There’s no better time than National Yoga Awareness Month! 

WHY DO YOU MOVE?

When you think of starting a new exercise regimen, what’s the first motivation that comes to mind? Typically, it’s to gain some sort of physical benefit — whether that’s to lose weight, to gain muscle, to get faster, or perhaps to overcome an injury. Although these are compelling motivators (and it’s easy to hyper-focus on the physical outcomes), our exercise routines also have the power to leave us feeling calm, focused, and alert for the greater aspects of life!

WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH YOGA?

While all types of movement can help improve your overall health, yoga is an especially fantastic way to unlock the physical AND emotional benefits of exercise. Not only does it improve your flexibility through stretching, but it also enhances your posture, re-centers your sense of balance, and increases you energy levels. Additionally, yoga can help you re-gain mental focus, ease stress and anxiety, and ultimately re-establish an emotional equilibrium. The best part? You can reap these benefits no matter the style or intensity of your practice!

How quickly can you enjoy these positive effects? According to a 2020 study published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, just an 8 week intervention of yoga and meditation was found to be a useful treatment for both chronic pain and improved measurements of depression! Moreover, the physical practice of yoga (asanas) has been shown to increase brain activity specifically in the amygdala and prefrontal cortex, which are responsible for heightening awareness and focus. This is why yoga has not only become a staple in practically every gym, but has also grown in popularity as a supplemental health aid prescribed by doctors and therapists alike.

LET’S RAISE AWARENESS!

Here at Exos, our coaches know the value that yoga and meditation practices bring to someone’s life. Since September is National Yoga Awareness Month, we’re excited to showcase the myriad ways you can incorporate yoga into both your exercise and overall healthcare routine.

Last month, we detailed the blueprint of our EXOS Gameplan, where we encouraged focus on establishing daily movements and simple sleep practices. However, to quickly recap, Gameplans are the activities that Exos recommends for a person and/or team to influence functional state and develop performance capacity. When creating an individual’s Gameplan, we consider Training, Fueling, Sleep, Reflection, Regulation, and Daily Movement so that we can have a more complete and holistic view of an individual. Not all areas need or should be modified or optimized at once, rather we suggest prioritizing areas of easiest implementation first for sustained upgrades.

THE CHALLENGE IS ON!

This month we are highlighting daily upgrades in both Reflection and Regulation in honor of National Yoga Month. Adding a yoga class to your weekly routine could be a fun new way to support your needs for reflection and regulation. This September, our challenge to you is to pick at least one reflective practice to commit to for seven days in a row. Once you’re successful with this, then try stacking on a regulation practice to your daily routine. When navigating through your reflective practice, observe how your regulation tactic affects your mood and routine. To keep this discovery fun, try to stay curious through the process — no matter what you choose to do, you’re guaranteed to learn something new!