Are you Feeling Down, Dog? Yoga can Help!

     Source: flowandgrowkidsyoga.com/blogs/news/yoga-poses-for-kids-downward-facing-dog 

Yoga can be a fun adventure for your body and mind! Just like playing sports, or your favourite video game. Yoga is an awesome way to move your body, while also helping your mind feel calm. Yoga can help with easing anxiety, or stress, about an upcoming assignment, a big game, or life in general.  In this blog we will discuss how yoga works as a self-care strategy, why it’s important, some tips/tricks for yoga. We will even be recommending some free resources for you to get started! Whether you want a stronger body, or mind, yoga is a fun way to ensure both feel happy and healthy!

How does Yoga Work?

Yoga relies on physical postures, different types of breathing, and meditation to help bring you the comfort you need (PubMed Staff, 2023). Yoga involves deep breathing and slow movements while holding a variety of poses. These poses can help you improve balance and make your body more flexible. Doing this can help you relax, and slow your breathing, making it a perfect self-care strategy. It also helps you live in the present, instead of letting your mind run wild (Woodyard, 2011). If you are looking for a way to calm your nerves about a test, an upcoming sports game, or prefer a more relaxing form of exercise, yoga is the activity for you!

How Relevant is Yoga as a Self-Care Activity?

Lots of people think,  “I am not flexible, and this doesn’t seem relaxing. Only athletic people can do yoga!”. Many people have this belief at the start, and are surprised at how easy (and helpful!) it actually is once they try it. Most people (around 93%) who practice yoga feel it improves their health, well-being and reduces the impact of every day stressors (Unwind Yoga Studio, 2022).

 Why is Yoga Important?

You may be wondering why yoga is so highly recommended as a self-care strategy. If you are not an athletic person, yoga may seem especially frightening. Don’t let this scare you! Yoga improves both physical and mental health through movement, proper breathing, and meditation. Yoga helps you become physically and mentally stronger. Yoga has a positive effect on the heart, and helps you relax your muscles and joints after a hard day (Better Health Staff, 2022). It can even give you a boost of energy and help you to concentrate more(Maintaining a Regular Yoga Practice, n.d.). With all of this in mind, yoga is one of the best ways to promote your mental well-being! Teens have a lot of responsibilities, so this a great way to improve both physical and mental health at the same time. You know what they say, a healthy body means a healthy mind (and a healthy mind means a healthy body)!

Some Tips & Tricks!

Here are some tips and tricks to help you on your yoga journey!

• Get a suitable mat. You don’t want to slip and slide during your yoga sessions and cause yourself injuries. Make sure to get a mat that is not too thick and squishy (Newlyn, 2024).

• Go slow. When getting into yoga, make sure to choose classes or YouTube videos that are at a slower pace. Once you are more comfortable, you can start moving up in difficulty (Newlyn, 2024). 

• Accept that you are a beginner. Everyone starts off as a beginner in yoga and that is okay! Remember that your body needs to get used to the new postures and physical activity (Newlyn, 2024).

• Forget the pictures, focus on you! Try not to get caught up on the social media posts of people being in pretzel-shaped poses, and remember that there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to yoga. Yoga is not about comparing yourself to others, it is all about you! (Newlyn, 2024).

Yoga Comes in Many Different Forms!

Just to name a few of the most common forms, there’s vinyasa yoga which is considered one of the more athletic types of yoga and is very fast-paced. Kundalini yoga is also quite the workout but incorporates some spiritual elements. Yin yoga is more of a slower-paced yoga, where you are usually in a seated posture, and promotes meditation. The last one is restorative yoga, which is all about focusing on body relaxation and cleansing of the mind. This is best for when you want to relax after a long day. These are just some of the different types of yoga and if none of these resonate with you that’s okay! There are so many forms of yoga to choose from! (McGee, 2022).

Our Personal Picks for Free Yoga Sources

1. Natasha - Yoga with Adriene 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I recommend this YouTube channel, which has over 300 videos, with lots of different styles, and all of them are free! On top of her YouTube channel, she also has a website, Instagram, and an app dedicated to yoga. She has over 100 different playlists that are all dedicated to the different styles, such as hands-free yoga, gentle yoga, intermediate yoga, and yoga for anxiety, to name a few. I chose “Yoga for Stress Relief: 7 Minute Practice”, where Adrienne guides you through the poses, which are intended to relieve your stress  I highly recommend that you check out her channel, pick a video you like and try it out!

2. Viktoriia - Jessica Richburg’s Youtube Channel 5/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐

I chose the  “30 Minute Relaxing Yoga For Mental Health | All Levels - Slow Seated Flow” video by Jessica Richburg and it helped me a lotBefore this video, I had never done yoga and did not think that it could help me. This video was focused on helping me with mental health, breathing, and relaxing the brain and body.  There are even more than 100 other videos on  her YouTube channel, with different types of yoga for every mood and time. I will continue to use her videos in the future. 

