Moving the Body

People who exercise regularly have “better mental health and emotional wellbeing, and lower rates of mental illness” (Better Health Channel, 2021). They are at lower risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis, and asthma. They have increased energy levels, tend to sleep better, and have better coping ability and self-esteem (Section 2). So, how do we get those increased energy levels, better wellbeing, and lower risk for disease? By moving our bodies! Any exercise is better than no exercise, so even housework and gardening count. Ideally, we should be doing some kind of movement program for at least thirty to sixty minutes each day, five days a week.

 

Although any exercise that fluidly moves the body is beneficial, “yoga is the most popular complementary health approach practiced by adults in the United States… Yoga combines physical postures, rhythmic breathing, and meditative exercise to offer the practitioners a unique holistic mind-body experience” (Gothe, 2019, para. 1).  Studies indicate yoga is a versatile, simple movement therapy with multiple benefits in overall health, such as improving balance and flexibility, breath control, as well as pain, stress, and anxiety relief.  No matter which end of the physical health spectrum a person is in, they can benefit from yoga.