Susie Vanner: Maintaining a Healthy Body and Mind

Renowned for her role in the 1977 Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me, among her various other acting roles, Susie Vanner is a strong proponent of healthy living. She maintains an alkaline diet, avoids alcohol and sugars, and regularly practices yoga. This article will explore the benefits of yoga in terms of both physical and mental health and well-being.

Increases Strength

Incorporating a variety of different stretching exercises, yoga can be a great way of building strength depending on the approach, class level, and teacher. Studies on armed forces personnel suggest that yoga can help participants across many age groups to build strength and stamina.

Relieves Stress

Yoga presents an excellent avenue for stress reduction. In addition to the physical aspects, breath work, meditation and auditory rituals can all have a positive impact in terms of driving down stress levels and improving mental health.

Enhances Flexibility

In 2016, Yoga Alliance and Yoga Journal – two leading yoga organisations – joined forces, conducting a global survey reviewing statistics about yoga to quantify its value amid soaring popularity. The most commonly cited reason given by yoga participants for taking part in the activity was to ‘increase flexibility’.

Reduces Inflammation

Inflammation is often a precursor to chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, Crohn’s disease and arthritis. Yoga has been shown to reduce the biochemical markers of inflammation in numerous research studies.

Improves Mental Health

Depression is believed to be one of the most common mental health disorders globally today. Both breathing-based yoga practices and movement-based therapies have been shown to substantially alleviate symptoms of depression.

Boosts Immunity

Chronic stress negatively impacts the immune system, rendering people more susceptible to illness. Research is ongoing, but scientists believe that they may have discovered a tangible link between practicing yoga consistently over time and improving immune system functioning.

Improves Quality of Life

Factors that affect the quality of life include relationships, learning opportunities, material comforts, creativity, and, of course, health. For decades, researchers have viewed the quality of life as an important indicator of an individual’s likely lifespan, as well as an indicator of a patient’s likelihood of improvement when treated for an injury or chronic illness. According to a meta-analysis undertaken in 2019, yoga shows promising potential to improve the quality of life for individuals experiencing chronic pain.