Babies are born yogis. Once we were all able to pull our toes up by our ears and laugh about it. Then we aged, got injured, began carrying stress in our shoulders and back. In short, we lost our balance. Yoga is an ancient practice that helps create a sense of union in body, mind, and spirit. It brings us balance.
We recommend practicing hatha yoga at least twice a week, but we consider yoga to be part of one's daily life because after awhile you no longer just practice yoga - you live it.
Your body grows stronger, more toned, and more flexible as you move from one asana-or pose-to the other. "Rather than building muscle, yoga builds muscle tone," says Shakta Kaur Khalsa, author of the K.I.S.S. Guide to Yoga. "Because yoga helps maintain a balanced metabolism, it also helps to regulate weight. Additionally, yoga stretches muscles lengthwise, causing fat to be eliminated around the cells, thus reducing cellulite."
Yoga teaches you to focus on breathing while you hold the poses. This attention to breath is calming; it dissolves stress and anxiety. I use yogic breathing on the tennis courts, in the dentist's chair, when I'm stuck in traffic.
You should always leave a yoga practice feeling energized, not tired. If you feel tired after yoga, it means you spent the time "fighting" yourself, trying to force yourself into poses. In yoga, you "surrender" to the pose by letting go of the tension.
Yoga is practiced by people from all religions; it is nondenominational. Yoga teaches "right" living in how we deal with ourselves and others. As you work on a difficult pose, you learn patience, forgiveness, and the value of gentleness. Yoga advocates proper eating, but you don't have to be a vegetarian to practice yoga.
The Yoga and The Athlete
One 40-year old athlete, a woman named Natali, had knees and lower back constantly ailing but of course, that didn't stop her "type A" personality from plugging along and doing what she loved most: swimming, biking and running. Striving to find the remedy to all her aches and pains, she went to see a battery of doctors which included Chiropractors (ART), Physical Therapists, Orthopedists, Acupuncturists, etc. She had tried it all and although she did see some results in relieving her ailments while under the care of all of these different types of doctors, she found that their techniques alone just gave her temporary relief. Once she started putting on the mileage again, the back spasms and the knee pains started to creep up again and again.
Then one day, a friend of a friend suggested that she try yoga. Natali looked at her and thought she was nuts and that’s NOT for her, much too relaxing. She went on to say that the owner, Lorraine (head yogi) of the Yoga studio was also a Physical Therapist and that she could definitely help her. Lorraine’s knowledge of the anatomy and understanding injuries was what made Natali give it a shot. She went for a private consultation with a yoga teacher and found that her biggest problem was her weakened core and she told her that through the practice of Anusara Yoga which focuses on body alignment, she would be able strengthen all the weak areas in her body, specifically core, and lower back, as well as knees.
And so, with an open mind, Natali began the classes and much to her amazement, she discovered, in a one hour session the hidden secret to core strengthening, mega stretching, flexibility, range of motion, serious concentration and balance improvement! She also found that her knowledge of what she thought yoga was, "relaxing", was not entirely correct. It takes an enormous amount of strength to engage all the muscles isometrically, and hold a pose for 5 LONG breaths. Think of it as hugging all your muscles to the bone and isolating them while holding the pose and trying not to tip over. Not an easy task! However, over time, Natali discovered that the practice of yoga is striving to find a balance between effort and ease and isn’t that what all of the athletes strive for? She found the focusing aspect to be very similar to triathlon training and racing. As an athlete who has completed many thriathlon distances, including one Ironman, the amount of concentration and composure that one needs to maintain during training and especially on race day is tremendous! Also, the breath is very critical in yoga as it is in triathlon. In the midst of the challenge of achieving a pose, finding the ease in the breath is key. Similar to when you are out there doing all those open water swims trying to concentrate on the rhythm of your breath and not on what creatures are lurking below the dark waters! And maybe the most important aspect of yoga that Natali discovered, in addition to building strength, is the stretching. Let’s face it, most of us don’t take the time to stretch before or after our bike rides or runs and this can cause many problems down the road. In yoga, while you are engaging all those muscles, and focusing on not falling over, and breathing, you are also stretching your limbs in opposite directions….very challenging!
After 4 months of practicing Natali could see the difference in her body, especially in the core area and flexibility. She no longer lived with nagging lower back aches, muscle spasms or constant knee pain.
Then one day, a friend of a friend suggested that she try yoga. Natali looked at her and thought she was nuts and that’s NOT for her, much too relaxing. She went on to say that the owner, Lorraine (head yogi) of the Yoga studio was also a Physical Therapist and that she could definitely help her. Lorraine’s knowledge of the anatomy and understanding injuries was what made Natali give it a shot. She went for a private consultation with a yoga teacher and found that her biggest problem was her weakened core and she told her that through the practice of Anusara Yoga which focuses on body alignment, she would be able strengthen all the weak areas in her body, specifically core, and lower back, as well as knees.
And so, with an open mind, Natali began the classes and much to her amazement, she discovered, in a one hour session the hidden secret to core strengthening, mega stretching, flexibility, range of motion, serious concentration and balance improvement! She also found that her knowledge of what she thought yoga was, "relaxing", was not entirely correct. It takes an enormous amount of strength to engage all the muscles isometrically, and hold a pose for 5 LONG breaths. Think of it as hugging all your muscles to the bone and isolating them while holding the pose and trying not to tip over. Not an easy task! However, over time, Natali discovered that the practice of yoga is striving to find a balance between effort and ease and isn’t that what all of the athletes strive for? She found the focusing aspect to be very similar to triathlon training and racing. As an athlete who has completed many thriathlon distances, including one Ironman, the amount of concentration and composure that one needs to maintain during training and especially on race day is tremendous! Also, the breath is very critical in yoga as it is in triathlon. In the midst of the challenge of achieving a pose, finding the ease in the breath is key. Similar to when you are out there doing all those open water swims trying to concentrate on the rhythm of your breath and not on what creatures are lurking below the dark waters! And maybe the most important aspect of yoga that Natali discovered, in addition to building strength, is the stretching. Let’s face it, most of us don’t take the time to stretch before or after our bike rides or runs and this can cause many problems down the road. In yoga, while you are engaging all those muscles, and focusing on not falling over, and breathing, you are also stretching your limbs in opposite directions….very challenging!
After 4 months of practicing Natali could see the difference in her body, especially in the core area and flexibility. She no longer lived with nagging lower back aches, muscle spasms or constant knee pain.
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