With yoga as the basis for a holistic approach to health and fitness, you can resculpt your body and regain energy levels you haven’t felt in years.
The holistic methods I support embrace the concept of balance, striving for coherence between the physical and the mental by addressing every aspect of a healthy lifestyle. The physical aspects of holistic fitness not only build muscle strength and endurance but can also improve your mood, appetite, energy level and sleep patterns.
Yoga is an ideal basis for a holistic fitness practice since it uses physical movement, controlled breathing and meditation to improve mental and emotional health. While many come to it primarily for physical reasons, those who deepen their practice find new doors opening to the mental and spiritual aspects as well.
But a true approach to holistic fitness requires more than just selecting one type of physical activity but rather embracing a cross-training approach which balances out the strength and flexibility developed through yoga practice. Hiking, biking and jogging and other such activities build cardiovascular health while strengthening muscles to complement your yoga practice.
You Are What You Eat. A major aspect of the physical approach to holistic health is diet and people practicing holistic fitness often alter their diets to improve health as well. To receive the greatest benefits, one should eat whole plant-based foods and seek to incorporate more raw food into your diet. It also means cutting back on unnecessary calories from snacks and avoiding processed foods with little or no nutritional value such as white flour, white sugar and processed wheat. In most cases, those who clean up and moderate their diet can realize more energy, fewer health problems and greater mental clarity.
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