Improve Your Health with Music, Meditation and Mats

Say “mmm….” to improve your health.  That’s right – when you practice yoga – music, meditation and mats can instantly lift your spirits, while jump-starting the flow of feel-good endorphins.

Yoga has quickly become one of the most popular and well-known health practices worldwide.  Its easy on your joints and just about anyone can participate, regardless of fitness levels.  Yoga poses are designed to result in digestive benefits, more restorative sleep, and overall flexibility and strength.

No longer regarded as a “fringe” – or, shall I say a “new age” – practice, yoga studios now can be found in just about any city or country.  The practice is universally believed to be healthy for mind, body and spirit.  Relaxing music is usually played while an instructor directs you through a series of poses, while reminding you to breathe properly.

This yoga quotation captures it all!

A photographer gets people to pose for him.  A yoga instructor gets people to pose for themselves.  ~T. Guillemets

Heart-pounding aerobic exercise is not the exclusive method to improve your health.  No matter your age or physical condition, many people are turning to yoga as a way to gain strength, balance and flexibility.

You’d be surprised what a great physical workout a yoga class is, too!  After only a week or two of classes, many will notice better posture and muscle tone, among other positive results.

Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.  ~Author Unknown

Each yoga pose serves a specific purpose.  Sure, there are comedic sketches in which a yogi is shown completely bent out of shape into a pretzel-like position.  In reality, a yoga class or routine takes you through poses in a purposeful order.

Often, you’ll end in the corpse pose or child’s pose.  Clear your mind and focus on meditation and restoration.

Chair pose is a defiance of spirit, showing how high you can reach even when you’re forced down.  ~The Quote Garden

There must be a reason that yoga photographs depict peaceful, stress-free scenes.  Practitioners enter a calm state of mind, often aided by ambient music and soft, encouraging direction from the instructor.

If you feel that you don’t have time to attend a yoga class, you can still benefit from the practice by taking 10 minutes of meditation in your own bedroom while holding several poses.  Focus on both your body position and measured breathing.

Sun salutations can energize and warm you, even on the darkest, coldest winter day. ~Carol Krucoff

You can ditch the yoga mat, but still enjoy music and meditation outdoors.  Some yoga classes are offered on the beach or in a park setting.  Or, find a friend or spend some time in restorative solitude going through a series of poses.  Choose your own MP3 music files to enjoy as background and inspiration to reach farther and stretch deeper!

Perhaps these inspirational yoga quotes and gentle encouragement will get you to the mat!

“Yoga has a sly, clever way of short circuiting the mental patterns that cause anxiety.” – Baxter Bell

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to see Uplifting Quotes About Music and Life and Fill Your Soul with Simple Pleasures.