Category Archives: Yoga Stretching

Yoga stretching poses, yoga stretching exercise, yoga stretching benefits, yoga stretching for back pain and runners.

Why should you try yoga stretching for runners?

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Some people may think that yoga stretching poses are for people who don't participate in vigorous exercise, and they would be wrong. If you enjoy participating in contact sports or are training for a marathon, you should consider looking into yoga stretching for runners. Practicing yoga can help you excel at other sports, which is why, no matter what forms of exercise you usually do, you should give yoga a try. 

CNN published an article explaining that runners often end up with injuries, especially as they get older. The news source suggested that one way that people may be able to combat injuries to their hamstrings or other parts of their body is to learn to stretch better, and yoga is the perfect avenue to do that. 

Furthermore, Runner's World magazine recommends that people who enjoy running practice yoga regularly to increase their flexibility, which may help them have a better range of motion in their joints that will help keep them from getting injured. 

For all of these reasons, if you love running, it may be time to sign up for a yoga class. 

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The best yoga stretching poses for anxiety relief

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If you're feeling stressed out, you should consider practicing yoga stretching poses that have been shown to help relieve anxiety. Yoga combines exercise and meditation techniques to help relax both your body and mind, which is why you should consider looking into yoga stretching if you're overwhelmed. Recently, The Huffington Post explained a little more about which yoga stretching poses are best if you're feeling anxious. 

"Yoga helps us slow down for a moment and tune into the breath. Simply the focus on one thing – which is the very definition of meditation – allows us to decompress," Terri Kennedy, Ph.D., registered yoga teacher, told The Huffington Post. "The actual asanas [poses] release tension in different ways, and help certain parts of the body."

Kennedy recommended trying the calming child's pose, which involves kneeling and stretching the body as though you're bowing. This position can quiet the mind and ease stress.

Yahoo! states that if you're really a beginner, you may want to start with the corpse pose, which involves simply being spread out on the ground. According to the news source, this pose relaxes the entire body. 

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Three benefits of yoga stretching

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If you're the type of person who likes pumping iron in the gym, you may have overlooked yoga stretching in the past. However, yoga is becoming an increasingly popular way to stay fit and limber these days, and you might want to think about signing up for a class. Here are three yoga stretching benefits to keep in mind if you're still on the fence.

Healthy heart
Cardio exercise is important for weight management, but it also can have a significant impact on your heart as well. Yoga stretches are a great way to boost blood circulation, reduce high blood pressure and lessen the chance of heart disease and heart attacks.

Muscle pains
All those hours in the gym can really take a toll on your muscles. If you've been feeling particularly achy lately, you'll be happy to know what yoga exercises can target and relieve pain in specific muscle groups like the neck, back and shoulders.

Increased flexibility
If you like participating in organized sports leagues for football, baseball or hockey, yoga is the perfect way to stay loose and limber before a game. Increased flexibility can boost your speed and agility as well as strengthen muscles that your usual workout plan may have overlooked.

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Yoga stretching benefits men more than they may realize

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Nearly 4.4 million American men practice yoga, based on a survey conducted by the Yoga Journal. But according to FOX Providence's The Rhode Show, this number could (and maybe should) be a lot higher. The news source listed some of the many yoga stretching benefits for men – which is especially apropos right now, during Men's Health Week.

First and foremost, the holistic regimen helps men loosen up, instructor Kelly O'Connell told the news source. She explained that guys do far less to stay limber, compared to women, even though they are much more likely to have tight tendons and stiff, knotted muscles.

"They get tight in their shoulders, their chest and their hips," she told the news source. "They do a lot of repetitive sports, men tend to like to do a certain type of sport, just one, and they can get injuries sometimes with those sports."

She explained that yoga, more than any other "sport," is perfect for the kind of chronic pain management that many men need.

Furthermore, the mind-body program can reduce stress and improve cardiovascular fitness, two things that plenty of American males could certainly use more of.

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Yoga stretching for runners may lengthen active racing career

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Every year, it seems like more people decide to get in shape by running, or improve their mind-body connection with yoga. But did you know that these two exercise regimens can be mutually beneficial? That's right – with yoga stretching for runners, everyone from the casual jogger to the hardcore marathoner can improve their stride and avoid injury.

The latter yoga stretching benefit – namely, reducing the risk of strains or sprains – is pretty important, at that. According to an article published in the Regina Leader-Post, holistic poses and gentle stretches may significantly extend a runner's career.

The news source explained that small injuries, like pulled muscles, can take joggers off the road for weeks at a time, which can in turn affect their ability to stay fit.

Of course, larger injuries – such as worn-out joints or torn tendons – can leave runners out of commission for months. While yoga cannot necessarily prevent such problems, it can certainly reduce the everyday wear and tear that runners are prone to.

On the flipside of things, jogging can increase leg and core strength, giving yoga practitioners better endurance for those tough-to-hold poses.

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Can I use yoga stretching for back pain? All evidence points to yes

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Four out of five Americans suffer from back pain at some point in their lives, according to the National Institutes of Health. This makes back pain one of the most common medical conditions in existence. It also underscores the need for effective pain management techniques.

