“By reducing stress levels, yoga lowers the presence of glucocorticoids circulating throughout the body. The result is that you now have less to fight against. Your cravings change—you want junk food less and salad more.” YogaStressRelaxationDiet Book:How Yoga Really Works Source: How Yoga Really Works
“Whenever you inhale, the sympathetic nervous system is activated slightly, creating a slight increase in heart rate. Exhaling does just the opposite: turning on the parasympathetic nervous system and activating your vagus nerve slows the heart as you exhale. This is why many breathing techniques practiced in yoga are built around extending exhalations. The breathing technique in which one gradually makes the out breath longer works by progressively slowing the heart and thus aiding relaxation.” HealthYogaBreathingRelaxationBreathing In AwarenessBreath Technique Book:How Yoga Really Works Source: How Yoga Really Works
“In yoga, great emphasis is placed on the spine. It is said that the spine is like the trunk of a tree. Without the trunk, the tree has no support, no strength, no conduit for the supply of nutrients (or in the case of the spine—nerve signals). It has been observed that when the spine is compressed anxiety tends to be high and energy is low. In contrast, when the spine is erect and ‘extended’ there is more a sense of radiance and positivity.” HealthYogaRelaxationSpineStress Relief Book:How Yoga Really Works Source: How Yoga Really Works
“Inversion postures lower the heart rate while extension postures raise the heart rate. So, moving back and forth between the two throughout a yoga session effectively develops heart rate variability.” HealthYogaRelaxation Book:How Yoga Really Works Source: How Yoga Really Works