HOT YOGA for a HEALTHY BACK
A flexible spine is the foundation of good health.
But everyday, as people use and misuse their backs to support the weight of their bodies, the result is tremendous wear and tear on the vertebrae, organs, and “chi,” the body's essential life force.
What can the heat in the hot yoga room do to strengthen your back?
- Heat dilates the blood vessels of muscles surrounding the lumbar spine, increasing oxygen and nutrients to the muscles, helping to heal damaged tissue.
- Heat stimulates the sensory receptors in the skin; applying heat to the lower back will decrease transmissions of pain signals to the brain and partially relieve discomfort.
- Heat facilitates stretching of soft tissues around the spine including muscles, connective tissue, and adhesions.
- Heat can decrease back stiffness as well as injury, while increasing flexibility and overall feeling of comfort.
Heat, combined with humidity, is a way to get back your healthy back.
Will Health Insurance Cover Hot Yoga? YAY!
Insurance companies may have finally caught on: yoga promotes health. And it only took 120 years after yoga came to the US for them to see it.
In 2010, 239 Aetna employees volunteered in a mind-body stress reduction program where 96 employees were assigned to mindfulness-based classes, 90 were assigned to therapeutic yoga classes and 53 were assigned as the control group.
The second group participated in a 12-week therapeutic yoga-based program and received instruction for managing stress including physical yoga postures, breathing techniques, guided relaxation and mental skills.
The yoga classes helped relieve muscle tension in the back, neck and shoulders, improve sleep and increase feelings of well-being. The classes also provided coping strategies for dealing with stressful events through yoga.
Aetna announced that early results of two stress-reduction programs showed significant reductions in stress as compared to the control group. Aetna’s review of medical claims’ data showed a positive correlation between costs and study participants’ stress levels, suggesting potential health care costs savingsby reducing stress.
The success of both programs offers evidence that certain mind-body approaches can be an effective complement to conventional medicine.
An estimated 43 percent of U.S. adults suffer adverse health effects from stress including reduced immunity to illness, increased risk of diabetes and weight gain. Among the Aetna study volunteers, those reporting the highest level of stress had nearly $2,000 more medical costs annually.
The positive results seen in these studies offer evidence that mind-body approaches to health improvement are an effective and targeted solution for employers who want to lower the costs associated with stress and help their employees achieve better overall health.
So will your employer-based insurance policy cover the cost of your hot yoga classes? Bring your boss to hot yoga and let her feel the benefits...then it may be time for that celebration!
THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OZ LOVES HOT YOGA
"If you can work up a sweat for just 1 hour a week, you'll enjoy a range of benefits: reduced risk of heart attack, better mood, and lower blood pressure...
"Your muscles will become more efficient, so you'll have more stamina for more enjoyable activities that also work up a sweat...yoga is the most important exercise of my daily routine.
"Yoga eases stress, lowers blood pressure, slows heart rates, and increases flexibility...
"Loosening muscles will make them more adaptable, so you may be less likely to injure yourself playing sports...
"Yoga can reach and work muscles that are ignored during routine sports and daily life."
Yes, Dr. Mehmet Oz of the Dr. Oz show said it best. Yoga works on your blood, sweat and tears...but in a very, very good way.
FLEXIBLE BODY = HEALTHY HEART...HOT YOGA BENEFITS BOTH
A study published 2009 in the journal Heart and Circulatory Physiology suggests a novel way to self-test at least one element of your heart’s health:
Sit on the floor with your legs stretched straight out in front of you, toes pointing up. Reach forward from the hips. If you're flexible enough to touch your toes, your cardiac arteries probably are also flexible.
In fact, we do that in Hot Yoga daily. It's called Separate Leg Stretch Forward Bend. If you're not touching your toes by the first hot yoga class, hang in there (literally) and you will be soon, with regular hot yoga practice: three times a week to build your body and your benefits.
It's interesing that researchers found a correlation between inflexible bodies and inflexible arteries in people older than 40. The study concluded that “a less flexible body indicates arterial stiffening, especially in middle-aged and older adults.”
Not middle aged yet? Blink your eyes and you will be; it comes sooner than you think. Start preparing your body to handle it well.
Now, if you're already in the inflexible group, don't worry: you're not necessarily in imminent danger of a heart attack. Arterial stiffening does not inevitably lead to arterial disease, and some degree of arterial stiffening is inevitable with age. But the stiffer your arteries, the less efficient your heart.
If you can touch your toes in Separate Leg Forward Bend, congrats. If not, remember that tight arteries are not necessarily diseased arteries. But hey, they're not doing you any good. Loosen up...it's hot yoga time.
