Benefits of Yoga for Healthy Hair
Thousands, no, millions of beauties across the world are regularly rolling out their yoga mats and bracing themselves for downwards-facing dog or reverse warrior pose, and we’re so here for it. As well as the countless benefits for our overall health and wellbeing – there also some key benefits for healthy curls, kinks and coils.
Personal testimonies on the positives of this ancient practice range from helping to reduce overall stress and calming the mind, all the way to miraculous health and body transformations. But even better, the rewards of regular yoga sessions go beyond making your limbs more flexible and your mind less flustered – the goodness will radiate all the way down to the tips of your hair.
So if you can’t beat, why not join them, right? Especially if it means healthier curls and coils.
The top 3 benefits of yoga for the hair:
1: Supports the body from the inside, out
In Ayurveda, a healthy digestive system is thought to be the mainstream of health and wellbeing, and western medicine is beginning to catch up (yay). Yoga gets to work from the inside out, where sequences involving a combination of deep breathing, stretches targeting abdominal organs, and twists, literally help wring out intestinal toxins, supporting healthy digestion and helping to eliminate waste. All of the good stuff is then better absorbed and your body is better able to produce new cells making way for healthier skin, hair and nails.
2: Reduces Stress
A major benefit of practising yoga is that it’s great for reducing the symptoms and affects of stress, which can help combat against stress-induced hair loss and excess shedding. It also teaches us to take a few minutes to breathe deeply, which can also reduce anxiety and panic attacks. So when our kinks might be knottier than usual or our best efforts are not going our way in life, love, work, or otherwise – get into your best warrior pose or take some time out and know that it’s going to be alright.
“No matter what expectations might be weighing heavy on you, or what demands are in need of your attention, perhaps this week you might entertain the idea of finding an anchor that helps you to centre. Show up for yourself. That might be a commitment to a daily yoga practice for example (laying down and resting is totally a yoga practice by the way, as is a custard creme party, you define it by your own terms).”
Dionne Elizabeth, Changing The Menu
3: Gets blood flowing to the scalp
As we stretch out and open our bodies during yoga, oxygen and nutrients rush into our cells like a sponge soaks up water. Our haemoglobin (google, Beauts) levels shoot up, as well as red blood cells, which both help carry oxygen around the body. The simple reason yoga benefits our hair is because it increases blood circulation to the head (especially when doing Sirsasana – aka headstands); nourishing and stimulating the scalp – which means a potential for greater hair growth (but headstand responsibly please Beauties, and check in with your doctors first before undertaking a new health care regimen).
Want to know more about incorporating yoga into your lifestyle? Come back for next weeks guest blog post by Sanchia of Yogahood Ldn and Gyal Flex sharing her journey and wisdom.
Photo credit to SanchiaLegister.com
Please note this information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen.