Health Benefits Of Laq Exercise
Laq is a part of the Black Yoga tradition brought to the United States more than 20 years ago. This style of yoga includes many breath-control techniques and physical exercises.
As with other types of yoga, Laq Exercise has many health benefits. It is especially good for increasing energy levels, calming the mind, and improving Circulation.
Which all help prevent many chronic diseases associated with aging and an unhealthy lifestyle.
How Can I Decide What Types Of Exercise To Do
Before you begin an exercise program for depression, here are some questions you should consider:
- What physical activities do I enjoy?
- Do I prefer group or individual activities?
- What programs best fit my schedule?
- Do I have physical conditions that limit my choice of exercise?
- What goals do I have in mind?
Exercise Promotes Better Sleep Patterns
Getting a good night of sleep can help provide a barrier to stress.
The only problem is that many people, children included, are not receiving the right amount of sleep each night.
Less sleep is required every night to maintain good health as we get older, but adults do need a regular amount of sleep in order to be healthy.
For young adults, the recommended amount of daily sleep is 7-9 hours.
But sleep is also based on individual needs.
For some people, getting just 6 hours of sleep each night is enough for it to be restorative.
For others, they may need 10-11 hours of sleep on a regular basis to maintain their mental health.
So if youre having trouble sleeping, then consider getting some regular exercise.
Just 30 minutes about 4 times per week can establish better sleeping patterns.
Then, with more sleep, you can fight off stress more effectively.
Any form of exercise will work. Choose an activity you like, from tai chi to gardening, and youll begin to experience the benefits.
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How Physical Activity Can Help Reduce Stress
Physical activities, such as jogging, workout routines, dancing, and bicycling are good for your body and for your mind. Almost any form of exercise, from low intensity activities like yoga to high intensity activities like a Tabata class can act as a stress reliever, no matter your fitness level. Here’s how it works:
Helping Body And Mind
Changing the structure of the brain isnt the only way physical activity can be beneficial for mental health. The habit of exercise itself can help, Smith says.
For people with mental health issues, simply doing something anything can occupy their attention and keep them from ruminating on their condition. One survey of the published literature found that placebo exercise that is, gentle stretching, too mild to cause any physiological effect had almost half the beneficial effect on mental health as strenuous exercise did.
Regular workouts also give exercisers a clear sense of progress as their strength and fitness improves. This sense of accomplishment can help offset some of the burden of anxiety and depression, Gordon says.
Even light activity basically just moving around now and then during the day instead of sitting for hours at a time may help.
In one study of more than 4,000 adolescents in the U.K., Aaron Kandola, a psychiatric epidemiologist at the University College London, and his colleagues found that youths who undertook more light activity during the day had a lower risk of depressive symptoms than those who spent more time sitting.
Even more important, people with serious mental illnesses such as severe depression and schizophrenia also are more likely to have significant physical health issues such as obesity, heart disease and other chronic diseases. As a result, their life expectancy is 10 to 25 years lower than that of unaffected people.
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Relationship Of Stress To Health Outcomes And Behavior
Psychological stress has a deleterious effect on a wide range of physical and mental health outcomes with accumulating evidence that health practices/maladaptive behaviors may mediate these relationships . Stress has been strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease and the incidence of acute myocardial infarctions . Those under high stress are less likely to survive cardiac events . Alterations in the immune system by stress are well-established , and those who report high levels of stress are more likely to become infected . The nervous system is also compromised during times of undue stress . Stress is associated with a host of mental symptoms as well, including cognitive dysfunction, dementia , and excessive fatigue . While stress may have a direct effect on health , indirect routes toward maladaptation also likely exist . For instance, stress is related to declining physical function over time and obesity , which contributes to cardiovascular disease. Another likely factor is impaired health/lifestyle practices and maladaptive behaviors, such as decreased exercise and PA and increased sedentarianism . Furthermore, delays in recovery from exercise and dampened muscular and neural adaptations are observed with chronic stress . It is of no wonder that individuals under high stress are much more likely to incur greater healthcare costs .
Reciprocal Relationship Of Stress And Pa
The extant literature largely concludes there are relationships between stress and PA/exercise, and that PA repels the negative effects of psychological stress, but what of the relationships in the opposite direction? In other words, is stress detrimental towards the effort of adopting and maintaining exercise behavior? It has been noted extensively that a dynamic, bi-directional relationship likely exists , but this direction of influence is often overlooked . Salmon mused that the stress and PA-exercise relationships are open to interpretation, and people who are less disturbed by stress might simply be more ready to take up exercise training . Zillman and Bryant propose that in response to stress people will engage in unhealthy behaviors, such as poor dietary practices or a lack of exercise, as a means of emotion-focused coping. Indeed, a plethora of research links stress to increased smoking , use of alcohol , and increased substance abuse . While less pernicious, stress is associated with dietary relapse , binge eating , increased caffeine consumption and television viewing . Studies examining composite scores of collective health behaviors, including PA, find that stress is predictive of negative health behaviors . In fact, stress accounts for a substantial proportion of variance in collective health behaviors . Considering the multifarious relationships between stress and behavior, it is plausible that stress is related to both PA and exercise as well.
