Thefuturemindset, Author at The Future Mindset

10 Astonishing Benefits Of Practising Yoga

By Adam Smith

In today’s article, 10 Astonishing Benefits Of Practising Yoga. I will show you why yoga is beneficial for your mental wellbeing. The mindset of a yogi offers great mental strength I wanted to tap into. As well as physical benefits. The mental benefits for me are astonishingly effective. I hope today your inspired to give yoga a shot.

What I Thought Yoga Was

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Yoga? I always thought it was some hippy person or more of a female thing to do. I came to find out this was so far from the truth and a stereotype I wished I never had the pleasure of knowing.

Luckily for me during the early part of 2020 I was inspired to give Yoga a try. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, we have experienced I had to do all my learning from home and started trying different videos via YouTube.

My first few I did was OK. Some were really annoying and others kind of put me off coming back. I persisted and thankfully I came across a channel called Breathe and Flow. The rest is history.

How Has It Helped Me?

Breathe and Flow have become my mentors daily with their amazing videos. They combine building strength, flexibility and mediation into their routine. They also adhere to beginners who have never done it before like me and as you get better a more expert variety.

To be honest I was shocked at how difficult some of the moves are and made me realise how my body is not in the shape it needs to be. Overall for me, I feel stronger more flexible and after every session, I feel challenged and relaxed for the day.

When I don’t do it I feel less in control of my emotions or more sluggish, it’s that noticeable.

10 Astonishing Benefits Of Practising Yoga

1. Form Of Meditation

Yoga can offer mediation in a variety of different positions that stretch the muscles but also relaxes you at the same time. With a major focus on breath work throughout the whole practice, this can help you take control of your breath and focus on the presence of what’s happening. After working on my core for example in Yoga, towards the end focussing on stillness through breath-work can have major benefits for the mind.

2. Great For Body Strength

I never realised how strong you need to pull off some of the moves you have to do in Yoga. I have so much respect for what people can do with their body now. Especially after trying them myself with a lot of wobbling and failure at the first attempt. Now I can hold myself in positions for a crazy amount of time and do positions I never thought possible when I first did it. With core strength being a major contribution to health as we get older, I feel this has helped me progress to a strong core.

3. Great For Discipline

One thing you need and develop with Yoga is discipline over the mind with moves that have long held especially.

An example I had was with core hold with me pressing my forearm backwards to make it a more intense experience on my abdominals. I thought 2 minutes wasn’t long at all but then the shaking starts fast for my body and 2 minutes felt like a lifetime.

But with the calming voice of my mentor Flo I have increased my discipline to persevere through discomfort and my mind telling me to give up like an alarm bell ringing. This sets you up for the day as well and has made me more consciously disciplined throughout my day too.

4. Increases Flexibility

After my sports years early in life, many years have passed and as a consequence, my flexibility has declined. This was very much apparent when doing different positions in Yoga compared to my mentor who could put his body in all kinds of positions.

Reassuringly Flo states that you don’t have to be in the positions he is in to get the benefits of the move which helped me feel less bad for sure. Brilliantly but slowly my flexibility has improved but I’m still yet to have my feet fully down in the downward dog. (This will happen)

5. Protection From Growing Old

As said previously Yoga is a great way of combatting age and keeping the body active. This is something I’m very conscious of and would like full control of my body without aches and pains during my later years. There have been miraculous cases where people have been suffering from back pain and after doing Yoga, the pain goes away. The body is like anything, if it’s underused it will lose all of its benefits, so keeping the body active through yoga is a great way that anyone can do it.

6. Makes You Happier

For me, I have become a lot happier person because of Yoga. It offers me a challenge but also a great sense of accomplishment in the process that makes me happy. Just like any exercise, the endorphins that get released can boost your mood levels. So if you need more happiness, yoga can definitely add to it.

7. Helps With Focus

Very similar to discipline it has increased my focus as well. Especially as a lot of the moves require you to be fully engaged to pull off. With the increased focus this can be transferred throughout the rest of your day with my productivity and focus on a task being heightened because of it.

8. Improves Balance

Some of the moves require great balance. For instance, doing a side plank with the arm in the air then rising one knee to your chest can be a real challenge. There’s a lot of wobbling for me but now that has stopped mostly and my balance overall has improved

9.Clears Your Mind

If your feeling stressed or feeling anxious, Yoga can help you dispel this feeling into one of calmness. With the daily stresses of life, being in control of your mind is crucial for your mental health and a great way to take charge of that is through Yoga practice.

Every time I finish my session I feel balanced mentally with a feeling of calmness which is much needed. Since this has become a daily habit I have seen negative feelings diminish and I am more aware of them creeping up on me.

10. Helps You Stay Present

The past and the future can be ever-present in your mind but Yoga can help quieten those thoughts into what you are doing presently through breath-work. My focus on the breath throughout the practice helps me stay present. I continue the breathwork through the day because of it which helps me stay in control of my emotions, especially stressful moments. Much needed when looking after 2 years old.

Final Thoughts

If your an athlete doing Yoga should be a must and be put into your daily schedule as will benefit your progress. Every child should be doing this too as it aides them in everything they need to work on with their developing body’s, I know first hand how much my son has improved with yoga that helped him in Karate and football.

