Yoga
Suffering from the anxiety or depression, and the aches, pains and stiffness that come with daily life?
Legs have trouble falling to sleep at night?
Have headaches often?
Try Yoga, it can actually be very gentle and rejuvenating. In fact, it’s supposed to be! Schedule me for private instruction over Zoom (online video chat) or join me in class.
Or join me in class from the comfort of home over Zoom (but make sure to have pillows and somewhere soft to lie down wide).
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Yoga is the tool and knowledge that we use to counteract the trauma that we inflict upon our bodies by living. Its purpose is to facilitate and cultivate deep rest, wellness, rejuvenation, strength, flexibility and healing, both physically and emotionally, by mindfully moving the body into positions of stable, gentle rest that target, strengthen and relieve tension in every part of the body.
As we go through life, face trauma, and perform repetitive, constrictive motions, we develop stiffness, tension and pain in our muscles and joints that can manifest as other maladies (for example, neck tension contributes to headaches and migraines).
Yoga (Union) is the ancient art and science of cultivating strength, flexibility, fluidity and wellness within the body, mind, and spirit, by bringing the 3 into cohesive union with each other.
Yogic asanas (“comfortable or effortless positions”) strategically positions parts of the body, utilizing gravity and the structures of the body itself, to achieve increasing degrees of strength, flexibility, expansion, fluidity within the bones, joints and muscles. Stretching and strengthening in these ways also stimulates the production and release of endorphins (feel-good chemicals) that contribute to sensations of well-being and emotional release that are experienced both during and after practice!
Yoga is a tool for all people, of every age, shape, gender and faith to get comfortable in the body and it can be scaled to every level of capability using props, like tables, chairs, blocks, straps and pillows.
The unusual and positive stresses placed on the bones during asanas (poses) also catalyzes the deposition of extra layers of calcium into the living bone matrix, fortifying it. This is extremely beneficial in regard to the lessening of bone density that can occur as we age (Osteoporosis), but must also be done slowly, gently and with caring attention to the body and its signals.
In addition to strengthening the muscular and skeletal systems, the twisting action of some asanas also produces a “wringing” effect in the abdominal organs that aids in the flushing and elimination of toxins in the liver and other organs by directing lymphatic fluid and blood toward the larger vessels of the cardiovascular system.
Also, the deep breathing and slow intentionality required to comfortably take and hold asanas engages the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system. This acts as a kind of para-chute that slows things down in the body and shifts the nervous system into a state of “resting, digesting, and relaxing”, In opposition to the “fight, flight, or freeze” sympathetic nervous system activation.
Yoga makes us feel better by activating muscles and systems that we don’t usually use, giving us time to rest, and by releasing the tensions and the traumas that we store in the body, mind and spirit.
