Yoga for the brain

Have you ever read something — perhaps a page of a book, a recipe or even, dare I say, an article in this magazine — and not remembered what you just read? What about recalling what you ate for breakfast yesterday or what you did last weekend?

In our overworked, overstimulated and technology-reliant culture, many of us, regardless of age, don’t use our brains as we once did and find it increasingly difficult to retain information, recall short-term memories and concentrate on what’s in front of us.

We may claim this is simply due to a “bad memory”, but a lot of the time it’s also because we simply are not present in our day-to-day lives and the finer details can easily slip by.

This is not to discount the fact that, as we age, we face cognitive decline, which affects memory. Indeed, the greatest fear for many of us is suddenly not being able to think of the words that used to so easily spring to mind, or too frequently getting into a flurry over not being able to find our car keys or mobile phone.

Yoga, with its infinite benefits, can play a role in keeping the brain stimulated