The threat of Alzheimer’s Disease sometimes creeps around in my head. More and more people are being diagnosed with it and we hear more about it with each passing day. Multiply all that with the fact that my Dad and his two sisters suffered with the disease for many years, and one can’t help but shiver. That’s probably the reason why the brain is so fascinating to me. Though as small as a grapefruit, it stores all the information of what makes You, You! That’s why we gotta keep our brains in tip top shape. Eating, moving, thinking, and exercising all have a part in promoting a healthy brain. However, Scientists are discovering that yoga can help too.
It turns out that the happiness we feel after yoga class isn’t just in our head. Using brain scans, scientists can now prove that yoga actually changes our brain chemistry. Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, Ph.D., an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, has spent more than a decade gathering research on yoga and its scientific effects on the mind. In his book, Your Brain on Yoga, he outlines what really happens in that head of yours after an hour of a Vinyasa flow.
1.) Your brain gets flooded with feel-good chemicals.
During yoga, your levels of gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) spike up significantly. After three studies, they found the chemical GABA rose in the yogis by 27%. This chemical is associated with decreasing anxiety and improving moods.You also get dopamine and serotonin, chemicals that help you feel more relaxed and ready to handle stressful situations.
2.) Your cortisol levels drop.
Cortisol is the VIP hormone that helps your body respond to stress. When you are stressed, it activates the brain amygdala, also known as the fear center, and shrinks the pre-frontal cortex, which manages self control and discipline. After a comprehensive test in Germany, scientists discovered that even the subject’s saliva contained less cortisol after just one yoga class. The hormone cortisol is also responsible for regulating a wide range of processes through your body, so it is imperative that it stays in check.
3.) Your brain even grows in size.
It’s safe to say that your brain has alot to gain from bending and stretching. Using MRI scans and control groups found that with yoga practiced during the week, certain areas of the brain were enlarged. The mental map of your body, the somatosensory cotex (stress) and the hippocampus (the anxiety and stress reliever) were both larger in the heads of yogis compared to those that did not hit the mat. Other areas, which help you concentrate and enhance a greater self image, grew in size as well.
4.) The gray matter density in your brain changes.
The gray matter in your brain is part of your nervous system. It’s main duties are taking care of muscle control and sensory perception like hearing, seeing, and remembering. After a 2 month long test, using a combination of yoga and meditation at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard researchers determined that the part of your brain that lowers stress had a much denser gray matter. These changes in gray matter they stated, encouraged people to relax more and be able to enjoy life in general.
5.) Improves your neural processing or sharpens your memory.
Cortical folding, known in the medical community as gyrification, occurs in the cerebral cortex when you meditate and do yoga on a regular basis. The more folds you have, the better your neural processing is. Researchers found that gyrification might even offset age-related cortical thinning. That means you could keep a youthful brain much longer. Sharper and a more youthful brain by just doing yoga? I’m in!
6.) Your parasympathetic nervous system is activated. This chills, calms and relaxes you!
The parasympathetic nervous system is the “rest and digest” part of your body. Activated, it relaxes your brain and sends you into a “chill out” mode. Blood is directed toward endocrine glands, digestive organs, and lymphatic circulation, while your heart rate and blood pressure are lowered. It is the opposite of the flight or fight (sympathetic) nervous system response.
Even more fascinating than our brains on yoga is the one who actually created our brains. Though doctors and scientists have been studying the brain for a long time, much of the brain still remains incomprehensible. However, our Heavenly Father knows everything about us because He created us. He didn’t just leave us to figure out how to maintain the best possible lifestyle either. He gave us verses of Scripture in maintaining our health from the inside out, with all of His Power and strength from Heaven above.
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Psalm 139:13
What ever is true, what ever is noble, what ever is honest, what ever is just, what ever is pure, what ever is lovely, what ever is commendable, what ever is excellent…if anything is worthy of praise, think on these things.
Philippians 4:8
Haven’t you known?
Haven’t you heard.
The everlasting God, The Lord, The Creator of the ends of the world, doesn’t faint.
He isn’t weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the weak.
He increases the strength of him or her who has no might!
Isaiah 40:28-29
“Halleluyah!”
