The secret is stress relief, the team said. For instance, individuals who practice yoga may experience gradual reductions in their blood pressure, heart rate and inflammation markers.
Breathe in slowly. Hold it a moment. Relax. Now, breath out, gradually expelling the air from your lungs. Repeat… Does this repertoire sound difficult? Two associate professors of psychiatry don't think so, and they recently published an article linking such yoga breathing exercises to improvements in personal growth and development.
A paper published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences stated the authors' intention of answering one simple question about yoga-based breathing techniques.
"Is there evidence that these ancient practices can ameliorate stress and the process of aging?" the study inquired.
In a word, yes, there is, said authors Richard Brown and Patricia Gerbarg. The duo noted that for many people, lifespan is as much about quality as about quantity. Essentially, living a happy, relaxed but short life is something many individuals would prefer to a long, miserable one.
That said, people who strive for more modest gains in stress reduction, physical fitness and relaxation – those who pursue years of quality rather than of quality, in other words – paradoxically are often those who live the longest.
The secret is stress relief, the team said. For instance, individuals who practice yoga breathing may experience gradual reductions in their blood pressure, heart rate and inflammation markers.
In the short term, this simply means that breathing deeply can relax and reorient you. However, this falling-away of tension can have long-lasting effects on one's body and mind.
The authors said that practicing yoga has been shown to reduce the risk of certain chronic diseases, especially when combined with a good diet and healthy lifestyle. They added that slowing the onset of debilitating conditions, like heart disease or osteoporosis, can boost one's chances of living beyond the threescore-and-ten years usually thought of as man's allotment of time on Earth.
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Tags: longevity, personal growth and development, yoga breathing exercises