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How To Look After Your Mental Health Using Exercise
There are many reasons why physical activity is good for your body having a healthy heart and improving your joints and bones are just two, but did you know that physical activity is also beneficial for your mental health and wellbeing?
We need to change the way we view physical activity in the UK in order not to see it as something we have to do, should do or ought to do for our health, but as something that we do because we personally value its positive benefits to our wellbeing.
As part of our work to promote better mental health, we have produced this pocket guide to show the positive impact that physical activity can have on your own mental wellbeing, including some tips and suggestions to help you get started.
Being active doesnt have to mean doing sport or going to the gym. There are lots of ways to be active find the one that works for you and lets all get physical!
“It is exercise alone that supports the spirits, and keeps the mind in vigour.” Marcus Tullius Cicero
Physical Activity Reduces Stress
Stress is an inevitable part of life. Seven out of ten adults in the United States say they experience stress or anxiety daily, and most say it interferes at least moderately with their lives, according to the most recent ADAA survey on stress and anxiety disorders. When the American Psychological Association surveyed people in 2008, more people reported physical and emotional symptoms due to stress than they did in 2007, and nearly half reported that their stress has increased in the past year.
Its impossible to eliminate, but you can learn to manage stress, and most people usually do. According to a recent ADAA online poll, some 14 percent of people make use of regular exercise to cope with stress. Others reported talking to friends or family sleeping watching movies or TV , as well as eating and listening to music .
While all of these are well-known coping techniques, exercise may be the one most recommended by health care professionals. And among ADAA poll takers who exercise, a healthy percentage is already on the right track: Walking , running , and yoga are their preferred strategies.
Exercising Body and Mind
Scientists have found that regular participation in aerobic exercise has been shown to decrease overall levels of tension, elevate and stabilize mood, improve sleep, and improve self-esteem. Even five minutes of aerobic exercise can stimulate anti-anxiety effects.
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How Does Exercise Reduce Stress Surprising Answers To This Question And More
How does exercise reduce stress, and can exercise really be relaxing?
Rest and relaxation. It’s such a common expression that it has become a cliche. And although rest really can be relaxing, the pat phrase causes many men to overlook the fact that exercise can also be relaxing. It’s true for most forms of physical activity as well as for specific relaxation exercises.
Exercise is a form of physical stress. Can physical stress relieve mental stress? Alexander Pope thought so: “Strength of mind is exercise, not rest.” Plato agreed: “Exercise would cure a guilty conscience.” You’ll think so, too if you learn to apply the physical stress of exercise in a controlled, graded fashion.
Big Health Benefits Of Laq Exercise
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Laq Exercise is a 20 minute, traditional Hatha yoga routine that can be done anywhere. This video will show you how to do the essential poses.
Laq Exercise is a great way to get your body moving if youre new to yoga or are looking for something different from Bikram and Hot Yoga.
All poses are supported by deep breathing, which helps calm the mind and provides some of the benefits of meditation.
The key to doing Laq Exercise is to get your breath going before moving your body into action.
Youll find it much easier to do this if you take a few moments to slow down your breathing after each pose.
The breathing-based approach used in Black Yoga is also a great tool for this purpose because every pose requires different methods of breath control.
Contents
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Exercise Releases Happy Hormones
Exercise leads to the release of endorphins. To put it simply, endorphins make you feel good. Feeling good gives you the confidence to know you have what it takes to deal with your challenges. With this, you can see a clear link between exercise and stress relief.
Plus, the brains feel-good hormones, dopamine and serotonin, are the bounty of exercise and improve your well-being and mood.
Stress Factor: Neither Fight Nor Flight
Today its rare that we have to fight with our fists or run for our lives. On the contrary, its usually the case that we dont ever release this tension the concentrated energy and stress hormones and instead we dont move enough, if at all, keeping our bodies in a loop of stress.
These contradictory behaviors result in a classic problem for todays humans: Tension and energy arent released adequately and the stress hormones produced arent reduced.
