Moving the body is important for all of us, and it can prevent or help manage diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. Some activities increase stamina, while others improve strength, mobility, balance, or flexibility. Listening to our body is important as we engage in movement or exercise. To prevent injury, pay attention to your body before, during and after movement activities.
Yoga offers a mind-body practice for all body types and fitness levels
We sometimes think of yoga as the physical postures (known as asana), but yoga is much more than that. The purpose of yoga is to unite the body, mind and spirit, and it can help us to find balance within and around us.
Yoga includes movement and postures, breath practices, meditation, and a philosophy for daily living. These practices can help us to increase our connection to our bodies.
If you are interested in trying a new movement practice, check out this 13-minute yoga for Veterans session led by Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System Yoga Instructor Chuna Rai Nelson, ERYT-500, RPYT, RCYT, YACEP:
This practice includes standing and floor postures, but you can also adapt the postures and movement to a chair.
For a more gentle mobility practice guided in a chair, check out my joint mobility yoga practice: https://youtu.be/4y8ksKKxgYM.
Additional yoga and other movement videos can be found in the #LiveWholeHealth self-care series blog post archives.
An Introduction to Yoga for Whole Health includes more information about yoga. Gentle movement sessions are just one form of moving the body. Find out how to use Whole Health to work with your mind and soul, too: https://www.va.gov/WHOLEHEALTH/circle-of-health/index.asp.
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It would be great if the yoga and the other ‘whole health’ approaches the VA’s been pushing actually helped but as most of us know, it’s just more VA BS. I’m a former salesman who set sales records over a decade ago that still stand and I know a line of BS when I hear it. The VA cut us off of our meds and refuse to prescribe them even when they know good and well they’re justified for guys like me with multiple chronic pain issues that they admit cannot be resolved. I’ve been to treatment where they pushed this nonsense. I have hip issues, cartilage loss due to calcium deposits that are grinding away the cartilage and the VA tells me to do EXACTLY WHAT IS CAUSING THE PROBLEM IN THE FIRST PLACE. I could fill a book with all the BS I’ve had fed to me by doctors who’ve had to do a total 180 in order to hang onto their jobs. At least some of them have the humility to not look me in the eye when they lie.