An owner and life coach with Coastal Virginia Consulting, LLC, Talya E. Gershon works with first responders, fire fighters, and a variety of clients suffering from PTSD or other stress reactions to help them increase resiliency and improve psychological health. Talya E. Gershon enjoys hobbies that include spending time outdoors and practicing yoga.
The myriad benefits of yoga include increased strength and flexibility, as well as the improved mental clarity that comes with focusing on the breath. But what is it about breath-based movement that is so beneficial? Yoga or mindfulness practices such as meditation reduce activity in the sympathetic nervous system, which controls the fight or flight response that keeps the body in a high state of alert and tension. At the same time, yoga increases activity in the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps the body feel calm and safe. The resulting reductions to heart rate and blood pressure contribute to feelings of calmness, clarity, and focus.
Yoga and meditation also change the physical structure of the brain. According to studies that compare brains before and after an eight-week meditation course, mindfulness increases the grey matter density in the hippocampus, the area of the brain associated with memory and learning. Further, people who meditate regularly have a larger larger right insula, the part of the brain that governs body awareness, and therefore are often less reactive to stress.