Why Yoga Makes You Feel Better

Everyone knows stretching and exercise are healthy ways to feel better and to get into shape. After a yoga class you feel better than when you came. This is because of something called the parasympathetic nervous system. When we do yoga, we activate the parasympathetic nervous system through stretching and breathing. The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for slowing down our bodies through muscle relaxation, calming the mind, and results in better digestion, better immunity, lower blood pressure and lower heart rate.

While vigorous yoga is great for stretching the muscles, it doesn’t do much for engaging the parasympathetic nervous system. Holding postures longer, slow focused breaths, breathing into stretches and making breathing as important apart of your yoga practice as the movement, will ensure you activate the parasympathetic nervous system.

All of the Kripalu yoga classes offered here at the Stram Center for Integrative Medicine focus on breathing and breathing techniques to engage the parasympathetic nervous system and bring us into a deeper place of healing.

So, the next time you leave a yoga class feeling so much better, thank your parasympathetic nervous system.

Namaste.



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