Why Yoga Might Help You Quit Smoking

by Clarissa Adkins | More from this Blogger

07 Feb 2007 10:19 AM

You may have already gone through several cycles of trying to quit smoking just over the past month of forgotten and renewed resolutions of the New Year. Before you resign yourself to just trying again next year, see if anything here gives you motivation to try again.

Becoming more aware of how your body feels and of your breathing patterns is one of the most easily experienced side-effects of practicing yoga. A simple, Gentle Yoga class could provide you with enough body awareness to firm your resolve. The focusing exercises, combined with poses and breath, allow you to better feel how the body is working, or not working. You can experiment with this idea by going to a class within an hour of having a cigarette. After a couple of days, go to your yoga class without having a cigarette in the two or three hours prior. Between the two classes, compare how you felt. You'll enjoy being able to breathe better and the body will feel less toxic. Your body will automatically let you know that your foreign input is not wanted on a deep level. On a side note, also see if the yoga helps you alleviate any symptoms of withdrawal.

This growing awareness of how deeply just one cigarette affects you, will hopefully help you create more resolve to quit. It's ok to develop disgust about your habit. Getting "grossed out" can grow your will power. Becoming more aware of your senses while you practice yoga reveals weaknesses and imbalances in the body. I believe that part of quitting smoking is experiencing, on as many levels as possible, just how much it affects your body.

As you move along in your practice, while perhaps adding other fitness activities to your routine, you'll see how cigarettes fit in with your lifestyle less and less. Feeling your body get stronger is one of the best motivations to make your body as healthy as it can be. Harming the body goes against our instinct of survival. Yoga can be a wonderful, non-competitive way to find resolve, strength and intuition about your soon-to-be, ex-smoking habit.

Other articles to motivate you:

Ten Reasons to Quit Smoking Today

Yoga Cues: Listening to Your Body

Stop Smoking: Exercise Can Help

10 Reasons to Be Thankful About Stopping Smoking

Moderation in the Yogic Lifestyle - Where Does Caffeine Fit in?

Learn more about Clarissa Adkins

Clarissa is a wife and mother, a yoga instructor and a freelance writer. She most recently has moved back to her home state of Virginia.

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