We know that yoga can help tone your body, build strength, improve sleep, and lower stress. But, have you ever considered how it can impact your brain? Lucky for us, there are lots of researchers who have studied how yoga changes your brain. Keep reading to discover what they have learned.
Feel-Good Chemicals Can Flood Your Brain
Specifically, you can expect to get a good dose of dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. Why is this so important? These hormones are responsible for allowing you to feel pleasure, satisfaction, motivation, and relaxation. Who doesn’t want more of that in their lives?
Cortisol Levels Can Drop
Cortisol is a stress hormone. When there is too much of it in your system, the sugars in your body (glucose) increase and may result in poor digestion, increased blood pressure, suppressed thyroid function, increased blood sugar, and weakens the immune system. When cortisol levels drop, your body may begin to work more efficiently.
Gray Matter Density Can Increase
Why is this important? Gray matter is the portion of the central nervous system that is responsible for muscular control as well as sensory perception. When gray matter is dense, you may experience better memory, better cognition, muscle control, speech, and decision-making. Bottom line, the more gray matter, the better, and yoga may help increase gray matter in your brain.
Increased Cortical Folding
Cortical folding or gyrification allows for a bigger cortical surface area. The more surface area your brain has the, higher cognitive functioning, improved information processing, clearer decision-making, and sharper memory you will experience. Yoga and meditation are two activities that can help increase cortical folding in your brain.
Experience all the benefits you can from yoga when you participate in our classes. A complete schedule of our classes can be found here: https://eastwesthealingsolutions.com/studio-schedule-calendar/. Our yoga studio is located at 34876 US Hwy 19 N. in Palm Harbor, Florida. See you on the mat!
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