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Feeling Good: It’s Not a Stretch

Rating: 4 out of 5
Who wouldn’t want to feel more energized and have a smile on their face all day? But short of popping some "happy pills," it seems there’s no easy way. Until now. Enter yoga.

Yep, some simple yoga-style stretches and poses could do the trick. People who did them for 5 weeks reported a lift in their moods and more spring in their steps.

Positive Poses
A type of yoga that focuses on mood-boosting poses seemed to be particularly helpful in raising spirits in a recent study. In fact, people’s moods not only generally improved about halfway through 5 weeks of doing Iyengar yoga, but posers also felt a bit better after class, too. Talk about instant gratification. Try doing some of these simple yoga moves at your desk right now.

More Ways to Smile
If yoga doesn’t fit into your feel-good plans, try one of these better-mental-place lifestyle changes: Find out if your blue mood might qualify as depression by taking this RealAge quiz.
RealAge Benefit: Taking care of your emotional health and well-being can make your RealAge up to 16 years younger.

References Published on 07/01/2008.
A yoga intervention for young adults with elevated symptoms of depression. Woolery, A. et al., Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 2004 Mar-Apr;10(2):60-63.

EDITOR'S PICK
Yoga for stress relief


Some days, it’s tough to remember what happy feels like. Work pressures, family schedules, gas prices -- ugh. Take time out for you! Yoga for Stress Relief offers 20 relaxing stretch routines to get your mood back on track. We like that.

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Tips from the RealAge Community MemberTipsIcon
What’s your favorite yoga pose, and why?
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86TB00MB17
7 of 7 people found this helpful.
7/7/2008 2:32:24 AM

Keep smiling whatever happens
foxylady2
2 of 3 people found this helpful.
7/2/2008 7:15:32 PM

I've been taking a class called stretch and strenghten, and the instructor says some of the moves are yoga. I had toe surgery yesterday, a [Show More]
aggarwal63
5 of 6 people found this helpful.
7/1/2008 1:46:43 AM

bhujangasan(serpent pose) is my favourite pose, as it gives instant energy by regularising blood circulation in the whole body.Hence,it impr [Show More]
[Edited by aggarwal63 on 7/1/2008 1:52:05 AM]
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