Yoga
Yoga is a practice of nurturing the
mind, body and spirit. It is a
combination of breathing, stretching,
balance and strength exercises
along with meditation and relaxation.
Maintaining and improving your flexibility, balance and mobility are important reasons to take
up yoga. Yoga also strengthens and tones the body. The mental benefits are strong too,
relieving anxiety, depression, and building self-confidence.
Whether you decide to take yoga for the physical reasons or emotional reasons it is important
to at least stretch! The American College of Sports Medicine recommends working on your
flexibility a minimum of 2 to 3 days a week, and ideally 5 to 7 times per week. Do static
stretches for 15 to 30 seconds.
The best way to start yoga is to take an introductory class. All you need to get started is a
yoga mat. There are many styles of yoga and instructors have many different personalities in
presenting their yoga classes. So it is important to try different classes and see which is the
best fit for you.
Hatha yoga - this is a general name used for a basic yoga class
Kripalu - a style of yoga that emphasizes listening to the body and uses slow, meditative poses
Vinyasa - a term and style for when the poses flow one into another
Anusara - this style emphasizes leading the movement from the heart
Iyengar - the focus is on precise alignment of the body during poses and often uses props
Ashtanga - power yoga, usually a style for those beyond the beginner stage
Bikram - yoga done in a heated room