Best Health – August-September 2019

THE WORD “YOGA” IS SANSKRIT AND HAS

many translations, including “union.” The prac-

tice originated as a philosophy to unite mind, body

and spirit through breath control, meditation and

physical postures. Today, mounting evidence sug-

gests that yoga does, in fact, have major age-defy-

ing benefits — and one key to reaping them is that

the younger you start yoga, the better. “While you

can take up yoga at any age and see a benefit, the

earlier you start — and the more consistently you

practise it over the years — the greater the effects,”

says Dr. Timothy McCall, a doctor of internal med-

icine in the San Francisco Bay Area and the author

of Yo g a A s Me d i c i n e.

One of the major anti-aging benefits of yoga is

how it helps you learn to manage stress, a risk factor

in age-related illnesses ranging from heart disease

to depression. But don’t expect one or two classes to

magically make you cool and composed — it takes

time to change the way you react to stress. “We

know that the way the brain can change itself is

through repetition of any activity, thought, word or

deed over a long period of time,” says McCall. “So

even a short yoga session every day has far more

benefit than a longer practice once a week.”

Here are some more ways yoga can help you live

a hea lt hy, happy l i fe now, a nd wel l i nto you r old a ge,

plus some simple postures to practise every day.

WELLNESS WORKOUT

Sure, it helps you look and feel great now. But research shows it can also help

keep you feeling young and healthy for life. | by JENNIFER GOLDBERG

The secret to

staying young?

IS

TO

C

K

52 AUGUST | SEPTEMBER 2019 best health besthealthmag.ca