Health

When we're young, many of us take our body for granted. It's often not until we have an injury or illness that we check in with our physical self. However, as we age we become more aware of our body, especially when it refuses to perform a task we've always done, or we just feel little (or large) aches and pains we've never felt before.

I was reading a Mayo Clinic Special Report (Nov 2017), on Muscle Health and thought I'd share a bit of it: "Muscle strength is governed by the principle, 'Use it or lose it.' Strength training may help: develop strong bones, maintain your weight, manage chronic conditions (arthritis, back pain, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression), protect joints, prevent injury, improve posture, boost your mood, reduce fall risks, sharpen thinking skills, improve quality of life."

As you may know muscle mass begins to decrease in our 30's, but if we do some type of strengthening exercises we can slow or reverse that process. Why is that important? Even if you have no desire to compete in athletic events, most of us want to maintain our physical abilities, to play with grandchildren, travel, garden, and enjoy an active lifestyle.

So what does this have to do with yoga? Yoga provides a component of a healthy lifestyle: flexibility, balance, strength, mental focus. Along with cardio and strength training, yoga options are available depending upon your personal preferences: in a class, private instruction, or online. The important thing is to do SOMETHING for as little as 20 minutes a day.

Happy Yoga!

Some online resources:

www.MayoClinic.org, type Weight Training Exercises OR Strength Training Videos in the search bar

You Tube: Fitness Blender, you can select free workouts for cardio, strength

You Tube: Yoga, literally 100's of online practices

Local gyms, local walking or running groups

Let Go tj Yoga: with me