Yoga

It invites us to meet ourselves as we are: 

We use breath work (pranayama techniques) to anchor ourselves, and invite presence. Yoga encourages us to create space, and step back from the noise and distractions of everyday life with the intention of self connection. 

It increases strength, balance, flexibility and mobility: 

Yoga works to target the entire body by positively stressing muscle groups through static holds and dynamic sequences. The strength you develop in yoga is functional and purposeful. 

The breath:

Our breath lives with us. It laughs with us, cries with us, gets excited with us.

You'd be surprised by how few of us actually fulfil diaphragmatic breathing. For most of us, our breathing is short, shallow and sharp, which can encourage tension in the body (particularly through the shoulders, neck and chest muscles).  

If you're stressed, you are more inclined to take shorter breaths, which can make you more anxious as the tension increases through your chest muscles. In yoga, we are reminded to bring our awareness to our breath. By doing that, we immediately begin to slow the breath and deepen it's capacity, which often enables a greater sense of calm.