Sweet Yoga High: Forget a Runner’s High, the Yoga High is Where It’s At

Have you ever been in a yoga class and felt an inexplicable feeling of lightness, relaxation and euphoria? This yoga ‘high’ is similar to the runner’s high that joggers all over the world strive for.

But unlike running and many other forms of exercise, in yoga there is a complete focus on the mind body connection, and through deep breathing and stillness yoga allows the body to slow down, relax and feel that it is in a safe space where it doesn’t have to be alert to threats and dangers. It can finally chill out and fully focus on just being. This combination can provide a euphoric feeling that lasts well after the yoga class has finished.

Often yoga teachers will start the practice with positive affirmations or mantras that also help with a sense of relaxation, positivity and wellbeing and when you manage to master a particularly difficult pose or asana, a sense of accomplishment and achievement are also felt.

Another great benefit of yoga practice is that it is a lower stress activity on your joints making it a great practice to try if you are recovering from an injury or easing back in to exercise. Yoga teachers are trained to help you to adapt poses to cater for any injuries.

With a whole range of benefits attributed to the practice of yoga including improved flexibility, weight loss, improved muscle tone, strength and energy, if you haven’t already tried a yoga class why not sign up for one and see if you can attain your own yoga high.

If you don’t want to spend the money on joining a class, there are plenty of yoga tutorials on YouTube that are a great place to start, we love Alo Yoga’s channel and use it as our home practice in the ELE office.

Love exercise? Click here for our tips for Being More Active Each Day and here for the Benefits of Meditation.