Empower Your Brain Health Routine with Yoga: Insights from Celest P, Neuro Yoga Expert

January 29, 2025

This month, we explored the incredible benefits of yoga for your brain, from stress relief to an uplifted mood, and even sounder nights of sleep.  While this practice is undeniably powerful for enhancing cognitive wellness, it often raises questions: Which yoga style is best for brain health? How do you get started and stay consistent? And how can yoga become a lasting part of your daily routine? 

To help answer these questions, today, we’re joined by Celest P., a certified physiotherapist and expert yoga instructor specializing in neuro-focused practices, to share her expert insights on how to embrace yoga as a key part of your brain health routine.  Celest is also the founder of AnatoMove, a brain-based yoga application that is featured in our January Special Offer.  AnatoMove offers classes tailored for all age groups, with options ranging from brief sessions to in-depth practices.  With her deep understanding of the mind-body connection, Celest explores how targeted yoga styles and specific poses can profoundly impact brain health.  Her expertise brings valuable insights into incorporating yoga as a scientifically backed tool for enhancing cognitive function.  


1. Starting Your Practice: Small Steps to Big Benefits 

Trying something new can feel a little nerve-wracking—it’s unfamiliar and can seem daunting at first.  But starting small can make all the difference.  You don’t have to dive in with an hour of yoga a day; instead, take small, manageable steps to help your brain adjust to this new practice.  Not only will this make the process less intimidating, but learning something new also helps build your cognitive reserve, keeping your brain flexible and adaptable over time.​1​ 

Practical tips for getting started: 

  • Start with the Basics: Begin with foundational poses like Child’s Pose, Downward Dog, and Cat-Cow.  Focus on mastering proper alignment and getting comfortable and familiar with your body before advancing to more complex poses.

  • Set Time Blocks: Block out a specific time each day or week to practice.  Treat it as an important appointment with yourself. 

  • Create a Dedicated Space: Choose a quiet, uncluttered space to make your practice more enjoyable.  This helps eliminate distractions, fosters consistency, and transforms your practice into a peaceful, focused ritual. 

"I always think of the inspirational words by Les Brown, "You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great". It's so easy when you are new to something to judge yourself for not being good enough, but you should be so proud of yourself for being brave and trying out a new skill. The brain loves novelty so stepping into something new is what keeps our brains young." - Celest P.

2. Finding the Right Yoga Style for You 

Once you've covered the basics and started to feel more comfortable with your yoga practice, it’s time to explore the different styles of yoga to find the one that suits you best.  Each style offers unique benefits, whether you're looking for relaxation, strength, flexibility, or mindfulness.  In our previous article, we covered the foundational aspects of yoga, and now, you can start experimenting with various styles to see which resonates with you and aligns with your brain health goals.  

1. Stress Relief 

  • Restorative Yoga: This slow-paced style focuses on deep relaxation, gentle poses, and long-held postures that encourage relaxation and stress reduction.  It's perfect for unwinding and calming the nervous system. 

  • Yin Yoga: Similar to restorative yoga, yin involves holding passive poses for extended periods to deeply stretch connective tissues and promote relaxation. 

2. Flexibility  

  • Hatha Yoga: A gentle style that involves holding poses for a longer period to build flexibility, strength, and balance at a slower pace. 

  • Vinyasa Yoga: While more dynamic, vinyasa incorporates fluid movements from one pose to another, improving overall flexibility, especially in the hips, spine, and hamstrings. 

3. Mental Focus 

  • Kundalini Yoga: This style combines movement, meditation, breath work, and chanting to awaken your energy and enhance mental clarity.  It's ideal for focusing the mind and clearing mental fog. 

  • Power Yoga: A faster-paced, physically demanding style that promotes mental focus by challenging your body and encouraging mindfulness in movement. 

4. Better Sleep 

  • Yin Yoga: Besides improving flexibility, yin yoga’s emphasis on long-held poses can calm the body and mind, promoting a more restful sleep. 

  • Restorative Yoga: Especially beneficial before bedtime, restorative yoga's calming nature helps signal your body to wind down and prepare for sleep. 

"If you have tried yoga in the past and you didn't think it was the right fit for you, please don't give up. All styles are different and often you just need to find the right teacher who's style you resonate with to fall in love with the practice." - Celest P.

