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Natural Awakenings National

Get a Better Body Image: Viewing Yourself More Positively with Yoga

Want to make peace with your physique? Step off the treadmill and onto a yoga mat. A report in Psychology of Women Quarterly found that women who participate in mind-body exercises, specifically yoga, are more satisfied with their bodies than those who stick to aerobic workouts. Compared with those who take a step class at the gym, yoga practitioners are more likely to understand their own bodies and judge themselves by qualities such as health, energy level and coordination rather than appearance. Why? The latter “may negatively reinforce the view that you need to constantly strive to improve your body,” notes study author Jennifer Daubenmier, Ph.D.

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