How Yoga Can Improve Your Concentration
Practicing yoga is one of the best ways to improve not just your body, but your mind. It can improve concentration and focus, so you can become more productive at home, work, school and so on. For those worried about their memory, or who wis to work smarter, not harder, it might be time to hit the yoga mat and meditation cushion.
Yoga is not just about physical poses. It also involves breath work and meditation. Having said that, it does require a good deal of attention to execute some of the poses correctly without falling over, such as Eagle, Garland, and Tree. This will increase your balance and flexibility in both body and mind.
In terms of concentration, a range of studies have all come to the conclusion that yoga can improve brain function, concentration, and focus. One study showed that after a yoga session, compared with aerobics or no exercise at all, the participants were able to process information quickly, more accurately, learn better, and retain the information they had acquired.
Yoga helps concentration and focus because it allows thoughts and feeling to rise and fall like the waves of an ocean without follow them. Yoga also reduces ‘mind chatter’ that can distract you from getting your work done. Since it encourages every student to begin where they are in terms of their level of health and fitness, many yoga students also get to turn off their ‘inner critic’ and just do the best they can without trying to achieve any outcome.
Most yoga studios are quiet havens of concentration and contemplation. Your yoga class might be the only time of day you get away from your cell phone, email and iPod. This peacefulness can give your mind space to expand rather than be bombarded continually by external stimuli.
Yoga is also a great stress reliever. We tend to a lot better at work if we are not under continual pressure that brings our stress levels to boiling point.
Yoga helps heal our body. As the old saying goes, a healthy body, a healthy mind.
If you’re worried about your memory or how hard it seems to focus on even the simplest tasks, try yoga and see what a difference it can make to your concentration.
