Yoga And Pilates To Help You Quit
Written by Rupert Kircz | Friday, 05 February 2010 | There are 0 comments
No harm in giving it a try!
We have often advised that people quitting smoking should make an effort to eat healthly and get exercise. Many of our readers however have complained that the sudden drastic change from being a super unhealthy smoker one day and then becoming a health freak the next is unrealistic and impractical. They say that after years of not exercising they can’t suddenly enjoy going to the gym every day.
Well, there are ways of getting exercise which could be extremely beneficial for smokers and which would not require too much physical exertion. Probably the best thing to start with is yoga. Not only will yoga tone up your body but it will calm your mind, reduce cravings for cigarettes and motivate you to stay smoke free. Another form of exercise which is only a little bit more strenuous than yoga is Pilates.
Pilates can be done by anybody no matter what their ages and has been shown to motivate people who have just quit smoking to continue with healthy lifestyle patterns. Pilates works on every part of the body to improve posture, control and general strength which can make you feel much younger.
It’s no good trying getting on a treadmill and trying to run for twenty minutes every day if you hate it because it will eventually get the better of you and make you detest exercise even more. Look for alternatives which are sensible like playing squash, swimming or even walking the dog every day rather than doing something which you don’t like.
Another often underestimated benefit of quitting smoking is that sense of achievement and personal satisfaction that you get. Ex smokers talk about how quitting smoking boosted their confidence because it showed them that they were capable of meeting a serious challenge.
No harm in giving it a try! Even if you are still smoking you might find that either yoga or Pilates gives you that extra boost to quit.