In a stressful everyday life, your physical activity and nutrition plans can sometimes fall by the wayside. Take advantage of our free Body Check to get back on track, with nutritional advice and product recommendations tailored to your fitness level and goals.
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Make It A Group Activity
Whether looking to join with friends or family, create an event or a scheduled weekly time where you can meet up with others that are supportive and uplifting. When you are able to exercise with others who are also excited about exercise, this can help all involved to push their limits! Be aware of surrounding yourself with individuals who may bring the mood and atmosphere down, after all, this is your time to decompress!
How Exercise Reduces Stress
Aerobic exercise is key for your head, just as it is for your heart. You may not agree at first indeed, the first steps are the hardest, and in the beginning, exercise will be more work than fun. But as you get into shape, you’ll begin to tolerate exercise, then enjoy it, and finally depend on it.
Regular aerobic exercise will bring remarkable changes to your body, your metabolism, your heart, and your spirits. It has a unique capacity to exhilarate and relax, to provide stimulation and calm, to counter depression and dissipate stress. It’s a common experience among endurance athletes and has been verified in clinical trials that have successfully used exercise to treat anxiety disorders and clinical depression. If athletes and patients can derive psychological benefits from exercise, so can you.
How can exercise contend with problems as difficult as anxiety and depression? There are several explanations, some chemical, others behavioral.
The mental benefits of aerobic exercise have a neurochemical basis. Exercise reduces levels of the body’s stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. It also stimulates the production of endorphins, chemicals in the brain that are the body’s natural painkillers and mood elevators. Endorphins are responsible for the “runner’s high” and for the feelings of relaxation and optimism that accompany many hard workouts or, at least, the hot shower after your exercise is over.
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Significance Of Literature Finding A Positive Association Between Stress And Pa
In the face of stress, one may elect to obviate feelings of displeasure by engaging in exercise, a form of emotion-focused coping . Indeed, exercise may result in enhanced feelings of pleasure and is widely accepted as a tool for stress management . Stetson et al. found that 69 % of their sample of women exercised to relieve stress. Qualitative research indicates that individuals will use low to moderate intensity exercise as a method to regulate emotions . Interestingly, despite the expectation that PA will lessen displeasure, exercise enjoyment appears to be affected during weeks of stress . Nevertheless, people who believe that exercise is a useful method for stress reduction are more likely to engage in a moderate or greater level of exercise . Those who exercise to cope with stress report higher exercise behavior than those who do not cope by exercising . Stress management as a motive for exercise has been found for several populations . However, a large sample of highly active fitness enthusiasts reported that stress management ranked far below other sources of motivation, such as exercise enjoyment .
What You Can Do: Exercise For Stress Management
Reducing stress
Combining mental and physical exercises can help ease mental and physical stress. Some things that can help are:
- Find a time in your day to be by yourself away from distractions.
- Listen to soothing music.
- Close your eyes and try to clear your mind.
- Concentrate on a neutral word or object to block out any other thoughts.
- Exercise on a regular basis.
Breathing: How does it affect me?
Slow and deep breathing can help your body relax, which helps your mind also relax. Slow breaths in and out that expand your diaphragm can cause the jaw to relax, releasing tension in the neck, shoulders and hips and leads to total body relaxation.
Try this exercise
- Breathe in slowly and deeply, expanding your rib cage so that your breathing muscles are put to maximal use.
- Inhale for three seconds and then hold for two seconds.
- Exhale slowly for four seconds, thinking relax.
- Repeat the entire sequence five to 10 times, concentrating on breathing deeply and slowly.
American College of Sports Medicine recommendations
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that people living with and beyond cancer walk for up to thirty minutes a day, three times per week, to address anxiety and depression.
Where can I find more information about aerobic and strength-training exercises?
If you are interested in starting aerobic and/or strength-training exercises, The ONE Group provides videos demonstrating proper form for more than 50 exercises.
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Life Transitions Major Events And Trauma
A substantial portion of the literature focused on specific events, life transitions, or distinct experiences of trauma. As noted above , some life experiences result in enhancement of PA behavior. Nevertheless, this same study found that exercise declines for women for some types of events, including the birth of ones first or second baby or grandchild, having a child with a serious illness or disability, beginning work outside the home, major personal illness or injury, major surgery, or moving into an institution . Death of a spouse was deleterious for PA in older women . Transitioning from high school to college or leaving college and entering the workforce full-time is also predictive of a decline in PA . Fan et al. found that being a victim of violence, harassment, or other threats was not related to PA. This is contradicted by evidence that exercise behavior substantially declined for New Yorkers after the trauma of the 9/11 attacks . In contrast, the experience of Hurricane Katrina in the USA has been associated with heightened levels of PA .
