Caution: As with any exercise program, check with your physician before starting any new exercise regime.
Every Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. our daily exercise class changes from aerobics or body sculpting to Yoga. When the owner of the studio announced that a Yoga instructor would take over this class, many of us groaned as we all like to move and build up a sweat when we exercise. Boy, were we wrong. Yoga is the oldest system of personal development using mind, body, and spirit. It goes back at least 5,000 years. It comes from the Sanskrit word for "union" and as one soon learns it is a system uniting the body with breath to attain a higher level of consciousness. Followers believe that it will lead to ultimate physical health and happiness along with mental peace and tranquility.
The Yoga physical exercises are called Asana (posture), a term which means steady pose. When you begin to learn the postures, you will not be holding them for very long as this is difficult. It is like many skills, learned. Yoga believes that the body is as young as it is flexible. Therefore the exercises focus on the spine, its strength, and flexibility.. It is reasoned that the spinal column houses the nervous system, and that by maintaining its health through exercise, circulation is increased and the nerves are ensured their fair share of nutriments and oxygen. These postures also affect the internal organs and the endocrine glands according to Yoga tenants.
There are five points of Yoga that many followers adhere to. These include exercise, breathing, relaxation, diet (usually vegetarian), and positive thinking and meditation. For some it becomes a way of life, but for me it is a way to regain flexibility and practice breathing which in turn allows for deep relaxation. It is exhilarating when you can finally get a pose, or as with me, when I found that with the help of a wall that I could stand on my head. I leave each session with extra energy and yet feel relaxed with full knowledge that I have exercised hard. The purpose of the Yoga exercises are to eliminate tensions and realign the body. By doing this you become stronger and more flexible. Breathing becomes easier, and you can use some of what you learn about breathing to reduce stress levels. The body responds to these exercises and relaxation. One plus is that you can practice at home or at work. Yoga followers believe that it can lower blood pressure, and clear the mind. They also believe it improves posture; it did mine.
You need little equipment for Yoga. We are provided with a rubber sticky mat, blocks (for all of us who cannot make it to the floor in a stretch), and a cloth strap for those who need help reaching toes when doing some poses. We start with relearning our breathing and then into the poses. First we ground ourselves on the mat by stretching out our toes. Our instructor warned us that if we did this correctly, our shoe size would increase. Next, we practice trying to get the skin on our shins to move up and become sharp. This gives you amazing strength and allows you to get to and hold the postures. I am amazed each week that not only can I make progress toward getting my body into these positions, but that I am exhilarated, more flexible, and have a good, no great, workout.
The 12 basic postures are: Headstand, Shoulder Stand, Plough, Fish, Forward Bend, Cobra, Locust, Bow, Spinal Twist, Peacock Pose or Crow Pose, Standing Forward Bend, and Triangle.
At the end of each class we have a relaxation exercise. The idea here is to be totally relaxed, mind and body, without sleeping. Sometimes this is difficult for me as the stretches are hard and holding them takes strength. If you do get to relaxation, a skill in today's world, the rewards are pleasant and can stay with you.
So now who can do Yoga? Some people say that they are not flexible and therefor can't do it. Wrong! You just need to know your limits. For example, after my first class I thought I would have to go back to a surgeon to re-operate on my back for another disc. I am a classic Type A personality and had to do every posture perfectly. The next class, I listened to the instructor and went at my pace. Each class has become a bit easier and I am amazed that the young girl who did somersaults and stood on her head is still alive inside of me. Better than, I have no more backaches. Because Yoga teaches you how to focus, it is an excellent way to lose some of the stresses that stack up daily in our hectic world. For me, it is a different kind of exercise, but one that I see as having significant rewards.
As with any exercise program, talk over the pros and cons with your health care team before starting. The same provisos are in effect as concerns blood sugar monitoring and blood levels before starting to exercise. When you think that people have been finding something in Yoga for 5 millennia, maybe it's worth trying. You can find out more about local classes by asking friends and calling local health clubs, spas, and fitness centers.
Make sure that you start with a beginning class. No one wants to find themselves in an advanced class where headstands last 30 minutes or more when you have difficulty touching your toes. Not to worry though, if you keep going to class and practice, you, too, will come home one day as I did, overjoyed at finally being able to do a really good Cobra and then do push-ups in that position. It beats ice cream!
There are more sites for Yoga on the Internet than I could go to in one day's worth of surfing. Many are trying to sell you something, but you can get some good information and see wonderful color pictures of the postures, so surf to your heart's content.
