[Physical]

If you already practice yoga then the chances are you already know the seemingly endless benefits of doing so!

As well as boosting your strength, enhancing your agility, helping you to maintain your weight and keeping stress and anxiety at bay, it has also been suggested that yoga can help with fertility. In fact, yoga can support you through the process of getting pregnant, during your pregnancy and also post-birth.

The varying health and wellness advantages of yoga vary depending on what type of class you are taking part in. Each of the asanas has their own exciting set of benefits and knowing which poses are best for all aspects of pregnancy can be very helpful for supporting you during this part of you life!

Yoga Poses and Fertility

Certain yoga poses are fantastic for giving both the endocrine system and the reproductive system a helping hand.

The endocrine system is responsible for producing hormones and having a healthy hormonal balance is key to fertility. This system consists of a collection of glands and affects practically every cell in the body in one way or another.

The reproductive system can be supported in several ways by yoga. By helping the flow of energy through the body, lowering stress levels, increasing circulation, and stimulating the reproductive organs, you have the potential to improve your fertility!

The following poses are believed to be great for boosting fertility and you can easily take just ten minutes each day to practice them.

Bee Breath (Bhramari Pranayama)

This stress relieving breathing pose is perfect for tackling the emotional blockages that can contribute to decreased fertility. Regularly practicing this pose can calm the mind, alleviate anxiety and soothe stressful thoughts.

To engage in this pose you must simply sit comfortably with your eyes closed. You can then place each of your index fingers on the tops of your ears. Breathe in deeply as you gently push the cartilage area of your ears with each finger. You must then release your fingers when you breathe out. Continue with this cycle of breathing in and pressing the cartilage, and breathing out and releasing your fingers for a minimum of ten breaths.

Shoulder Stand (Sarvangasana)

This pose is perfect for stimulating the thyroid gland, which is a main component of the endocrine system. Hormones secreted from the thyroid gland regulate many of the essential functions in the body, including the menstrual cycle, body weight, body temperature and more*. This pose is also great for stress relief and promoting a calm mindset.

To engage in this pose you should lie on your back on your mat with your legs stretched away from you. Your arms should rest at either side of your body with your palms facing down. Raise both legs up towards the sky at a 90-degree angle, push your palms into the ground, and bring your waist slightly up off the mat. As you lift your hips, move your legs forwards but ensure that you keep them vertical to the ground. As you continue to support your body with your hands on the floor, move your legs further so that they are at a right angle to the floor.

Hold yourself in this position for between one and two minutes, breathing deeply and mindfully as you do so. When you are ready to exit the pose you can slowly lower your legs back down to the ground until you are once again flat on your mat.

Staying Positive

If you have been trying to conceive for a long time then it can of course be frustrating that it hasn’t happened for you yet. This additional stress can actually further hinder your chances as your hormones are impacted by the knock-on effects of this stress. A regular yoga practice is a natural way to combat this stress whilst also helping with your fertility in other ways.

So, stay positive, stay on the mat and choose clothing for your yoga practice that supports your body and expresses your personality. Click here to check out the range of activewear available from PAMA London!

[Physical]

Fashion is an ever-evolving concept and this is true whether the clothes are being worn in the high street or in the gym!

Sportswear Style Through History

Sportswear style has been influenced over time by many different aspects of society. It can be inferred that initially activewear would have consisted primarily of garments simply designed to cover a person in a comfortable and sensible way. However, over time as the concept of fashion continued to develop, this became as applicable to sportswear as it did to other areas of the wardrobe.

The earliest sporting activities that people can be observed participating in are arguably those that involved shooting and hunting. Therefore, some of the very earliest active wear choices can be seen to have been tailored to these activities. Tennis and golf were also popular early sports.

Women in Sport

When it comes to the clothes that were designed for women to wear whilst engaging in these sports, the garments were certainly designed more to suit the attitudes of society at the time. The clothing would often be quite heavy and actually restrict their movements. This is because it was seen to be more important to keep the body covered for modesty than it was to be able to move freely.

It wasn’t until the early 1920’s that women’s sportswear began to evolve to help the player, rather than just to keep her covered. In 1922, Suzanne Lenglen started to smash expectations of women in sport when she turned up to play a tennis match in a short skirt and without her hat – the first woman to ever do so!* Although this was a huge step forwards, it was a further decade later until women began to wear trousers during sports.

