A yoga retreat is for life, not just for Christmas

There are many benefits from attending a digital detox yoga retreat, not least of all a relaxing holiday that will invigorate your mind, body and soul. However, the benefits of a yoga retreat will stay with you for life, long after you have returned home.

Yoga has numerous benefits to your health, lifestyle and fitness. At our retreats you will partake in daily yoga practice and when you take this habit back home with you, all the lifetime benefits will follow.

Yoga boosts immunity

Studies show that yoga practice results in changes in gene expression that boosts immunity at a cellular level.

One study showed that participants experienced changes in gene expression whilst they were still partaking in yoga, and the benefits continued after the session. The control group did not experience changes as dramatic whilst on a nature hike or while listening to soothing music.

Practising yoga works to condition the lungs and respiratory tract, this in turn stimulates the lymphatic system to remove toxins from the body and to bring oxygenated blood to our organs.

The lymphatic system runs through our body and is a vital part of the immune system. By conditioning the lungs and respiratory tract our organs are able to function properly, resulting in a stronger immune system.

Yoga boosts the immune system by lowering stress hormones that work to compromise the immune system. By practising yoga daily you can help to fight stress and help to improve your immune system.

Yoga counteracts the dangerous effects of sitting

Sitting down for too long is proven to be bad for your health with many adults in the UK spending more than seven hours a day sitting or lying. Research shows there is a link between sitting down for too long and conditions including; increased blood pressure, high blood sugar and obesity.

Sitting down for too long can cause bad posture which can lead to a strained neck, an inflexible spine and disk damage. The damage that sitting at a desk all day can cause can become painful and if you do not improve your flexibility and strength your posture can become worse as time goes on.

Yoga is a fantastic way to increase your flexibility, strength and movement, when practicing yoga you will complete a variety of different stretches that work to improve flexibility and strength.

Yoga poses encourage the body to stretch and hold postures which helps to strengthen your muscles and eliminate some of the pain that sitting down can cause.

Each yoga pose (asana) that you practice on one of our yoga retreats with digital detox is designed to reinforce the muscles around the spine, the centre of your body also known as your core. Flexibility and balance stem from the core, and this is why it is important to train that area.

Having a strengthened core and improved flexibility can help to relieve back, shoulder and neck pain, which can all be caused through sitting down for long periods of time.

Yoga improves our mood

A vast amount of studies show what happens to our brains during yoga practice, one particular study highlighted the change of GABA levels. GABA levels are associated with improved mood and decreased anxiety.

The study showed that a group of yoga subjects released the chemical GABA during and after yoga practice, leading to a greater improvement in mood compared to the control group.

The effect that yoga has on the body is similar to the effect that anti-anxiety medication has, as the medication encourages the release of GABA into the central nervous system.

At one of yoga retreats with digital detox you will partake in daily yoga practice, which we then encourage you to ‘take home’ for life. The movement and breathing patterns that you learn and practice within yoga can improve your mood and help to fight anxiety and depression.

If you’re thinking of sending someone on a yoga retreat this Christmas, just remember a yoga retreat is for life, not just for Christmas! The benefits are for life, and this is the gift that will keep on giving.