Improve Your Musculoskeletal

Health Through Mindful Movements

Mindful movement is an effective way to reduce stress and its physical consequences.

How you move throughout your daily life can affect your health. The way your bones, muscles, joints and connective tissue interact with each other all play a significant role in things like your posture and susceptibility to injury. As you go about your tasks, your body is constantly adjusting and your musculoskeletal system can come under greater stress and load if you haven’t developed the necessary capacity in your tissues. Small improper movements and positions add up over time leading to pain and can make you more prone to injury.  Download April2019Newsletter to read more.

Focusing on body awareness and mindfulness can help you learn to feel what is stiff, tight or unstable and what you should spend more time focusing on.

How can I benefit?

There are specific physical benefits associated with mindful movement practices. Research shows yoga, for example, has health benefits including increased strength and flexibility, better balance and coordination, improved reaction times, better lung function, heightened cardiovascular conditioning, and weight loss.

Psychological benefits of practice include relaxation, greater equanimity, better concentration, and improved mood.

Scientific studies have found yoga as a useful adjunct to the care of such conditions as asthma, arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, multiple sclerosis, and heart disease.

Are there any cautions?

Yoga is generally considered a safe form of physical activity for healthy people when performed properly, under the guidance of a qualified instructor.

Don’t use yoga to postpone seeing a health care provider about a medical problem.

Take charge of your health—talk with your health care providers about any complementary health approaches you use. Together, you can make shared, well-informed decisions.

People with health conditions, older adults, and pregnant women may need to avoid or modify some yoga poses and practices and should discuss their individual needs with their health care providers and the yoga instructor. 

Where can I get more information?

Check out our Newsletter.

Chair Yoga.

Yoga in Depth.  National Institutes of Health:  National Center for Complimentary and Integrative Health