JUST FLOW WITH IT
Feeling anxious? Overwhelmed? Need a pick-me-up? We’ve got you. This is yoga, no matter what life throws at you
Words Hattie Parish
Chances are, your yoga mat has seen a lot of use over the past few months. The calm composure and reassuring voices of YouTube yogis have been the soothing lifeline we’ve needed in an otherwise chaotic and uncertain world. And then of course, there’s the practice itself - proven to decrease stress, fight depression and promote a good night’s sleep, as well as improving strength and flexibility.
But knowing which flow will bust anxiety or disrupt the energy-sapping humdrum of life under social distancing isn’t always easy - so we spoke to someone in the know. ‘By bringing attention to your breath and the movement of your body, as encouraged during yoga, you stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system - our rest-and-digest system,’ says yoga instructor Hannah Barrett (hannahbarrettyoga.com). Activating the rest-anddigest system is thought to counter our fight-or-flight stress response, as they’re considered opposites. ‘This allows our muscles to relax, our inflammatory levels to lower and our gut to digest our food more efficiently, which helps control symptoms such as pain and indigestion.’