The season of autumn begins with the fall equinox in late September. During that 24 hours, the day and night are equal - balanced.
As the leaves turn and the temperature drops, I'm tempted to just lay around snuggling at home by the wood stove with the kitty on my lap, a cup of hot tea nearby, pondering what would be delicious to bake.
I need to balance those lazy hours with some walks in the woods - and of course, my wonderful yoga practice!
Balance has been an issue for me as I grow older, so almost every day I practice a balancing pose. I'm very right-handed, so I have to be aware of trying to use my left side more - reach for something with my left hand, change the clasp of my hands, bring awareness to both sides of my body in asymmetrical stretches.
When I take off my clothes at night, it's been a challenge to change the way I hold my arms. When I get up off the floor, I have to think about starting on my right side instead of the left. How am I sitting? Is my head leaning one way or the other? Is only one arm on the arm rest of the chair? Can I feel both of my sit bones on the mat or the chair?
Asanas like Tree (Vrksasana), Dancer (Natarajasana) and Headstand (Sirsasana) are helping my body realign itself after years of unbalanced living. Just standing on one foot while I watch TV is a good practice.
Perhaps the most important thing I can do to improve my balance, though, is practicing awareness - being mindful of how I move and bringing attention to using both sides of my body as evenly as possible.
Yoga is such a wonderful way to balance our bodies, minds and spirits. Best wishes for a beautiful, healthy, mindful autumn.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
TRY YOGA FREE
Now - you can try yoga at no cost to you!
Thanks again to the wonderful folks at Wayne County Technology Center, you can try yoga for free on Tuesday evenings, 5 to 6:30 p.m., at the Technology Center (next to the high school).
Why might you want to try yoga?
Here are the Top Ten Reasons, according to Yoga Alliance:
Top 10 Reasons to Try Yoga
1. STRESS RELIEF: Yoga reduces the physical effects of stress on the body. By encouraging relaxation, yoga helps lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Related benefits include lowering blood pressure and heart rate, improving digestion and boosting the immune system, as well as easing symptoms of conditions such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, asthma and insomnia.
2. PAIN RELIEF: Yoga can ease pain. Studies have demonstrated that practicing yoga asanas (postures), meditation, or a combination of the two reduced pain for people with conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, auto-immune diseases, and hypertension – as well as arthritis, back and neck pain, and other chronic conditions.
3. BETTER BREATHING: Yoga teaches people to take slower, deeper breaths. This helps to improve lung function, trigger the body’s relaxation response, and increase the amount of oxygen available to the body.
4. FLEXIBILITY: Yoga helps improve flexibility and mobility, increasing range of movement and reducing aches and pains. Many people can’t touch their toes during their first yoga class. Gradually they begin to use those muscles, and over time, more poses become possible. Yoga also improves body alignment, resulting in better posture.
5. INCREASED STRENGTH: Yoga asanas use every muscle in the body, helping increase strength – literally from head to toe.
6. WEIGHT MANAGEMENT: Yoga (even the less strenuous styles) can aid weight control efforts by reducing cortisol levels, burning excess calories, and reducing stress. Yoga also encourages healthy eating habits and provides a heightened sense of well-being and self-esteem.
7. IMPROVED CIRCULATION: Yoga helps improve circulation and moves oxygenated blood more efficiently to the body’s cells.
8. CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONING: Even a gentle yoga practice can provide cardiovascular benefits by lowering resting heart rate, increasing endurance, and improving oxygen uptake during exercise.
9. FOCUS ON THE PRESENT: Yoga helps us to focus on the present, to become more aware with better mind-body health. It opens the way to improved concentration, coordination, reaction time, and memory.
10. INNER PEACE: The meditative aspects of yoga help many to reach a deeper, more spiritual, and more satisfying place in their lives.
Thanks again to the wonderful folks at Wayne County Technology Center, you can try yoga for free on Tuesday evenings, 5 to 6:30 p.m., at the Technology Center (next to the high school).
Why might you want to try yoga?
Here are the Top Ten Reasons, according to Yoga Alliance:
Top 10 Reasons to Try Yoga
1. STRESS RELIEF: Yoga reduces the physical effects of stress on the body. By encouraging relaxation, yoga helps lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Related benefits include lowering blood pressure and heart rate, improving digestion and boosting the immune system, as well as easing symptoms of conditions such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, asthma and insomnia.
