Yoga is a Hindu discipline that, through a series of breathing exercises and postures, helps one achieve a greater sense of well-being while promoting flexibility and strength. Additionally, yoga keeps the body healthy by improving total body systems.
Stretching Beyond the Rut
If you’re anything like me, you may view exercise as nothing more than a boring chore. You know exercise is good for your body, but you just can’t seem to find the motivation to get going or stick with it. Exercise takes commitment, and it’s difficult to stay focused if you can’t see immediate results.
My decision to pursue yoga was based more on vanity than on any healthy effects it might have on my body. As the years have passed by and age continues to wage war against my bones and muscles, I’ve become increasingly aware of how stiff and inflexible I’ve become, almost decrepit-like. Playing with my children is not as easy as it once was, yet I’m still too young to feel old. For me, yoga was just one last-ditch effort to feel alive again.
Limber and Lithe
I’ve been practicing yoga since April 2007, at least four times a week. My sessions last 40 to 60 minutes each, and I have never felt so good! Within one week of beginning yoga, I could feel a difference in my body. My muscles felt warm and stretchy, not cold and rigid. Yoga also helped to improve my balance and posture, and I feel like I carry my body more gracefully, as a result.
You’d be mistaken to assume that yoga does not provide a total-body workout. After my first session, I was sweating just as much as if I had just run five miles, and my heart rate was elevated. Although you can practice yoga as a form of meditation, yoga can also be challenging and intense, both physically and mentally.
Getting Started
When you’re the parent of young children, finding time to exercise is difficult enough without the added hassle of driving across town to work out in a crowded gym or studio. In my opinion, an introduction to yoga is easy enough that you do not need the attention of a formal instructor. However, if you are overweight or in poor health, seek the advice of a medical professional before beginning any workout regime.
I’m a big fan of workout guru, Denise Austin, so I was thrilled to find she has a series of yoga DVD’s. I picked up a copy of “Denise Austin:Yoga Body Burn (2007) and a yoga mat, and I was ready to go.
While practicing yoga, you should wear clothes that are both comfortable and stretchy. Perform your poses with bare feet, as socks are too slippery!
The great thing about yoga is that many of the poses can be modified for difficulty. For example, Denise Austin demonstrates easier variations of some of the more difficult poses so true beginners can still participate without feeling overwhelmed. Once you feel stronger and more confident in your abilities, you can then progress to a higher level of difficulty. The “crow pose is just one pose that you can modify to suit your ability.
Keep Going
Personally speaking, I have never experienced a workout as enjoyable as yoga and look forward to my time on the mat. I enjoy the mental challenge and level of concentration needed to execute each pose and love the way I feel when I have become strong enough to accomplish something new.
Namaste
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