After a severe back injury flipped my world upside, I had to find a new way to live. Yoga had been suggested numerous times to help with rehabbing and realignment. Little did I know, I was going to experience the healthy benefits of yoga for your career success in Hollywood and in every day as an added bonus.
Many people, like myself, turn to yoga as a way to regain strength and flexibility after an injury. Yoga is not only beneficial for physical health, but it also improves emotional stability and focus levels. In addition, practicing yoga regularly is an excellent opportunity to add a new skill to the resume. We’ve all seen those castings looking for “real people“, right?
I can’t wait to take this moment to tell you how about the benefits of yoga for your career success in Hollywood that you may not have thought about.
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How I discovered the health benefits of yoga in the first place
When I experience my first big colossal back spasm, I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t stand up, rollover, or touch my toes. Obviously, the worst of the worst thoughts came rolling through my mind- I’m never going to be able to walk again, my dance career is over, I’ll never have career success in Hollywood, yada yada yada.
Yoga was suggested as a way to strengthen my back muscles (large and small) and to work on proper alignment.
Coming from a background in both gymnastics and dance, I was incredibly skeptical.
Turns out, I had only taken basic classes from untrained instructors at the local fitness center and it was NOT the bee’s knees.
At home yoga classes
After a home visit from the mobile chiropractor, Greg Malakoff, who suggested that I stay in downward dog all day long, I decided to give yoga another try.
One of the best things I have ever discovered is at-home yoga classes. I use to be a gym rat, but then it got to a point where I found myself sitting on the bench browsing through Instagram. Don’t @ me.
Tired of wasting money I started looking for ways to work out at home.
YogaToday is one of the online yoga classes that I fell in love with.
They have classes for all levels, areas of focus, and time constraints. I also like that the instructors make sure you move through the poses properly by explaining what muscles needed to be engaged and when.
Plus, what makes them unique is that almost all of the classes are filmed outdoors, so it’s a nice change of scenery other than a classic yoga studio. Grand Teton’s anyone?
Check it out for yourself, see what you think.
Health Benefits of Yoga for Your Career Success = Stamina on Set
Working on a film set can have long hours. Sometimes you’ll even be there for 12+ hours a day. If you are a crew member, add an extra 1or 2 hours to the beginning and end of that number. Wowzers.
See me there in purple… wearing heels! After my back injury, and before I started doing yoga, my back could NOT handle wearing heels, not even 1/2 inch.
Being on your feet all day long and moving objects around takes a LOT of physical strength and stamina. Here’s where the benefits of yoga for your career come into play.
For actors, standing around can be physically taxing on your body. I know this sounds silly because you’re often not doing a lot of physical work, but you’re usually standing on hard, uneven surfaces waiting for the lights, camera, and action.
Building strength in your back will allow you to stay on your feet longer. The last thing you want is to look like you’re in physical pain on camera. The camera picks up EVERYTHING.
Oh, and ladies, let’s be honest, a good majority of the time, you’ll be thrown in high heels. You may as well get your body strong and flexible to handle the long days on a film set.
Yoga for Better Focus
Yoga is a practice that has been around for centuries and is still going strong. Another healthy benefit of yoga is that it’s not just for the body, it can also be used to keep your mind in great shape.
Movie sets can be incredibly noisy. It’s not that everyone is being rowdy, but there are a lot of moving parts, heavy equipment being moved all around, and a lot of communication is needed.
The ability to focus and stay emotionally calm while you’re in the zone is crucial. You may be moments away from an emotional scene and there are cameras and lights being set up, and people talking all around you.
You HAVE to learn to block out all of the noise and distraction so you can focus on your scene and remain calm and stress free.
Not to mention that if you’re too busy paying attention to what everyone else is doing, or how many people are standing around watching you, you may forget your lines! Keeping calm and staying focused is so incredibly important for your career.
There are so many resources for meditation and focus that may help you out such as the Calm App and YogaToday.
The Best Health Benefits of Yoga = New Skills
Breathe and stretch! How many times have you seen a casting notice that says they’re looking for “real people“? Well, now that’s YOU (insert slight eye roll here)! Yoga is for everyone and a great new skill to add to your resume!
Additionally, I want to briefly touch upon stance. Yoga helps to develop a stronger and taller posture that makes you look and exude confidence. Just what you need in your actor’s toolkit.
Think about various character types that may also have a strong, tall posture ie. athletes, professional types, “upper class”. Your daily dose of yoga helps to expand your skillset and posture.
Conclusion
In conclusion, anyone seeking to improve their health and career should invest their time into practicing yoga. The health benefits of yoga for your career success are beyond just zen. There are many bonuses, and there is no better time than now to take that first step towards building a healthier body and mind.
Yoga is a great addition to any career as it provides the skills needed to be successful, such as stamina, better focus, and better posture, plus what a cool new skill to add to your resume.
If you want to be more productive at work and progress your career, give it a try.
Use these new health benefits of yoga for career success in Hollywood and in life!
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