The Official Newsletter of the Law Office of Mark Nicholson

3 Ways Yoga Can Benefit You

In the modern world, it is stressful, and there is always so much to do. It would take a pretty compelling set of reasons to convince a successful person (or even an unsuccessful one) to add something else to an already packed schedule, so why would they even think about regular Yoga classes.  This article examines the three main benefits of Yoga and how they apply to the busy person.

Benefit Number One:  Physical Health

All busy people have an ultimate goal. The goal is to achieve things and obtain wealth, isn’t it?  Have you ever heard the saying that your health is your wealth?  It is true.  No matter how much money you have, you cannot benefit from it if you are dead and personal health is often neglected in today’s busy world.  But the question is not whether one can afford the time for exercise to become healthy; whether they can afford not to.  Health is a shifting scale – you are not either healthy or dead.  It’s essential to think about how much your level of health affects your work.  A healthy body will allow you to concentrate more, work harder and increase the time you spend productively.

Yoga is the perfect way for busy people to look after their physical well-being.  Because the exercises are so incredibly low impact, they can be performed even by the most out of shape person, and the more regularly they are performed, the better that person’s health will become.  Yoga is a very efficient method of releasing tension and stress.  During a workday, certain blockages develop around the body. Many of our vital organs do not get the full amount of oxygen and nutrients needed to function at peak efficiency.  Yoga stretches different muscle groups in certain ways, leading to these blockages being released and the blood flow bringing the body’s organs all the oxygen and nutrients they need.

Yoga’s health benefits are both immediate and long-term.  In the short term, blood flow increases, and the body functions better because it is achieving the nutrients it requires.  Tension is also released from muscles, and the body’s lymphatic system can more effectively deal with waste products.  These will be ongoing benefits in the longer term, and the digestive system will also function more efficiently, which has innumerable health benefits.  The general balance, coordination, and flexibility will also be significantly enhanced.

Benefit Number Two:  Mental Health

Have you ever considered the importance of a breath?  We know that when someone stops breathing, they die. This simplistic understanding should tell us how important it is to breathe.  But breathing properly is often ignored.  It is vital not only for the numerous health benefits but also for the strong mental advantages.
Yoga sessions will usually begin with a standing, breathing exercise.  The simple process of taking in a deep breath and releasing it slowly is incredibly calming and the basis of the breathing exercises that are a vital backbone to the Yoga discipline.  The key to this breathing is that it draws our attention to the one simple act of breathing.  We become very aware of the life-giving benefit of a deep and controlled breathing cycle and can achieve a level of calmness that we often don’t seek out in our everyday lives.  That calmness itself is a stepping-stone to achieving focus.

The ability to focus is probably the single most important primary skill in a work environment.  There is always so much going on around us, and so much that needs to be done that it is difficult to focus on the single task we are doing because of the multitude of things in the back of our minds. Regular Yoga teaches techniques to quickly clear the mind of all these other distractions and then focus our mental efforts on a single task.  It is also a great provider of personal discipline.  The self-discipline learned from focusing on the body and becoming master of oneself is a key benefit of Yoga.

Benefit Number Three:  Happiness

Happiness is a goal that is often sacrificed in the short term in exchange for some mystical point in the future when everything will come together and be okay.  Yoga doesn’t move you any closer to that mystical time, but because you develop such a strong sense of self and connection with yourself, it is common to become more content with your current situation.  You will find that the more you practice Yoga, the more you will be comfortable spending time alone and amongst other people.  Your sense of self-worth will increase, and you will perform better in social situations.  This is perhaps the most important gift that Yoga will give to you.

Nugget of the Month

“Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.”

By: Buddha

Below is a sample from the Capital Punishment booklet written by my Legal Assistant, Molly Waldrop.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

For centuries, capital punishment has been used as a way of serving justice and executing convicted criminals in a wicked, unnatural manner. In 36 states of the U.S., there are several options for the death penalty, such as lethal injection, electrocution, hanging, firing squad, and lethal gas.

However, time and time again, innocent people are put on death row, awaiting their heinous fate of an unnatural and surely horrifying death. Unfortunately, in the past, these innocent people are sentenced to death, despite committing no crime. However, there have been victories where the innocent have come out at the end triumphant, finally free and their names being cleared. Many times, it is all in thanks to the ever-evolving forensic science. The debate over the humaneness of capital punishment has been argued for decades.

There are strong arguments for both sides. Many stories have been told about those who were unfortunate enough to experience capital punishment… and those who survived being put on death row for crimes that they did not commit.

By: Molly Waldrop, Legal Assistant
For a free copy of the book, click here.