Practice, Practice, Practice

“This was harder than any football practice I ever had…and I’ve had a lot,” said the man whose face was beaded with sweat as he picked up his yoga mat. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud, he cracked me up! He was probably in his late 60’s early 70’s, no doubt a Boomer, geared in yellow yoga leggings under a pair of shorts and t-shirt. I don’t know about football practice, but clearly this hot power yoga class was a challenge. The constant flow moved us through a steady pace of poses, planks and balance all in 93-degree heat! There we were wall to wall bodies in synchronized motion like a dance, a challenging physical feat for sure. When we challenge ourselves, something happens in the brain. And when we practice yoga we move with the breath, focus, with present moment awareness all signaling the brain to create new neural connections.

The word yoga means to unite, come together in mind, body and soul. Yoga practice helps to train the mind-body connections to move through challenges, adapt, recover, improving overall health and building resilience. Through the repetition of learning something new or even mastering one you’ve you've been practicing for years paves the way to neuroplasticity; the brains ability to be flexible throughout our lives.

So, for all you former football players who have moved onto chair quarterbacking in your senior years, try taking a yoga class. You just might have a flashback of sweating through high school football practice and if you’re consistent, maybe connect a new neural pathway or two.