Who wants to commit to giving yourself a daily gift of at least 5 minutes of yoga poses and breathing this week? I sometimes drift out of practice mode and find that a commitment to even just a few minutes is so hugely helpful - and often leads to a longer practice.

If you're a yoga newbie, youtube has all sorts of "5 minute beginner yoga" videos. If you've just gotten out of practice like me, committing to one or two sun salutations at the start or end of the day can be a great sustainable way to pick it back up.

Already doing daily yoga? Then how about looking for a new pose to practice or gifting yourself with an extra 5 minutes of breathing and meditation in shavasana?

So who is in?

A simple sustainable gift - for  your health, for the earth!

((Photo: My daughter at age 4!))

Like a lot of health trends yoga began as just another hippie fad. But in recent years increasing numbers of scientific studies have found proven benefits to practicing yoga. Yoga allows the body to recover and heal more quickly from a variety of stresses and illnesses by strengthening the vagal tone or relaxation response associated with the vagal nerve.

"So what's the vagal tone all about? It's directly related to the state of the vagus nerve, which is our largest cranial nerve. It's also known as the "wandering nerve" because of its mobility through the body. The vagal tone starts at the base of the skull and travels throughout the body, touching the respiratory, digestive, and nervous systems. Often thought of as our "air-traffic controller," the vagus nerve helps regulate all our major bodily functions. Breathing, heart rate, digestion, and even how we take in, process, and make meaning of our experiences are all directly related to the vagus nerve" (Reference).

So just who are reaping these multiple system, body-wide benefits of yoga? There are classes and practices geared toward everyone from military veterans to teens and children. Recently, the Cleveland Clinic became the first hospital to hire a full-time yoga therapist and program manager, and other hospitals in the nation are also starting to offer yoga.

For more on the benefits of yoga, check out the little infographic below (courtesy of Jan Diehm for The Huffington Post)!