What’s Inside – 

• Can yoga really help improve your memory?
• Yoga poses to try
• Want to learn all about the other benefits of yoga and apply them to your life? We can help!

Mind Your Memory – Can Yoga Help?

The benefits of yoga for the mind are quite well known – indeed, yoga has always been recognized as a holistic form of exercise, one that not only improves the strength and flexibility of the body but also hones and improves the mind. However, did you know that the benefits of yoga go beyond just stress management and mindfulness? Yoga certainly helps in restoring balance and bringing the mind towards a state of calmness and normality when you are feeling stress and frustrated. But, such are the benefits of yoga that it can help you take your mind up a level and improve its overall functioning, including memory.

Indeed, some studies have found that the practice of yoga can improve memory better than simple brain training. Other studies have also found similar positive links with respect to yoga and memory.

How does yoga do it?

Firstly, yoga helps with mindfulness, or simply, how present we are in the moment. How often has it happened that you have kept something somewhere, only to end up searching the entire house for the object in question? This usually does not happen because of bad ability to recall things – it happens because we are not paying attention in the first place, which prevents a proper memory from being formed. With yoga, you increase your mindfulness, focus and concentration, which in turn helps you pay proper attention to important things and helps you store them in your mind effectively. Hence, mindfulness is one key to improve your memory.

The other way in which one can explore the  benefits of yoga work towards a better memory is at the physical level. Studies have shown that yoga improves the flow of blood to the brain and stimulates the development of new vessels and cells. Reduced inflammation and relaxation that yoga provides also create a positive and stimulating environment for the brain, allowing it to function more effectively. 

Yoga Poses to Try – 

If you are a student facing examinations, an office worker trying to crunch statistics or numbers, or simply somebody who wants to remember a name and face the next time you meet them, here are some yoga poses that can help you out – 

• Natarajasana (Lord of the Dance Pose) – A challenge to both your balance and flexibility, this asana helps in stretching the shoulder and chest, and strengthening the legs and ankles. It also requires great focus to keep your balance, and thus can help in cultivating mindfulness. Be sure to repeat on the other side too, and hold each side for up to thirty seconds.

• Halasana (Plough Pose) – A tired, stressed out brain can hardly be expected to carry out the tasks of memory and mindfulness. Though challenging, this asana promises a great relief from both fatigue and stress, as it calms down the nervous system, stretches the back and legs, and increases blood flow to the brain.

• Vriksasana (Tree Pose) – Find focus and peace in this standing asana that challenges your balance and strengthens your legs. It is natural, especially for the beginners and the restless, to lose focus and topple, so feel free to practice using a wall initially to help you balance. Hold the pose for upto twenty seconds, and repeat on the other side.

• Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend) – A great way to open up the flexibility of your legs and stretch your lower back, this asana also helps in mindfulness and better brain functioning by eliminating headaches and stimulating blood flow towards the brain. As a feat of flexibility, it would take some patience and training you to be able to get down to the full pose.

• Sukhasana  (Easy Pose) – Alongside yoga poses, meditation is also very important in creating the positive stimulation required for better memory. Sukhasana allows your body to relax and let go of physical stiffness and tension, making it a great pose to help you meditate and achieve mindfulness.

• Vasisthasana (Side Plank) – If you have ever undertaken a plank pose, you know that there is no scope for distraction here. This asana takes it up a notch, asking you to balance your body on your side. A great strengthener for the legs and the arms, it also engages the core and hones your focus and concentration.

Alongside these yoga poses, the practice of meditation can also be a big booster to memory. Meditation helps in relaxing the body and mind, cultivating mindfulness, and allows your to discard information overload and restlessness and focus on the things that matter.

Want to Apply The Benefits of Yoga Into Your Life? Hith Yoga Can Help

Whether it be increasing memory or reducing stress, improving flexibility or recovering from illness or injury, the benefits of yoga are manifold and incredible. So if you want to bring these benefits into your life, why not do so with Hith Yoga Studio? One of the most reputed yoga studio in Delhi-NCR, Hith Yoga brings together world class ambience, highly qualified and experienced teachers, and a holistic approach to yoga, thus ensuring that your journey through yoga is the best it can be. Hith Yoga also offers personal training and regular yoga retreats into the lap of nature, ensuring that yoga goes beyond the yoga studio. So sign up for a trial class today, and change the way you experience yoga!