We have long known yoga is
good for your physical health,
but now we're finding the
benefits go far beyond that.
That's right.
Our 90s parenting expert Dr.
Cheryl Ziegler joins us this morning.
So September is National
Yoga Awareness Month.
We know that it's great for
our mobility actually really
need to do more of it.
We are also now learning it's
really wonderful for our minds.
Yes, I think, you know,
for a long time I'm sure people in
Eastern cultures would be like come on,
we've known this for so long.
But it always helps when we have research.
And you know, it came across this
study from Harvard that really looked
at people who were and and aging
people who were doing yoga versus
other exercises and still doing yoga.
In particular,
you had a thicker cortical like layer,
which means that helps you
process information faster.
And even your hippocampus,
which is your longterm memory and how you
process information was also healthier.
So it actually is specifically about yoga.
Oh,
I need this in my life. Yes.
How does yoga help people as they age?
So what happens is people age and you
naturally lose some of your processing speed,
your executive functioning.
So that's your planning
and your organization,
your and your memory, right?
We all know that.
So yoga really seems to activate parts
of the brain that keep it healthier.
And when we get oxygenated
blood going to our brain,
that's what really keeps us healthy.
So when you are inactive,
not only does that get affect you physically,
but mentally as well.
We need blood flow to the brain the way
you need blood flowing in your body.
And you were talking about
that word oxygen too.
I've noticed when I do yoga,
it forces me to breathe in ways I didn't
know I was supposed to be breathing.
And when I go to my doctor's office,
he's like, your blood pressure
levels are so much lower.
You're so much more relaxed than
you were prior to doing yoga. Yes,
I think the beauty of yoga is that
we all know it can be relaxing.
It can be really rigorous. I mean,
there can be a lot that goes on physically.
But they're also constantly telling
you to do deep belly breathing.
We call that diaphragmatic breathing when
you really are breathing into your belly.
So a lot of us, we breathe like this.
Breathing. Yes, really shallow.
So yoga forces you and it,
and you do it long enough
and you just do it naturally.
You know, like I'll say to people,
I could do a deep breath right now,
You wouldn't even know because
I practice so much.
Yeah. Well, I don't know about
anybody at home but or not.
But when you do that chest
breathing, I I do that.
And that's when I noticed my
anxiety attacks start coming
on a little bit more too,
versus that belly breathing
you're talking about.
Absolutely. The, the meditation piece
paired with the physical part of it,
I think is what the magic is,
why it's good for us physically,
but also really to calm us,
to reduce anxiety, reduce depression
and really get us be present,
which anybody who does a yoga class,
they know, right?
They're like you're in this
room be where your feet are.
That's a saying I really like,
just be where your feet are.
And that really helps our mental health.
That's why this is kind of better than
some of those other relaxation techniques
like just meditation on its own. Yes. Yes,
you for. For things like
health and brain health, yes,
pairing both the physical movement,
getting that oxygen flowing
and then having that meditative
practice is what is really the key.
And I love how they studied the aging
population because this is good.
You know, we've got lots
of kids yoga classes.
I always see that as enrichments,
which I love.
And it might seem like, you know,
the kids are just sort of tumbling around.
But it starts practice early and if
we can teach our kids really early,
we give them lots of years,
even decades to master this over time.
Before we go, we have to mention
that this is actually something
anybody can do at anytime.
You don't have to go to a fancy shmancy,
really expensive studio
class or something like that.
You can just stretch right
where you are in that moment.
Do that breathing.
Takes maybe even just 5
minutes of your time to do.
Absolutely. And there's there's
apps there's free YouTube videos.
So I I love that you said that
this is accessible to everyone.
You don't have to be a Yogi and a
fancy clothes even and go to a studio.
You couldn't do this
anywhere. Namaste. Just make sure
that your pants are fitting well.
I before trying to bend over a
little too far, good advice.