You CAN build resilience even if it feels impossible. How does yoga help?

Why is it that some people are able to cope with life challenges much easier than others? A big part of the answer lies in a person’s resilience.

Resilience is the ability to easily, quickly and effectively respond to life challenges and stressors (physical and psychological) as they happen. When you’re resilient, you can return to a state of balance (ex., not feel anxious) and think clearly much more quickly than someone who is less resilient.

Mindbody practices, such as yoga, meditation, or any physical activity done with mindful, present intention, when practiced regularly, can strengthen physical, emotional and mental resilience to life challenges.

But how?

We used to talk about the mind and body as two separate things, but the two are intricately linked. So, that means if you’ve got a thought that is making you feel anxious, you will feel that anxiety in your body.  In other words, what you’re thinking affects how you feel in your body, and how you feel in your body will change the way you think.

When we practice yoga, or any other form of mindful movement (examples include mindful nature walks, tai chi, or any other movement or activity you do with intention) we can settle the mind and reduce our anxiety.

The concept is simple, but the actual practice can sometimes feel a little more challenging, especially now when it’s hard to pay attention to anything for long.

I recently read an article that was printed in the Sunday Times (published in the U.K.) on August 12, 2020 entitled, "Battling Anxiety? Yoga is just as effective as a therapy session, say experts”. The article stated that studies in the United Kingdom have found that yoga is as beneficial as talking to therapists to alleviate symptoms of anxiety. Further, doctors are being encouraged to prescribe yoga as therapy.

To be really clear, I’m not suggesting that anyone discontinue therapy and use only yoga to treat anxiety, but more and more studies are coming out with the same very interesting results. I think it means that spending time developing a yoga practice is definitely worthwhile. These emerging studies clearly indicate how important mindful movement is to our health and wellbeing.

Join our community for meditations, yoga sessions, & more! (Click Here)

Building our mental, emotional and physical resilience to life challenges has always been important, but is particularly important as we age. And right now we’re experiencing even more challenges than ever before.  Please join my Facebook Group - The Journey Within: Mindful Yoga and Life Change Community where we will do short yoga and mindfulness practices and share information as a community. Check it out here!

Also, please share the link to my website with anyone you think may be interested: www.sharonashtonmindfulyoga.com. Remind them about the free audio guided meditation!

Let’s build our resilience, together.