leaning up against the wall (believe me, this is very refreshing!).
And yoga can help you quieten your mind. Anyone out there with grasshopper concentration? No, it’s not a yoga technique! It is probably where most of us are today with the hundreds of distractions that fill our minds with a ticker tape of worrying thoughts. The quickest way to still an overworked mind is simply by turning your attention to your breath. Just focus on the breath being drawn in and out through your nostrils. Feel it on the inside of the nostrils as it enters the body, and then, when you are ready to breath out, feel it as it leaves the body. See? Everything else has been blocked out. Yoga teaches you how to fill your lungs with nourishing oxygen-rich air and then how to empty them completely.
Many of the problems associated with hyperventilation and panic attacks come from bad habits in breathing. Maybe over the years and leading a stressful life you have forgotten how to breathe properly and any breathing takes place in the top of your lungs. Yoga teaches how to relearn good habits. Visualise a jug filling a glass full of water. As you pour the water in, first the bottom of the glass fills, then the middle, then the top. To empty the glass, first the water comes out of the top, then the middle and then the bottom. So it is with belly breathing. As you fill the bottom of the lungs with air, it forces the diaphragm down leaving no room for the belly except to push outwards. As you empty the lungs and the diaphragm is drawn back into place, so your belly is drawn back into its usual position.
Your experience can often depend on the teacher. It may take a few tries to find both the style of yoga and teacher that are right for you. It is wise to find out whether the class is right for you - beginner or advanced.
For classes with me here in Glasgow, email ninianetta@yahoo.co.uk. For hatha yoga classes in Scotland visit www.yogascotland.org.uk.
Hatha: Classes with this name are probably more suited to beginners who want a gentle introduction to the poses and basic breathing techniques.
Dru: A graceful form of yoga based on flowing movement using the breath. Good for beginners.
Vinyasa: Relatively fast paced combining breath and movement. Salute to the Sun often introduces the class.
Bikram: A sequence of 26 poses carried out in sauna-like condition so that toxins are sweated out of the body. Better for advanced students who know the poses.
Iyengar: Usually quite physically challenging, using props such as belt and blocks. Often suited to men because of the physical strength aspect.
Ashtanga: Power yoga. Even more physical than Iyengar. Suits people with lots of energy to burn and who want a body like Madonna’s.
If you get deeply involved in yoga you may be interested in its traditional beliefs. For example, that yoga breathing directs energy (prana) around the body to ensure that the main energy channel travelling up the spine is free of blockages. To move energy upwards, there are 7 wheels (chakras) located from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. These wheels are also associated with emotional states: any blockages (or, indeed, too open a chakra) can cause problems. A blockage in the throat chakra (associated with communication) might mean that you find it difficult to express what you feel. Too open a heart centre (associated with compassion) might mean that you are taking on everyone else’s problems and becoming overwhelmed by them.
While these beliefs might not fit in with your view of the world, research does show that yoga practice reduces anxiety by reducing the levels of cortisol in the blood. Well worth a try.
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