Shifting Attitudes

From this point onwards a shift in society began to emerge in regards to what was acceptable for women to wear during sports. This is a concept that was further fuelled by the push for gender equality that was apparent during the Second World War.

When World War Two came to an end in 1945, synthetic fibres became more prominent within the clothing industry. This opened up a whole new world of activewear potential. Nylon was a particularly popular choice for making sports garments at this time, and was used to create clothes that were not only comfortable but that looked good too!

In fact, it is fair to say that by the 1950’s attitudes in regards to women’s sportswear had shifted from conforming to societies expectations, to satisfying the fashion choices of the individual.

Activewear Today

A balance between style and comfort is evident when observing the clothing choices that people make for physical activities today. Both men and women have the freedom to make their individual choices when it comes to their sports clothing. For many people functionality and comfort is the most important thing. However, due to the endless availability of different styles of sportswear today, it is easy to find clothes that are both stylish and practical!

Choosing the Right Clothes

The clothes that you choose to wear to exercise will first and foremost be influenced by the sport that you are doing. For example, you wouldn’t wear the same clothes to yoga that you would wear to go skiing!

Your clothing choices may also be influenced by your interest in preserving the resources of the planet by opting for sustainable fabrics. A subject that you can click here to read more about!

[Creative]

Happiness is something that we all want to invite into our lives in abundance whenever possible! However, we often go about doing so in different ways. With each individual step on our journey to happiness, we may discover new and exciting things that help us to reach this goal. We meet new people, embrace new pursuits, and learn more about ourselves and what we are capable of. Some of these things may have a permanent influence on how happy we are, whereas some may turn out to not be as positive.

One indisputable way to create a mindset that enables happiness to thrive is by regularly engaging in exercise.

Some of the most obvious benefits of regular exercise are weight loss, weight maintenance and muscle building. However, there are also many advantages to be enjoyed by both the body and mind in other ways. When you exercise frequently, you will notice that your stress levels are lower, that you are less prone to anxiety and that your mood is better and more consistent. And, all of these things help to create genuine happiness!

Let’s take a look at why this is!

A Dose of Dopamine

When you are engaging in some kind of moderate intensity physical activity, you will stimulate dopamine production in your brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is necessary for feelings of happiness and pleasure.

Research* has suggested that our dopamine stores naturally become depleted as we grow older. Therefore, finding ways to continuously encourage the brain to make more dopamine as we age is essential if we are to continue being happy!

Happy Hormones

Getting our stress levels down is something that we can all surely benefit from. The negative effects of leading a stressful life are serious! Stress can make us ill, make us sad, make us irritable – all of which can lead us to treat those we interact with in a different way than we would like to. To put it simply, stress damages our mood and it keeps us from becoming the happiest that we can be!

When you exercise you are actually instigating small amounts of stress to occur within the body as your heart rate rises. This increase in your heart rate causes a change in the levels of hormones that are present, and can therefore have a knock-on effect on your mood.

When you regularly subject your body to small bursts of stress, it becomes much better able to cope with the larger stresses that are encountered in your day to day.

It has been suggested that aerobic exercise is the best way to enjoy the stress-busting benefits of working out, and you can try swimming, running or cycling to get started!

Fuel Your Focus

It is difficult to dedicate much time at all to being happy when your mind is cluttered with thoughts, feelings, worries and anxieties! If you have a busy schedule, or have pressures placed upon you for any reason, then happiness can often take a back seat to getting everything done.

Exercise has the potential to help you clear your mind of all of these stresses, and encourage you to focus more on what is actually important.

How Much Exercise?

When it comes to how much exercise we should be engaging in, there is good news for those who are short on time! One study* suggests that even engaging in a short 20 minute burst of exercise can enhance your mood for the following 12 hours. If this is true, then starting your day with something as simple as a 20 minute run could have a huge impact on how positive the rest of your day is.

At PAMA London we know first hand how fantastic exercise is for health and happiness. With our extensive range of activewear we wish to encourage everyone to get into fitness in a comfortable, stylish and sustainable way. Click here now to check out what’s on sale!