The numerous physical health benefits of a yoga practice are undisputed. Hatha yoga, a branch of this ancient discipline, is often considered to be the most practical form of yoga. By combining a deep focus on the breath with postures known as asanas, the spine and other channels open to allow a freer flow of energy. In addition to improving the body’s strength, balance, and flexibility, Hatha yoga calms and quiets the mind.  

Changing your posture creates changes in your breath that trigger changes in your nervous system. Everything is connected, and this synergistic feature of yoga explains the powerful healing effect it exerts on almost every system and organ of the body, including the brain.

What do the yogis and yoginis who practice Hatha yoga in Kansas City stand to gain mentally and emotionally from this power discipline while surrendering into the poses and bringing attention to the breath?

1) Calms your nervous system 

As you relax into a pose and slow your breath, you move into the present moment. This creates a shift in your nervous system that tamps down the sympathetic nervous system’s fight-or-flight response and engages the calming parasympathetic nervous system. Your breathing and heart rate slow, blood pressure lowers, and blood flow to your intestines and reproductive organs increases, triggering what’s know as “the relaxation response.”

2) Releases chronic tension in your muscles

Practicing mindful yoga makes you acutely aware of the areas of your body in which you store your stress and anger. Do you unconsciously clench your jaw? Squint your eyes and scrunch your face when working on your computer? Consciously releasing tension from the body’s muscle groups has a reciprocal soothing influence on your emotions. 

3) Improves cognition

Research shows that a regular hatha yoga practice improves reaction time, memory, and even IQ scores. When you are less distracted by the chattering “monkey mind,” your problem-solving abilities skyrocket.  

A 2013 study by Neha Gothe, professor of kinesiology at Wayne State University in Detroit, compared 20 minutes of hatha yoga followed by conscious breathing and meditation to 20 minutes of jogging. The participants who practiced yoga enjoyed significant improvements in working memory, concentration, and learning. The joggers did not perform as well on the post-exercise brain function test when it came to focusing attention and processing information.

4) Facilitates deeper sleep

The restorative asanas, regulated breathing, and turning inward of focus during hatha yoga soothe our over-stimulated nervous systems. More restful sleep is a by-product of a regular yoga practice, which means less daytime fatigue and better stress resistance.

5) Promotes peace of mind

Practicing the self-care of Hatha yoga makes it easier to let go of destructive emotions and dysfunctional habits. Chronic anger and resentment are linked to heart disease, diabetes, and other degenerative diseases. You might clean up your diet and drink less alcohol without even trying to. A yoga practice deepens your feelings of compassion and empathy, making it easier for you to be more generous and gracious with others and with yourself.

Even just one hour of hatha yoga each week offers you stress-reducing, mind-calming, and immune-stimulating benefits.  AYC Health & Fitness trainers create customized programs for your unique needs and goals. If you’d like to learn more about how the breathing exercises and postures of Hatha yoga can be your gateway to a healthier mind, body, and spirit — we’d love to hear from you! Call AYC Health & Fitness today at 913-642-4437 or click to book a consultation.