2. PAIN RELIEF: Yoga can ease pain. Studies have demonstrated that practicing yoga asanas (postures), meditation, or a combination of the two reduced pain for people with conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, auto-immune diseases, and hypertension – as well as arthritis, back and neck pain, and other chronic conditions.
3. BETTER BREATHING: Yoga teaches people to take slower, deeper breaths. This helps to improve lung function, trigger the body’s relaxation response, and increase the amount of oxygen available to the body.
4. FLEXIBILITY: Yoga helps improve flexibility and mobility, increasing range of movement and reducing aches and pains. Many people can’t touch their toes during their first yoga class. Gradually they begin to use those muscles, and over time, more poses become possible. Yoga also improves body alignment, resulting in better posture.
5. INCREASED STRENGTH: Yoga asanas use every muscle in the body, helping increase strength – literally from head to toe.
6. WEIGHT MANAGEMENT: Yoga (even the less strenuous styles) can aid weight control efforts by reducing cortisol levels, burning excess calories, and reducing stress. Yoga also encourages healthy eating habits and provides a heightened sense of well-being and self-esteem.
7. IMPROVED CIRCULATION: Yoga helps improve circulation and moves oxygenated blood more efficiently to the body’s cells.
8. CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONING: Even a gentle yoga practice can provide cardiovascular benefits by lowering resting heart rate, increasing endurance, and improving oxygen uptake during exercise.
9. FOCUS ON THE PRESENT: Yoga helps us to focus on the present, to become more aware with better mind-body health. It opens the way to improved concentration, coordination, reaction time, and memory.
10. INNER PEACE: The meditative aspects of yoga help many to reach a deeper, more spiritual, and more satisfying place in their lives.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Yoga in Wayne County, Tennessee
Yoga is for everyone! Natural Bridge Yoga offers beginning yoga to everyone interested in:
♦ Improved posture
♦ Better balance
♦ Increased natural energy level and vitality
♦ Better sleep
♦ Greater flexibility, strength and stamina
♦ Stronger immune system
♦ Increased cardiovascular and respiratory efficiency
♦ Weight regulation
♦ Cleansing and regulating of all the body’s systems
☼ Being more calm
☼ Having greater confidence
☼ An improved ability to concentrate
☼ Increased awareness of body and movement
Weight Management
In addition to burning calories, yoga has poses that stimulate sluggish glands. The thyroid gland, especially, has a big effect on our weight because it affects body metabolism. Fat metabolism is also increased, so fat is converted to muscle and energy. So you lose fat and have better muscle tone and more vitality.
Also, yoga’s deep breathing increases oxygen intake to the body cells, including fat cells. This causes increased oxidation or burning up of fat cells. Yogic exercises induce more continuous and deeper breathing which gradually burns many of the calories already ingested. And yoga practices that reduce anxiety tend to reduce anxious eating. When we’re nervous, we tend to gulp our food without much satisfaction. If, on the other hand, we approach our meals with calmness, whether produced by habits which have calmed our life (like a pause for prayer before a meal), or by yoga, we tend to be less likely to overeat.
See the class schedule on this page, or contact Karen, a Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance, at nbyoga@gmail.com. You can also phone her at 931 722-5096.
♦ Improved posture
♦ Better balance
♦ Increased natural energy level and vitality
♦ Better sleep
♦ Greater flexibility, strength and stamina
♦ Stronger immune system
♦ Increased cardiovascular and respiratory efficiency
♦ Weight regulation
♦ Cleansing and regulating of all the body’s systems
☼ Being more calm
☼ Having greater confidence
☼ An improved ability to concentrate
☼ Increased awareness of body and movement
Weight Management
In addition to burning calories, yoga has poses that stimulate sluggish glands. The thyroid gland, especially, has a big effect on our weight because it affects body metabolism. Fat metabolism is also increased, so fat is converted to muscle and energy. So you lose fat and have better muscle tone and more vitality.
Also, yoga’s deep breathing increases oxygen intake to the body cells, including fat cells. This causes increased oxidation or burning up of fat cells. Yogic exercises induce more continuous and deeper breathing which gradually burns many of the calories already ingested. And yoga practices that reduce anxiety tend to reduce anxious eating. When we’re nervous, we tend to gulp our food without much satisfaction. If, on the other hand, we approach our meals with calmness, whether produced by habits which have calmed our life (like a pause for prayer before a meal), or by yoga, we tend to be less likely to overeat.
See the class schedule on this page, or contact Karen, a Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance, at nbyoga@gmail.com. You can also phone her at 931 722-5096.
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