If you use yoga stretching for back pain, you're in luck: According to a newly released medical review, the holistic mind-body system is provably effective for lower back aches.

The author, an expert in preventative medicine from the University of California, San Diego, explained that several studies published in 2011 have bolstered the idea that yoga can ease back pain.

In particular, two large, randomized, UK-based investigations determined that weekly yoga classes can reduce lower back pain even as they improve flexibility and quality of life. As a bonus, these studies found that this alternative treatment for back pain entails very few adverse side effects.

So if you're on the fence about trying a Dahn Yoga class, especially one that's dedicated to spinal or neurological issues, hop off it already! At your local community center, there's a free slot – and a good teacher – and a pleasant group – and a calming class environment – all waiting for you.

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Naked yoga stretching poses? Um, no thank you

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New stories about yoga meditation techniques appear in the headlines every day, thanks in part to the holistic system's many positive effects for the body and mind. Yoga can do everything from relieving muscular tension to helping the body maintain an even temperature – but that doesn't mean you need to strip down to your skin to get the full effect.

Yet, that's exactly what one studio in Park Slope, Brooklyn, encourages its enthusiasts to do. According to the Huffington Post, the center in question teaches nude yoga stretching poses for men. Just men, apparently.

So why do yoga in your birthday suit? On its website, the studio explains that it "reveals a wealth of information about the alignment of both teacher and student, which is otherwise hidden from view. The naked practice also fosters commonality and community, which can lead to a deeply supportive experience for everyone involved."

That's fine if it's your thing, but generally speaking, it's unnecessary to be nude in order to bond with a yoga community.

And as for improving your alignment and regulating your body heat, wearing a loose-fitted, organic-weave, long-sleeved shirt and pants is all you need. So get excited about yoga, sure, but keep your pants on!

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Yoga stretching benefits med students (and patients, too!)

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The students at Boston University's School of Medicine are under some serious strain. Between test prep, lecture classes, labs, clinical practice, studying and…well, more studying, the med students at this storied university could certainly use some yoga stretching benefits.

And according to NPR's affiliate in Boston, WBUR, many of them are doing just that. In a story cheekily titled "Downward-Facing Docs," the news radio station described how the students are now taking a weekly half-hour yoga course.

Lest you think that only the holistically-minded are trying out yoga stretching poses at BU, it may help to know that these classes are mandatory. They are part of the school's effort to teach med students about de-stressing through deep breathing, meditation and the "relaxation response."

The classes couldn't have come at a better time:

- A study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine found that, due to depression and stress, as many as 11 percent of med students contemplate suicide in a given year.

- In the same report, 50 percent of respondents described having experienced academic burnout.

- And another study, this one appearing in the journal Sleep Medicine, found that the average med student receives just under 2.5 hours of sleep education during their entire academic trajectory.

Somebody get these kids into a yoga class, stat!

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Is your yoga stretching for back pain causing you more pain? Consider trying a more soothing regimen, like Dahn Yoga

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Nine times out of 10, yoga enthusiasts will tell you that doing their holistic pain management techniques helps soothe their aching joints, muscles or limbs. However, occasionally you'll hear about how yoga made things worse. These mishaps almost always involve regimens that aren't as low-intensity and self-healing as Dahn Yoga.

For example, an article recently published in the New York Times Magazine examined reports of yoga teachers with chronic hip and back problems, as well as students who'd twisted themselves into such contorted positions that they'd seriously hurt themselves.

One yoga instructor even told the new source that most people should avoid yoga entirely!

The problem with an argument like this one is that it tends to be based on a few anecdotal horror stories, rather than broad surveys or in-depth research. Likewise, saying yoga should be avoided completely is like suggesting that running or swimming should be skipped at all costs – it's a blanket statement that ignores all the slower, more soothing versions of these exercises.

Plenty of scientific investigations have found that yoga stretching for back pain, shoulder aches or nerve problems really does work. All it takes is a low-impact yoga program that is proven to be soothing and effective.

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Yoga stretching benefits extend to breast cancer survivors

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Sure, yoga is good for the mental and physical well-being of a typical, healthy American adult, but what about those who have just recovered from a severe illness like breast cancer? Can yoga help convalescing patients learn chronic pain management?

According to numerous studies, it can. Yoga stretching benefits not only the hale and disease-free but those who are in treatment for or recovering from breast cancer.

A report published in the journal Integrative Cancer Therapies announced that breast cancer patients who practice yoga during their radiation therapy regimens tend to have higher levels of cortisol and better overall mood levels, compared to women who did not utilize the holistic system.

Another study, this one appearing in the journal Psycho-Oncology, noted that a 10-week yoga program helped breast cancer survivors improve their emotional affect and reduce fatigue.

Yet another paper found that yoga appears to give social and spiritual well-being a boost. Published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the report focused on women who had received chemotherapy for breast cancer.

That said, the authors noted that yoga appeared to improve mood and quality of life even among cancer survivors who had not undergone chemotherapy, indicating the versatility of the mind-body regimen.

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