Lastly for anyone who wants to develop their strength, core, flexibility, balance, mental health and a form of mediation. Yoga can be anything you want to be and has been practised for many centuries within the Asian world where it was invented and the benefits are eminence. Whatever stereotype you have heard about Yoga is untrue and if you can find the right mentor you will come to know how could it is. I would highly recommend check out Breathe And Flow on YouTube or Instagram. Hopefully, they can offer you something of value with Yoga.

Have a great day.

Namaste

How To Bounce Back With Job Loss

By Adam Smith

This Is A New Opportunity

how to bounce back with job loss during a pandemic — Photo by Jan Kahánek on Unsplash

Losing a job can be hard for anyone. Being in a place where you are comfortable and knowing you can pay all your expenses each month with the pay you receive. When that’s gone you can feel out of your comfort zone. I’ve been in this position once and my first few days I was a bit uncomfortable with the idea of change. This is a normal feeling when things in your life become different but what humans are great at is adapting. The mindset should be of a new opportunity, not a lost one. This will help you to move forward into a direction that inspires you or makes you happier.

Short Term Solution

With expenses and a family or yourself to provide for. Waiting too long to plan your next career move can be unfeasible within your life. When you leave your previous occupation. Make sure you work out your finances for what your expenses are to live. The reason for this is because finding your dream career might not come straight away but paying your expenses is a must. With the number, you have calculated you should defiantly find a job that covers all your expenses with anything higher being a bonus. This will keep you in control of your finances and less stressed to make better decisions on your career going forward. The mindset to have here is humble. Lose the pride and the ego and do whatever you have to do ethically to support yourself and your family.

Longer-Term Thinking

This is the fun part. The world is your oyster and it’s time to think about what you want to do next. Is it earning more money doing what you already know or could it be applying for a job you have no experience in but would love to do? This is the strategy I looked at when I left my career path. For me, I wanted more freedom in my life with control of my destiny. Creating my own business allowed me to fulfil those desires. You have to sit down with your favourite drink in a nice quiet place in your home and think about what will make you happy and purposeful in your next career path.

Spruce Up Your C.V

The last time you looked at your CV was probably the last time you applied for your job. I know mine was. Before you start sending a CV out make sure you have updated every part. You are defiantly more experienced and a better asset for a company now so don’t forget to show this. Also getting it double-checked by a professional or someone you trust can go a long way to making sure your CV sounds great and also stands out from the rest of the crowd. Also have two copies of your CV, one for more genric jobs and one where you can update it specifically to stand out for a company you want to join. This allows you to speak to the company for what they want whereas your generic CV might not resituate with them.

Update Your Social Media

This is ever important now compared to let’s say 10 years ago. Depending on what job you’re going for. Companies now do a background check on individuals they are hiring and if they see you in a bad light on social media this could be a major set back if a company was deciding to accept you over someone whose social media presence was flawless. Make sure your social media account are either updated to look professional or hidden to family, friends and no prying eyes of anyone who you don’t want to see it.

Build Something For Yourself

If you have left your job and have an idea to create and own something for yourself. You 100% should pursue this. Understand this will be hard work and may even not work out. It could even take years to make a profit as getting rich quick is super rare. Don’t let this put you off but you have to be smart about it. Make it a project you do around your new job until you can sustain your self with your business income. This will allow you to start stress-free about money and concentrate on your product or service you have to offer.

Don’t Be Embarrassed To Ask For Help

When leaving a job it can be a shock on your finances really quick. Maybe finding a job won’t come fast enough to pay your next months expenses. That’s OK. In the UK we have universal credit which you can apply for to help cover your costs until you find a job. It’s not a perfect system but it’s better to have the help rather than not. Whichever country your from seek help from your government to help you short term. Try your best to stay away from loans with high interest and negotiate with the people you owe money to, to give a bit of leeway based on your current situations. Most of the time they can be very accommodating

Learn A New Skill You Have Always Wanted To Do

Learning new skills can be greatly motivating. This is the perfect opportunity to try this out after you have left a job you know like the back of your hand. Think about a skill that you would love to do to either build a stronger foundation on what you already do or go for something completely new. Your motivation will skyrocket and be stimulated in the process.

Enter Back Into Education

If you haven’t already entered into higher education. This could be a great opportunity to increase your chances of getting further up the ladder in your profession or helping you enter a career path your passionate about. When your young it can be hard to know what to do for a career but later in life it can become more apparent. There’s plenty of stories of people going back to university in their 40s and learning to become a lawyer for example and changing their whole life because of it. It’s never too late to change direction. University, for example, is not just for young people wanting a good time. It’s there for anyone who wants to become an expert in a certain field that allows them to practice those skills earning an income they desire in a job they love. That’s the best-case scenario I suppose and it is possible.

Final Thoughts

Leaving a job can be a stressful time but if we look at it as a new and exciting opportunity you can level up and do something even better. I hope this helps you or someone else you care for in any way. I think we all go through it at some point and in times of hardship now is the time to create something new for yourself. A life that you have always wanted but didn’t have the chance to do. When losing a job, this is the time to take control back of your life. Any questions or support don’t hesitate to message below. Look forward to seeing on the next post.