Yoga Can Make Your Brain Work Better
Lindsay Dyment started doing yoga online three years ago when Mohawk College began offering free yoga and meditation sessions at the start of the pandemic. Linda Rourke, certified yoga instructor, Mohawk Alumni and employee, volunteered to lead the sessions.
With so much change happening all around her, Lindsay who works as Alumni Coordinator at the college, decided it was time to make a change for herself, jumped into yoga, and hasn’t looked back.
“Morning yoga three times a week has been the best gift I have given myself! I get up walk the dog, get things organized for work and then do yoga! It is part of my morning routine. Yoga helps keep me balanced - mentally and physically. It has taught me to slow down and to focus on myself and appreciate the things around me.”
The best part about the zoom yoga sessions is you keep cameras off and just follow along. No stressing over getting to a studio or making sure you have all the trendy yoga fashion. Just log in and do it for yourself.
“I can honestly say I feel mentally and physically stronger since starting my yoga journey. I encourage you to find the time for you and join us 3 mornings a week! Linda makes it easy to follow and unintimidating.”
As for research to support the benefits of yoga, there have been many studies linking yoga to better mental and physical health. With its emphasis on breathing practices and meditation, it is not a surprise that yoga brings mental benefits such as reduced anxiety and depression. What may surprise you is it actually makes your brain work better.
According to an article published through the Harvard Medical School, studies using MRI scans and other brain imaging technology linked people who did yoga on a regular basis with a thicker cerebral cortex, the area of the brain responsible for information processing, as well as improvement in the hippocampus, the area of the brain involved in learning and memory.
Science has shown that these areas of the brain typically shrink as you age, but long time yoga practitioners showed less shrinkage than those who did no yoga. This makes the suggestion that yoga may counteract age-related declines in memory and other cognitive skills.
Regardless there are countless studies linking physical activity to improved mental and physical well-being.
So come zoom in and try it. Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 6:45 to 7:30am. You can arrive late and go early.
https://mohawkcollege.zoom.us/s/99528043000
| Passcode: 562590 |
For a glimpse at the style of yoga being taught click on the video link below.