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Postural Yoga Courses in Como and Varedo
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Yoga as a 360° Therapy
Now that yoga is increasingly appreciated by doctors, it is quite common for it to be recommended for therapeutic purposes, for example, to correct or improve postural defects.
Postural yoga is a branch of Hatha yoga. It is based on a predominantly static practice, with a meticulous and therapeutic approach. When we give a motor stimulus, the central nervous system modifies the body based on that stimulus. In Postural Yoga, this stimulus lasts longer. Through science, we know that if we stimulate the body for more than 90 seconds, the fibrous tissue of the fascia that envelops us changes.
This has a direct influence on our form and even on our experiences!
It’s an activity that focuses on posture and is therefore aimed at postural realignment using exercises for mobility, flexibility, and stability to make the body less rigid and stronger to face daily life at its best.
Moreover, let’s not forget that correct posture is also an indicator of balance between body and mind and does not depend only on willpower and practice!
The habit of keeping shoulders hunched, for example, reveals deep insecurity, while, conversely, holding the head too high usually hides an overly dominant and assertive personality. Practicing postural yoga, therefore, brings not only physical benefits but also helps to work on the psycho-physical and emotional levels.
Training to listen to your body, to concentrate, to develop proprioception, and to meditate allows you to bring what you learn and experience on the mat into everyday life!
Postural yoga is for you if…
Furthermore…
Postural yoga is recommended for those who want to dedicate quality time to themselves and embark on a journey of personal development. It’s an ideal path to reconnect with oneself and increase flexibility, strength, and awareness of your body. In postural yoga, pain is used in the service of healing and physical and psychological progress, steps on the path to self-awareness.
Read the Stories of Those Who Have Already Started…
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Even science affirms the validity of Yoga
Recent scientific research has revealed that within programs designed to promote the mental and physical well-being of those with established pathologies, Hatha Yoga is a useful, practical, and valid tool.
The regular practice of Hatha Yoga, by fostering positive changes in quality of life and physical and mental conditions, promotes improvement in many aspects related to our health and the balance between body, mind, and emotions (Halder, Chatterjee, Pal, Tomer, Saha, 2015).
From scientific evidence, it emerges that the practice of Hatha Yoga has a positive effect on physical fitness, improving, for example, cardiorespiratory endurance and neuromuscular function, alleviating symptoms and the perception of stress (Halder et al., 2015). Furthermore, it promotes positive changes in anthropometric characteristics and flexibility (Cheung, Wyman, Bronas, McCarthy, Rudser & Mathiason, 2017; Cheung, Wyman, Resnick & Savik, 2014). Postures, breathing, and meditative exercises also help refine the ability to process perceptual information, visuospatial skills, and attention (Gothe, Kramer, McAuley, 2017), contributing to improving self-perception by increasing the sense of agency (Gwiaździński, Fedyk, Krawczyk, Szymański, 2017).
Specifically,
the practice of asanas benefits cognitive functions by increasing cerebral blood flow, neurogenesis, and neurotrophic factors that support neuronal health. Breathing exercises and meditation positively affect cognitive functions by helping to focus attention on the present moment (Derry, Jaremka, Bennett, Peng, Andridge, Shapiro, Malarkey, Emery, Layman, Mrozek, Glaser & Kiecolt-Glaser, 2015).
Negative affective states such as anxiety and depression are common even after cardiovascular disease. In these cases, the prevalence rate can reach up to 31% (Yeung, Hosen Kiat, Denniss, Birinder, Cheema, Bensoussan, Machliss, Colagiuri & Chang, 2014). According to scientific research on cardiac rehabilitation, Hatha Yoga is beneficial for blood circulation as the activation and relaxation of muscles during movement improve the effects of the musculoskeletal pump. Additionally, the co-activation of antagonist muscles during postures can create regions of relatively low and high pressures that enhance blood circulation (Yeung et al., 2014).
Overall, it’s a balanced practice that can reduce psychosocial symptoms, improve mood, and enhance cardiovascular and cognitive functions (Yeung et al., 2014). Therefore, it can be beneficial to include it in cardiac rehabilitation programs. Other scientific research has been conducted by the National Institute of Health’s Center for Integrative and Complementary Medicine, the British healthcare system, and Harvard Medical School, to name a few. The most recent study, conducted by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, suggests that practicing asanas (the various yoga poses) can reduce frailty in the elderly and increase longevity.
Yoga reduces the markers of frailty
After analyzing 33 studies in twelve different countries with a total of two thousand participants, researchers are convinced that yoga practice reduces some markers of frailty such as slow walking speed, poor endurance, and certain weaknesses in the lower limbs. An optimal “dose” of yoga has not been established, but most studies are based on two to three one-hour sessions per week. The study’s limitation is that various types of yoga were compared (although hatha yoga is the most common), and the study periods ranged from four to twenty-eight weeks.