3. Liz- Do Yoga With Me 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

This website offers over 500 free yoga classes! I believe this is one of the best free yoga resources you can use because itoffers a variety of different yoga techniques, like chair yoga, gentle yoga, guided meditation, and more. This website allows you to choose between beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels of yoga. Additionally, this website also offers many different instructors that do different types of yoga at a variety of practice lengths.  If you only have time for a five minute yoga session, you can easily find one! I tried “The Quick Pick Me Up” with Helen Camisa. With the stress of exams and projects, I was really able to ground myself and feel more in the moment. I HIGHLY recommend this website to anyone who is looking to get started with yoga! I will definitely be back for more!

4. Rachel - Down Dog 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

Down Dog is a free trial health and fitness app that has a 4.9/5 star review on the app store and I was very pleased with it when I tried it for the first time. While it only comes with a free 15-day trial, the company offers free subscriptions to students who apply through a special link. The app offers so many different features such as yoga poses, stretches, meditation and breathing exercises. When you first log in, you can choose the level of experience you prefer, as well as a practice type you would like to focus on. ( I chose Guided Meditation with Breathing). You can even customize it further with instructor voice, music, practice length, and other advanced features. The explanations were thorough and physically adaptive. The only complaint about this app is that it is not possible to get a free subscription unless you are enrolled in school. Therefore, this might not be accessible to all teens. 

5. Hetvi -Yoga Journal 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I tried the “Yoga Journal” website. Whether you are a beginner, or  have never tried yoga before, this website has it all covered. The website offers yoga tutors, tutorials, describes poses, meditation videos and articles. I would recommend this website for beginners because it has several resources to know exactly how to get started. I gave it 4 stars because it lacks features like live sessions or workshops. 

Our Reasoning Behind the List Ranking

We all collectively ranked the resources based on how we felt after using them. We also considered variety, ease of use, and ability to use the resource long term as important factors when ranking.

Closing

Above all, yoga is a great resource for keeping both the mind and the body healthy. You can stretch your body, calm your mind, and have fun all at the same time. No matter how you begin or what resource you use, yoga can be fun for everyone. So, let’s roll out our mats, take a big deep breath, and have a yoga adventure!

Call to Action

We recommend really looking into the benefits of Yoga and what it can do for you mentally, physically, and emotionally. Try one of our recommended links and comment on your favorite pose below! It is important to take care of your mental and physical health one step at a time!

References

Better Health Staff. (2022).Yoga - health benefits. Better Health Channel. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/yoga-health-benefits#health-benefits-of-yoga 

Hagen, I., Skjelstad, S., & Nayar, U. S. (2023). Promoting mental health and wellbeing in schools:

the impact of yoga on young people’s relaxation and stress levels. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1083028

LeWine, H. (2016). New survey reveals the rapid rise of yoga - and why some people still haven’t tried it. Harvard Health Publishing. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/new-survey-reveals-the-rapid-rise-of-yoga-and-why-some-people-still-havent-tried-it-201603079179 

Maintaining a Regular Yoga Practice can Provide Physical and Mental Health Benefits. (n.d). American Osteopathic Association. https://osteopathic.org/what-is-osteopathic-medicine/benefits-of-yoga/#:~:text=Yoga's%20incorporation%20of%20meditation%20and,Nevins.

McGee, K. (2022). 11 types of yoga: A breakdown of the major styles. Mbg Movement. https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/the-11-major-types-of-yoga-explained-simply  

Newlyn, E. (2024). Top 10 tips for beginner yogis. Ekhart Yoga. https://www.ekhartyoga.com/articles/practice/top-10-tips-for-beginner-yogis 

PubMed Staff. (2023). Yoga: What you need to do. National Centre for Complementary and Integrative Health. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/yoga-what-you-need-to-know 

Unwind Yoga Studio. (2022). Yoga Statistics. https://www.unwindyogastudio.com/post/template-the-ultimate-guide-to-writing-the-ultimate-guide#:~:text=92.6%25%20of%20yoga%20students%20rate,57.5%25 

Woodyard, C. (2011). Exploring the therapeutic effects of yoga and its ability to increase quality of life. International Journal of Yoga, 4(2), 49-54. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3193654/#:~:text=%5B18%5D%20Yoga%20encourages%20one%20to,system%20and%20the%20relaxation%20response 

Muck,P. (2021). The Benefits of Yoga: How It Boosts Your Mental Health. https://www.houstonmethodist.org/blog/articles/2021/sep/the-benefits-of-yoga-how-it-boosts-your-mental-health/#:~:text=The%20levels%20of%20good%20brain,and%20anger%2C%22%20she%20says.