Yoga May Help You Have a Healthier Brain

 
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Brains are made up of two different types of matter, white matter and grey matter. White matter makes up about 60% of the brain and helps transmit signals from the brain down the spinal cord and back. It develops during your 20s and peaks in middle age. Grey matter is about 40% of the brain and interprets sensory information coming in from the white matter. Grey matter does not fully mature until you reach 20 years old, then it slowly declines as you age. Although both are essential, grey matter is important for making decisions, performing daily activities, and memory. So how can we help slow the decline of grey matter over time?

Experts used to think that the brain was not able to change once it reached maturity. We now know that is wrong. Our brains are capable of change, which is known as neuroplasticity. When we exercise our muscles, they get stronger. We can also exercise our minds through practice, such as with yoga and meditation. Yoga helps reconnect and strengthen the body and mind, thus improving neuroplasticity. A study shows a promising link between practicing yoga and having a higher grey matter density than those who do not practice yoga. Another publication analyzed studies on yoga and the brain and found that yoga helped to reduce age related decreases in cognitive function.

Join SAM Sather, a certified yoga therapist (C-IAYT), for Mindful Movement and Yoga. In this class, we use mindfulness techniques, functional movement patterns and poses that promote increased elasticity, strength, balance, decreased reactivity, increased inner and outer body integration lending to an increased sense of well-being. This class includes mind-body activities to increase awareness of habits that impact our health and provides techniques that can be applied in daily life to create opportunities to re-pattern our thoughts and movements and support improved cognitive and physical health.

Mindful Movement and Yoga is offered Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Click on the link HERE to sign-up and go to the ‘Classes’ tab. You will need to sign in to your Mindbody account or create a new one. For more information about On Demand classes, visit our website page HERE.

On Demand Line Up:

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Click on the link here to sign-up and go to the ‘Classes’ tab. You will need to sign in to your Mindbody account or create a new one. For more information about On Demand classes, visit our website page HERE or email us at info@dogwoodstudioyoga.com.

Survey

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Survey open through the end of July.

Feel free to email us at info@dogwoodstudioyoga.com with any questions about the survey or to add additional comments!