Margaret Gamboa Yoga » Benefits

Excellent Study Shows Yoga Helps People With Back Pain

Margaret — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 04:42:30 +0000

As a student of Yoga Therapy, I was excited to see this long awaited study and eager to see more work done on this important topic.

The Archives of Internal Medicine, a major medical journal, published a clinical trial showing the effects of yoga for low back pain. The study is the best of its kind in organization, sheer brute numbers and statistical analysis.

With researchers like the study’s lead investigator, Karen Sherman from the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle, I hope to see similar studies done to demonstrate not just the physical but the psychological and spiritual benefits of yoga.

Yoga Builds Strong Bones

Margaret — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:34:01 +0000

Osteoporosis, a bone disease that causes bones to become weak and more likely to break, affects more than half of Americans over 50 and causes a million fractures each year. There are ways, however, to prevent this widespread chronic condition. Whether you are 17 or 70, now is the time to protect yourself from osteoporosis. The good news is you can create a lifestyle that promotes preventive care for your bones. For women, it’s best to make these lifestyle choices in your 20’s and 30’s before perimenopause. But it’s never too late start!

How does yoga help prevent brittle bones?

Yoga works by stressing the bone, much like weight training. Yoga stimulates the bone with isometric contraction at almost every angle for long periods of time. By doing weight bearing poses like standing poses (Warrior I, II, III, triangle, side angle) arm balances (crow, plank) and inversions (handstand, shoulderstand), this affects the whole spine, arms, shoulders, elbows, knees, legs, ankles and feet, while encouraging range of motion. Because yoga poses pull and stretch the bones from every angle, yoga also stimulates the formation of a bone structure that is able to resist greater amounts of pressure, and many different types of challenges.

The “Martini” of Yoga

Margaret — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 17:28:47 +0000

One of my yoga instructors calls Viparita Karani, or Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose, the “Martini” of yoga poses. By this she means that it’s the perfect pose to help you unwind in the evening. For me, instead of a glass of wine or cocktail, there are just some yoga poses that really get me out of my head and feeling completely open and relaxed.

Viparita Karani is good for almost everything that ails you, including headaches, anxiety, arthritis, digestive problems, high and low blood pressure, insomnia, migraines, mild depression, respiratory ailments, varicose veins, PMS and menopause.

It is also one of the easiest yoga postures to do – all you need is a wall to take advantage of its healing benefits.

Try it!

Oh Boy! 5 Reasons Why Men Should Do Yoga

Margaret — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 14:01:27 +0000

Yoga IS really for everyone.

It’s not just for flexible, healthy, young women as many men may think. It will make you better at whatever you do, you don’t have to wear spandex and you will even get to know yourself better.

Read this Yoga Journal article Oh Boy! 5 Reasons Why Men Should Do Yoga and get your male friends, brothers, boyfriends and husbands to get on a mat and experience what yoga can add to their life.

Here’s a male’s perspective on the subject. 5 Reasons Why Dudes Should Practice Yoga

38 Ways Yoga Keeps You Healthy

Margaret — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:20:07 +0000

I discovered another great article about the amazing health benefits of making a yoga practice part of your life.

So roll out that mat and get started!

Yoga Journal Article: Count on Yoga: 38 Ways Yoga Keeps you Fit

More time on the floor

Margaret — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 06:58:59 +0000

When you think of sitting, you may think of chairs and sofas before you think of the floor. This is what seems natural to us modern day Westerners, but is it really what our bodies were designed to do? After all, humans were sitting long before desk chairs and couches were invented.

When I decided to turn my living room into a yoga studio, the furniture was replaced with some yoga mats, blankets and blocks. The couch was rarely used anyway, except when guests came over. Now, when we have guests, they are a little hesitant to sit on the floor, but after sitting on a blanket for awhile, they are surprised at how good it feels.

Spending more time on the floor in your daily life can have some real benefits. People living in floor cultures have more supple joints and stronger backs, and far better posture. So try spending some time today on the floor—squatting, kneeling, or just sitting. It might seem uncomfortable and awkward at first, but if you spend a little time doing this each day, try to do a little reading on the floor, you’ll find your joints begin to loosen, squatting will become more comfortable, and you’ll see your yoga practice improve.

Source: Yoga Journal

Top 10 Reasons to Try Yoga

Margaret — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:00:29 +0000

Give yoga a try and discover what it can do for your body and mind.

A central premise in yoga is “everything is connected.” That’s clear when looking at the health and fitness benefits of yoga that have long been reported by practitioners and are now being confirmed by scientific research.

STRESS RELIEF: Yoga reduces the physical effects of stress on the body by encouraging relaxation and lowering the levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Related benefits include lowering blood pressure and heart rate, improving digestion and boosting the immune system, as well as easing symptoms of conditions such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, asthma and insomnia.
PAIN RELIEF: Yoga can ease pain. Studies have demonstrated that practicing Yoga asanas (postures), meditation or a combination of the two, reduced pain for people with conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, auto-immune diseases and hypertension as well as arthritis, back and neck pain and other chronic conditions.
BETTER BREATHING: Yoga teaches people to take slower, deeper breaths. This helps to improve lung function and trigger the body’s relaxation response.
FLEXIBILITY: Yoga helps to improve flexibility and mobility, increasing range of movement and reducing aches and pains.
INCREASED STRENGTH: Yoga asanas (postures) use every muscle in the body, helping to increase strength literally from head to toe. Yoga also helps to relieve muscular tension.
WEIGHT MANAGEMENT: Yoga (even less vigorous styles) can aid weight control efforts by reducing the cortisol levels, as well as by burning excess calories and reducing stress. Yoga also encourages healthy eating habits and provides a heightened sense of well being and self-esteem.
IMPROVED CIRCULATION: Yoga helps to improve circulation and, as a result of various poses, more efficiently moves oxygenated blood to the body’s cells.
CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONING: Even gentle yoga practice can provide cardiovascular benefits by lowering resting heart rate, increasing endurance and improving oxygen uptake during exercise.
BETTER BODY ALIGNMENT: Yoga helps to improve body alignment, resulting in better posture and helping to relieve back, neck, joint and muscle problems.
FOCUS ON THE PRESENT: Yoga helps us to focus on the present, to become more aware and to help create mind body health. It opens the way to improved coordination, reaction time and memory.