3. Integrating Yoga into Your Daily Routine 

Now that you're comfortable with your yoga practice, you've discovered which style resonates with you and how much time you can dedicate, it's time to make yoga a staple in your daily routine.  Consistency is key—by integrating yoga into your everyday life, you'll start to experience the long-term benefits for your brain and overall wellness.  

Strategies for making yoga an everyday habit: 

  • Linking Yoga with Existing Habits: Pair yoga with a habit you already do every day.  For example, add a short yoga session after your morning coffee or after work to unwind.  The more frequently you link an activity with an existing routine, the more automatic the behavior becomes, thanks to neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to rewire itself with repeated behaviors.2

  • Set Realistic Expectations: It’s important to be patient with yourself.  Yoga is a journey, and there will be days when you may not feel like practicing.   Having realistic goals—such as practicing three times a week—can prevent burnout and frustration. 

  • Setting Reminders and Planning Ahead: Setting reminders or scheduling yoga sessions helps reduce decision fatigue.  It strengthens the brain's prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for planning and decision-making.  Regularly planning ahead helps create consistency in your neural pathways, making it easier to form habits.​2​ 

  • Celebrating Small Wins to Build Consistency: Each time you complete a session, no matter how short, celebrate it!  When you celebrate small successes, your brain releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward.  This dopamine release strengthens neural pathways associated with the behavior, making it more likely you'll continue practicing yoga.  Positive reinforcement also enhances the brain's reward system, which drives motivation to keep going.​3​  

Like with most things' consistency is key to see changes. Oftentimes it's normal before something like yoga to feel super unmotivated and the desire to swerve the practice might be strong. In moments like this I always promise myself to only do 1 minute and then reassess how I feel. If I am still not in the mood I stop! But more often than not, that first minute puts me on the right track and my desire is then to keep going. 

As you age, it’s natural for your body and practice to evolve.  Yoga, like any other habit, can adapt to meet your changing needs and abilities.  Your practice may look different over time, but the benefits for your brain health remain powerful.  Whether you choose to explore gentler styles, modify poses, or adjust the duration of your sessions, the key is consistency and finding what works for you at every stage of life.  Yoga is a lifelong practice that, when tailored to your needs, can continue to boost your brain health.  No matter where you are in your journey, you can always adapt and grow stronger, both in body and mind. 

"The great thing about yoga is that it is one of the most sustainable activities to do as we age. This is because there are so many ways to do it. From strong balance poses to chair yoga, there really is something for everyone. One of the best things we can do to stay pain free and well is to keep moving.  And yoga offers a way to do that no matter what." - Celest P. 

This is the final week to shop our Mindful Movement and Brain Health Nutrition Pack, the perfect combination to kickstart or strengthen your yoga practice while nourishing your brain with the nutrients it needs to remain sharp and strong.  

This offer includes:  

  • Two (2) Jars of RELEVATE: Our core product for lasting brain health, featuring advanced nutrition based on the Mediterranean and MIND diets, scientifically proven to nourish your brain and keep it performing at its best. Each jar provides a 30-day supply. 

  • Manduka Cork Yoga Block: This durable cork block enhances balance, alignment, and stability, helping you ease into any pose. It offers firm support for longer-held poses, allowing for a smooth, focused session. 

  • Yoga Strap: Designed to help you deepen stretches and improve flexibility, the yoga strap is perfect for reaching further in challenging poses and holding stretches longer, giving your practice an extra edge.  

  • One Month FREE to AnatoMove by Celest P.: Unlock exclusive access to Celest P.’s brain-based yoga app.  As a neuro-yoga professional, Celest offers science-led classes and challenges that integrate yoga into a brain-boosting practice, designed for all fitness levels to enhance both mind and body. 

  • Exclusive Access to a Virtual Yoga Class with Health Coach Conni Ramsey: Join Conni for a restorative yoga flow and meditation, demonstrating how to use the tools in this bundle to create a holistic practice that supports your brain and body. 

Learn more and order by visiting here.  

To learn more about brain-based yoga, follow Celest’s journey by visiting here.  

References

​​1. Acharyya, A. Yoga for Dementia Care: A Review. Preventive Medicine: Research & Reviews 1, 254–259 (2024). 

​2. Wyatt, Z. The Neuroscience of Habit Formation. Neurology and Neuroscience 5, (2024). 

​3. Wickens, J. R., Horvitz, J. C., Costa, R. M. & Killcross, S. Dopaminergic Mechanisms in Actions and Habits. The Journal of Neuroscience 27, 8181 (2007).

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