Yoga … It Really Is For Everyone!
YOGA?! “But I’m not bendy”, “I’m not flexible” “I have lower back issues” “I’m a bodybuilder” “I want to lose weight”
So many people have their own reasons for NOT trying yoga, I hear the excuses all the time. And I will stick to my usual “YOGA IS FOR EVRYONE”
Yoga isn’t just about being bendy or flexible (that will come with practice like anything), yoga also isn’t about chanting or living in a world of rainbows and lollipops. Whatever your “yoga stigma” might be I ask you to read this and be open to adding some yoga into your life… guaranteed you’ll come back to thank me …at some point 😉
Truth is Yoga really is for everyone including you! You just have to find a practice, studio and or teacher that best suits your needs and resonates with you, unfortunately this might take more than one attempt and uncomfortable experience, but don’t give up!
In any given day of teaching my class will include an athlete using the practice as an active recovery day, a senior looking to feel better, a menopausal lady looking to balance her hormones and clear her mind, your typical 9-5er, your stay at home mom, a freshly graduated high school student full of anxiety and confusion, I have the super healthy fitness people to the very unfit newbies hoping for change … whatever their reason doesn’t concern me, I just want them to have the best experience they can while in my class!!
When they enter the yoga room everything is left outside and it’s just their physical body and their mat! Before every class I stress to everyone the importance of yoga being a personal practice, it’s not about doing every single pose, it’s about learning to listen to your body and working with it and not against it. Connecting the body and breathe will help you to feel things in your body that you might typically ignore during a workout which could possibly lead to injury. Probably the most important thing about yoga is learning to honour your body, not forcing movements or stretches, learning the difference between discomfort and pain, a little discomfort is needed for growth on and off of the mat but pain will only lead to more pain.
I completely understand and can relate to the skepticism of “YOGA” since I come from a fitness background, I had tried yoga on and off for years but never really got into it since I was into crossfit and heavy lifting yoga just seemed too tame for what I was looking for. It wasn’t until a few years later that my ex-boyfriends friends joined a hot yoga studio and told me to go with them that I would love it. Now I looked at it as an opportunity to get a workout in since I hadn’t been well for months in and out of the hospital with no answers and not being able to physically workout the way I used to.
So my first time going to hot yoga was with two guys and they took me to a power yoga class and I fell in love!! I did every pose and kept up… I got what I wanted I worked up a sweat and worked my dormant muscles. I signed up for 30 days and did my best to go often, now during this time was when I really fell in love with yoga! I had teachers that really resonated with me and some that made me want to just leave the class (but of course just like in life you can’t walk away from everything that doesn’t please you) so I stuck it out and learned more about myself. I learned that yoga is so much more than just a workout the bonus was it healed my body! I had been living with pain and no answers and just not being healthy and yoga brought my body back to life!
Yoga provides a workout that covers every muscle, joint, organ and system in the body. It’s a complete workout inside and out! Sure Yoga works on the physical body stretching and strengthening your muscles and joints, but you’re also working the digestive system, cardiovascular system, endocrine system, lymphatic system, circulatory system, central nervous system etc. (pretty much everything we’ve got inside these miracle machines we call bodies”
My “Yoga Is For Everyone” rant might have drifted a little off but I will continue to stick to my guns about yoga being suitable and beneficial for EVRYONE!
I recently started “Chair Yoga” with my 82 yr old great aunt and a few of her friends and they absolutely love it, they might not be standing and doing warrior poses but they are still feeling the benefits that are YOGA. All the way on the other side is my 5yr old cousin who came to a kid’s yoga class that I teach and absolutely fell in love!
What I’ve witnessed is that no matter your age, gender, weight, ethnicity, disability or perceived limitation may be you WILL benefit from the addition of YOGA in your life!
Benefits for kid’s yoga
● Improved motor skills, strength and flexibility
● Improved concentration and balance
● Less stress, anxiety, better sleep
● Improved self-esteem, confidence and self-expression
● A way for kids to unwind and tap into unused energy (ADHD)
Benefits for Athletes:
● Improve range of motion in major joints particularly hips & shoulders
● Improves strength, flexibility, balance, mental control, speeds recovery from strenuous training
Benefits for Men:
● Improves strength, flexibility, balance
● Improves quality of life and relationships
● Reduces stress, anxiety, anger
● Balances hormones that can improve your sex life.
● Build confidence
● ….maybe you’ll meet a cute yoga partner 😉
Benefits for Seniors:
● Improve sleep
● Will help those who suffer from breathing or lung problems
● Helps with chronic pain
● Improved moods
● Balances sugar in diabetics
● Improves blood pressure issues
Basically I’ll run out of time and space if I go on about the plethora of benefits of YOGA!!! If you haven’t already give it a try and if at first you don’t like it I urge you to try again you just need to find which will work best for you!!!
By Lorena Santacruz
www.FitGa.ca