Is Yoga worth all the hype?

We read time and time again that Yoga is good for mental health, the NHS should prescribe it, children should be doing it in schools, the list goes on… So is it really worth committing some of our precious free time to doing it? 

Abso-bloody-lutely! 

Yoga is not just for hippies, bendy middle class westerners or rich ladies in their 20s and 30s. It is for EveryBODY and all bodies! If you can breath and have a body, you can do yoga. 

The word ‘yoga’ can be translated to ‘yoke’ or to ‘bind’. To bind body and breath. This is why it is the most inclusive movement practise you can do.  

Yoga has roots that date back 5000 years ago in India. Yoga was practised to help men sit comfortably for breathing and meditation work. The physical poses or asanas used to be the minor part of the practise. As it migrated from east to west, the physical postures have become the major part of the practise that we often see and associate with today.

So why do I know that Yoga is worth all the hype?

1.) It has the ability to bring a greater range of movement to our body and joints, meaning happy and free movement. 

2.) It can increase respiratory health, and without oxygen, we can’t keep living! Our habits of sitting down and moving minimally, can play havoc with our breathing, causing shallowness and and a decrease of oxygen. Yoga brings attention to breathing and promotes full and even breaths. The more oxygen, the more energised we can feel. 

3.) It creates community and connections between like minded people. Loneliness can be one of the biggest contributors to mental health problems, so being part of a group can give purpose and reason to people’s lives.  

4.) Anxiety and depression can be exacerbated by worrying about what has happened in the past and worrying about what could happen in the future. Yoga helps train our bodies and minds to notice the small things and remain in the present. 

I have seen first hand the magic that yoga can have in transforming people’s lives and wellbeing. The more we can notice the small things and live in the present, the happier and more content we can be and the more fulfilled and happy ours life will be. 

If you haven’t  already, go and see what all the hype is about! It may be the best thing you have ever done. It was for me 

All the best,

Charlotte – Founder of Antara Yoga