The Benefits of a Yoga Practice
Regular practice of yoga can change your life in profound ways.
Imagine becoming more:
balanced
centered
coordinated
stronger
more flexible
pain free
Yoga teaches us to transform the body from within. It helps strengthen and tone muscles all the while reducing stress and giving us a sense of calm as GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid) molecules are released into the brain. GABA acts as a calming neurotransmitter that helps reduce signs of stress and nervousness by balancing the brain's response to external stressors. GABA also improves focus and creativity by increasing the production of alpha waves in the brain. In addition to these brain and mood boosting benefits, GABA is also known to be responsible for the regulation of muscle tone and for supporting the production of other hormones that help in the building of muscle.
Regular yoga practice helps facilitate a steady release of GABA. According to the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine a study compared the levels of GABA produced by a group of participants doing yoga for one hour and a group of participants walking for one hour over a 12 week period. The study concluded that the "12-week yoga intervention was associated with greater improvements in mood and anxiety than a metabolically matched walking exercise. It is also the first time that yoga postures have been associated with a positive correlation between acute increases in thalamic GABA levels and improvements in mean scores on mood and anxiety scales." To read more on the study go to https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3111147/
