Move it or lose it

Reading from Tuesday, July 29, 2014 yoga class

The following is from a Yoga U Online article by Eva Norlyk Smith.

"Judith Hanson Lasater, in a recent teleclass on YogaUOnline commented, "People often ask me if it's necessary to practice yoga every day.  I tell them, no, not at all.  Just practice whenever you want to feel good!"

There was a study done back in 1966... the so-called Dallas bed rest study.  Here is what the article goes on to say:

"The researchers took a group of five healthy 20 year-old men, measured their cardiovascular fitness on a series of parameters, and then put them to bed for three weeks.  The five 20 year-olds weren't even allowed to go to the bathroom without using a wheel chair. 

After three weeks, the men were measured again.  At the time, what the researcher found was revolutionary: In just three weeks, all five had experienced a dramatic loss in cardiovascular health and exercise capacity on all parameters measured; the equivalent of about 1% loss of capacity per day of bed rest. 

This was one of the original use-it-or-lose-it studies.  But that's not all.  After 30 years, the researchers took another look at the aerobic and cardiovascular fitness level of the original five men in the study, now 50 and 51 years old.  What they found was truly astounding.  In terms of cardiovascular fitness and physical work capacity, the men had been MORE weakened after three weeks of bed rest 30 years earlier than the three decades of aging they had undergone since then!!  The study is a sobering reminder of the risks of a sedentary lifestyle. 

So... the answer to the question:  How often should I do yoga? is both about how you want to feel in the short term and how you want to feel in the long term.  The Dallas bed rest study is another reminder that each time you hit your yoga mat, you don't just benefit your mental and emotional well-being in the present.  You make a significant investment in your long-term, future health and well-being as well."

So... all the yoga you have ever done is still there... providing benefits that you might not even be aware of it.  The power of yoga!!  Believe it.