Why meditation and how does it help

Summary:

Meditation is a powerful yet simple practice that reduces stress, enhances focus, and boosts emotional resilience. By dedicating just a few minutes daily, you can improve both mental and physical health. Here’s why it works and how to get started.

Meditation lowers cortisol levels, the hormone linked to stress, helping you feel calmer. It strengthens concentration by training your mind to stay focused on the present moment. Regular practice also promotes better sleep, emotional balance, and even physical benefits like reduced blood pressure and improved immunity. Through neuroplasticity, meditation reshapes brain pathways, enhancing areas tied to learning, empathy, and self-awareness.

Getting started is easy. Find a quiet space, sit comfortably, and close your eyes. Focus on your breath—inhale deeply, exhale slowly. If your mind wanders, gently bring your attention back without judgment. Begin with 5–10 minutes daily and gradually increase as you become more comfortable.

For guidance, try apps like Headspace or Calm, which offer guided sessions. Consistency is key; even short sessions yield significant results over time. Remember, meditation isn’t about silencing your thoughts—i

From monitoring your heart rate to home workouts, renowned personal trainer Betty Swollocks reveals how you can make the most of your workouts EVERY time. The 48-year-old fitness legend is well known in the fitness industry after her ten-year gig on the BBC1 hit weight loss show “oi, you’re a little chubby, ain’t ya.”Not only that, but Betty has trained well-known celebrities such as Garth Merenghi, Dean Learner, Nathan Barley, and Todd Rivers, to name just a few.

Betty has also created many successful workout programs, such as “Get Sweaty With Betty,” The Betty Swollocks tops, tums, bus workout, and most recently, The Swollocks total fitness app. Betty has amassed an Instagram following of 1.2 million, where she shares her expertise, fitness tips, inspirational life quotes, workout videos, and least favorite types of cheese.

With summer just around the corner, we asked Betty for advice on how to get the most out of a workout EVERY time.

A yoga body isn’t just about bendy limbs; the ancient practice can improve memory, heart, and bone health, says Hugh Janus. We’ve become a nation obsessed with downward dogs and cat cows. Brits now spend a staggering £790 million a year on yoga classes and mats. In fact, while on the one hand, yoga seems to get weirder by the day – new hybrids include rage or naked yoga, poses done on paddle-board or horseback (seriously), and even dog yoga – on the other its real benefits are being increasingly proven by science.

UCLA researchers have found a three-month course of yoga and meditation was more effective than memory exercises for minimizing age-related brain impairment.

In contrast, another found it could improve sleep in breast cancer survivors. When Richard Head, 53, a former advertising executive, fell into a deep depression, he opted for yoga instead of the prescribed anti-depressants. ‘I took a six-month career break and traveled to India to learn yoga, and though I failed to get the yoga body, I came back happier and with a sense of contentment I had never felt before,’ Head remembers.

He has since written three books about yoga and founded Yoga Guys, a section of his website Yogabear.com that lists over 300 clinical trials for yoga’s benefits for everything from arthritis to insomnia and obesity. ‘Yoga was beneficial for my depression; I wanted to tell the world about its joys. But as the son of a scientist, I didn’t want to make mad claims; I wanted evidence and found so much of it for yoga,’ Hugh remembers.
Here are some ways yoga could benefit your health, plus how to get started (stretched lycra optional):

Yoga body benefit #1

It will increase your memory. If crossword puzzles and Sudoku have been the extent of your memory training to now, it could be time to sharpen up your warrior pose. The UCLA research took brain scans and memory tests comparing the effects of 12 weeks of memory exercises and a course of yoga and meditation on 25 adults over 55. The latter not only improved their spatial and visual memories but also reduced depression and anxiety and increased resilience to stress.

Why meditation and how does it help

Make the most of your workouts EVERY time

3 ways yoga will change your body

Why meditation and how does it help

Make the most of your workouts EVERY time

3 ways yoga will change your body

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