When we started, 2008, the first Divine Light Yoga 200 Hour Teacher Training!
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#yogalife
NEW 200 Hour Yoga Teacher training early bird deadline extended to Friday, July 19th!!! Enroll Now!
Change your Brain, Improve your Life? Are Yoga and Neuroscience related?
Neuroscience and yoga have a fascinating relationship that has gained increasing attention in recent years. Yoga, an ancient practice combining physical postures (asanas), breath control (pranayama), meditation (Dhyana and Dharana) and ethical principles (Yamas and Niyamas), does indeed have powerful effects on the brain and nervous system, which can be explored through the lens of neuroscience. Here are some ways neuroscience intersects with yoga and definitively changes your life:
Neuroplasticity and Brain Changes:
Yoga practices like mindfulness meditation (awareness practices and learning to be in the present moment) have been shown to induce neuroplasticity, which is the brain's ability to reorganize and adapt by forming new neural connections. Regular practice (Sadhana, daily practice) leads to changes in brain structure and function, particularly in areas related to attention, emotional regulation, and self-awareness.
Stress Reduction:
Yoga practices, including breathing exercises and meditation, activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation and counters the effects of the sympathetic nervous system (the "fight or flight" response). This can lead to reduced stress and improved overall well-being. We change our relationship to stress by realizing our role in the amping up of it.
Mind-Body Connection:
Yoga emphasizes the connection between the mind and body. Neuroscientific research supports the idea that practices like mindfulness meditation can strengthen this connection, leading to better awareness of bodily sensations, emotions, and thoughts. We call this interception, learning how to relate what we feel with what we are thinking. With awareness of our thoughts the body responds.
Cortisol Regulation:
Yoga has been linked to reduced cortisol levels, a hormone associated with stress. Regular practice can help regulate the body's stress response and promote a sense of calm. Simple breathing practices will reduce inflammation and the release of aging elements.
GABA Boost:
Some studies suggest that yoga practices may increase the levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain. GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that helps regulate anxiety and stress. Brain chemicals play an enormous role in our ability to feel steady, calm, hopeful and joyful.
Dopamine Release:
Yoga asanas trigger the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward. This can contribute to feelings of happiness and contentment after a yoga session and taken in regular practice, these effects are cumulative.
Default Mode Network (DMN):
The DMN is a network of brain regions associated with self-referential thinking and mind-wandering. Mindfulness meditation, a key aspect of yoga, has been found to modulate the DMN, leading to reduced rumination and increased present-moment awareness.
Emotional Regulation:
Yoga practices can enhance emotional regulation by influencing areas of the brain responsible for emotional processing, such as the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. This can lead to better control over emotional reactions.
Focus and Attention:
Yoga can improve attention and concentration by promoting sustained focus on the present moment. Neuroimaging studies show changes in brain regions associated with attention and cognitive control.
Anxiety and Depression Relief:
Yoga has been found to have beneficial effects on individuals with anxiety and depression. Brain scans have shown alterations in brain activity and connectivity patterns that correlate with symptom reduction.
The ancients knew this and put forth practices for centuries on this information. The sacred texts of yoga show the benefits, now, current science is catching up with peer reviewed studies to validate the knowledge.
You can benefit right now from this powerful lifestyle practice and immediately experience changes in your brain, moods, well-being and even your gut! Why not learn how to deepen your practice and even teach these phenomenal tools to others? Are you ready to go deeper in a 7 month course? Enroll Now!!
It's important to note that the effects of yoga on the brain can vary among individuals and depend on factors like the type of yoga practiced, the frequency of practice, and an individual's physiological and psychological makeup. Research in this field is ongoing, and the integration of neuroscience with yoga offers valuable insights into the potential mechanisms underlying the positive effects of yoga on mental and physical well-being.
Considering exploring a course to deepen your practice and understanding of these tools provides a new stability, depth and compassion for yourself and others, possibly unknown to you before. Consider the 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training, training the teacher in you for you first and foremost!
All ages, stages and abilities welcomed!
Enroll now!
Contact me today with any questions and see the entire Course Outline and fill out the application to join us in this transformative journey! denise@divinelightyoga.com
Contemplation in Nature
Hello friend!
I hope you will join me in a new Summer Class on Line Session that returns us to inner stability with a renewal of our practice of the 8 limbs of yoga. Each week we will gently explore how YOU can apply the 8 Limbs of Yoga to your sacred daily practice.
Even if you don’t practice daily, weaving these 8 Limbs into your life gives you a strong and stable position to ground into, to come back to and to remember your inner heart quietude. When things outside are stressful, this can become your comfort.
NEW CLASSES ON LINE
8 Classes, Live on Zoom
A Somatic Yin & Restorative
Practice for Resiliency and Therapeutic Recovery from Stress
Based on the 8 Limbed Path of Yoga
These NEW classes will focus on ways to rebound you from long and short term stressors, balance your nervous system and settle your worries. Perfect for anyone who feels any anxiety, depression, ruminating thoughts, and just is over it all! Here are practices that will stay with you and you will retain the video classes for repeat sessions!
Feel a renewed sense of lasting peace, attainable joy and the beauty of being at ease in yourself.
Suggested Reading for the 8 Limbs of Yoga: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
July 8th: Yamas/ How We Relate to Others in the World
July 15th: Niyamas/ How We Relate to Ourselves in the Daily Life
July 22nd: Asana/ How We Relate to Our Body in Postures
July 29th: Pranayama/ How We Relate to Our Breath Moment to Moment
August 5th: Pratyahara/ How We Relate to our Sense Organs with What We Take In
August 12th: Dharana/ How We Relate to Our Mind in Thoughts, Words and Deeds
August 19th: Dhyana/ How We Move Beyond Our Mind, We are Not Our Mind
August 26th: Samadhi/ Inner Union and Deep Lasting Peace
Mondays:: 4:30 pm PST - 5:45 pm PST
$150 for the session, Please follow payment button below, Zoom Link will be emailed to you
July 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th, August 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th, 2024!
Please email me for any Scholarship needs, I want this to be available to all who seek it. denise@divinelightyoga.com
IF you miss a class, no problem! All are recorded and you will receive the recording to do in your own time, over and over!
Note: I am so excited to see you soon!!! contact me with any questions, denise@divinelightyoga.com