So You Think You Can't "Do" Yoga!

All you need to begin practicing Yoga is a sincere desire to improve your life. No new outfits or elaborate equipment are needed. Simply arrive in loose, comfortable clothes that allow you to move and stretch.

Finding a certified teacher who will assist you and offer variations for your body type is of prime importance. Practicing at a studio that provides props (Yoga mats, blocks, straps, bolsters, blankets, etc.) will teach you to modify postures so your body will open gently at its own pace. As your practice progresses, props eventually may not be needed but, in the beginning, they allow safer practice and lessen the chance of injury.

Regular yoga practice offers numerous benefits to body, mind, and spirit, including:

Tones and strengthens. As a form of isometric exercise, the prolonged holding of yoga postures tones the muscles as well as internal organs.

Increases flexibility. Gently holding yoga poses at the edge of comfort stretches and lengthens muscles, tendons, and ligaments allowing them to become more flexible.

Improves respiration. Deep breathing during yoga practice opens the chest and strengthens the diaphragm.

Improves concentration. Moving mindfully while maintaining awareness of the body and breath develops focus, attention, and concentration.

Promotes relaxation. The combination of gentle stretching, deep breathing, meditation, and guided relaxation releases body tension and calms the nervous system and emotions, giving a sense of renewal to the body, mind, and spirit. A serene studio setting with relaxing music creates an even safer atmosphere for letting go.

Builds internal and external awareness. As a focused practice, yoga builds awareness of the body and feelings, along with increasing awareness of the needs of others, our communities, and our world. Increased awareness also lends toward weight reduction where needed.

Facilitates improved health. In addition to exercising the mind and muscles, yoga exercises and massages the glands and organs and increases circulation throughout the body, resulting in improved digestion, elimination of toxins, and the promotion of overall health. Many students also find that Yoga regulates blood pressure when practiced over time.

Anyone can do Yoga! If you’re breathing, you can practice. Men, women, children, athletes, “couch potatoes,” young and old all practice and benefit from this 5,000 year old technology of self transformation. Yoga is really a science and people of various religious and philosophical beliefs find that practicing Yoga enriches their lives immensely.

Here's an easy practice to try right now ~Sit comfortably in a chair with your spine long and your legs at a right angle to the floor. Breathe through your nose and allow your in breath to expand the belly gently. Now allow the out breath to leave through the nose and to flatten the belly gently. Allow the breath to be long and slow. Try this for five breaths, feeling the body expand and contract and following the path of the breath into and out of the body. After the fifth out breath, pause and notice your body and your mind.

Do you feel more relaxed?

You’ve just begun practicing pranayama or breath control. You are becoming a yogi/ni!