Yoga and Meditation Amplify Health, Beauty and Rejuvenation at a Cellular Level!

Yoga is known to greatly enhance health, youth and beauty on a deep level, but did you know that this goes right down to your cells!? Practising yoga greatly enhances health and beauty at the very deepest and most minute level - the body´s cells!!! Just ten minutes a day can greatly enhance your glow!

Human beings are made up of trillions of minute individual cells, working together to form our skin, hair, teeth, nails, blood vessels, muscles, nerves, bones and immune system. Each individual cell is a tiny organism in its own right, and each cell plays a vital role in our wellbeing. Paying attention to nurturing each and every individual cell maintains a beautiful, healthy body at all stages of your life.

So how does yoga boost the natural health, vitality and beauty of your cells?

1. Increased Prana (Deep Breathing)

First we will consider the most fundamental component - prana - the breath. During each yoga pose we practice deep, conscious breathing. As we consciously inhale long deep breaths, we direct the breath in often neglected spaces of the body and flood our body cells with copious amounts of oxygen!! Practising deep conscious breathing increases the amount of prana we are circulating through our bodies. as we consciously breathe slower and deeper. Conscious deep breathing also improves the efficiency of the breath's purpose being delivered to the cells. Bringing fresh oxygen to cells stimulates the natural healing process, increases cellular regeneration and collagen production, and also has an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effect. Have you ever noticed how radiant and glowing your skin looks after exercise, even just a twenty minute walk, especially if outside in nature!?? That beautiful glow is due to the increase of fresh oxygen and nutrients delivered to the cells through enhanced circulation.

2. Improved Blood Circulation

Did you know that as well as transporting fresh oxygen to cells, blood also brings vital nutrients to the cells AND transports away toxins? Yoga boosts blood circulation, as the overall movements from yoga increase the oxygen supply demanded by the muscles, so the body increases blood flow to said muscles. On a more specific note, yoga twists also bring fresh blood to the internal organs, whilst yoga inversions reverse the blood flow from the lower body to the heart and the brain. Two of the most well-known poses for boosting blood circulation are Legs Up the Wall (Viparita Karani) and Shoulderstand (Sarvangasana), which work together with gravity to increase venous return and the flow of blood to the heart and the head.

Legs Up the Wall (Viparita Karani)

1. Begin facing the wall with your legs out to the side, your sitbones about 4-6 inches away from the wall.

2. Exhale and scootch your sitbones as close to the wall as possible whilst swinging your bent legs up the wall. Lower your head and shoulders and begin to straighten the legs.

3. Continue to scootch your sitbones as close as you can to the wall, whilst keeping your legs stretched out vertically in front of you. When you´re comfortably as close as you can be to the wall, relax. Your body will be in an L shape with the legs right-angled to the torso.

4. Stay in this position for at least five minutes. To come out, bend the knees in towards the face, soles of the feet flat on the wall. Gently swivel the hips to the side and bring the knees down to the floor. Use the hands to leverage yourself back up to seated position.

Supported Shoulderstand (Salamba Sarvangasana)

1. Begin lying on your back on the mat with your legs stretched out in front of you, arms by your sides. Inhale, bend the knees, with the soles of the feet flat on the floor.

2. As you exhale, press the arms down into the floor and bring the knees in towards the face. Lift the lower back, middle back and legs off the floor. Immediately support the lower back with the hands.

3. Continue to work the hands up the middle back and close to the base of your shoulderblades as you stack the hips vertically above the shoulders.

4. Inhale and straighten the legs as best as you can, all the time aligning the hips above the shoulders.

5. Take a minimum of three breaths in this position. To come out of the pose, exhale and bend the knees in towards the face. Press the arms down into the mat and slowly unfurl the body vertebra by vertebra back down onto the mat until the feet reach the floor. Release the legs.

3. Boosts Lymphatic Drainage

Yoga boosts cellular health also via the lymphatic system, also known as the secondary circulatory system. Key in our immune systems, lymph cells work to drain our body tissues of cellular waste; transporting away toxins, pathogens, abnormal cells and other waste products!! Unlike the blood circulation system however, the lymphatic system has no autonomous pumps to drive it, instead relying on physical human movement for stimulation!! This is why you may have heard that rebounding on a trampoline is good for staying youthful; it stimulates the lymph system with a bouncing motion as does all other forms of exercise, even walking and of course yoga. We can increase lymph system circulation via specific asana, for example inversions like Legs Up the Wall and Shoulderstand are also excellent at enhancing lymphatic drainage, increasing detoxification.

4. Extends Cell DNA Lifespan

One of the most novel and interesting breakthroughs in medical research is the effect of yoga and meditation on cell DNA to extend health and longevity!

The DNA in our cells is arranged in a tight coil, capped by telomeres. Telomeres protect the ends of DNA, and are themselves produced by the enzyme telomerase. With time, telomeres naturally fray away, which leads to cellular ageing and eventually death. This process can be accelerated by lifestyle factors such as lack of exercise, smoking and a poor diet. Once the telomeres wear away, the ends of the DNA become exposed and the DNA coils begin to unravel, leading to disease, degeneration and ageing in the body.

Current studies (1) are showing that meditation and yoga can have a reversing effect on ageing and disease, by extending the lifespans of the protective telomere DNA caps!! This increases the lifespan of individual cells, which in turn increases the overall health and longevity of the body. Stress hormones such as cortisol are related to shortening of telomeres, and studies have shown that negative moods also relate to lower levels of telomerase. Yoga and meditation both reduce stress and negative moods, so you can see why they are effective in preserving cellular lifespan.

5. Promotes the Relaxation Response and Self-Healing in the Body

Yoga and meditation are greatly beneficial for health and beauty because they are deeply relaxing. When the body is given the chance to relax deeply, it begins to let go of stress. Tension melts away from the forehead, cheeks, jaw, etc., softening any frown lines.

A lot of healing, cellular repair and rejuvenation occur when the body is in a state of rest, and the more regularly you give yourself this gift of relaxation, the better!!

Next time you´re about to start your yoga practice, take a moment to visualize all the benefits you´ll be gifting to your trillions of body cells!! And when you finish your practice, take another minute to be grateful for all the benefits you have just gifted to your body!!!

References

(1)  www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5278216/