YOGA

Yoga is often practiced for overall health and stress relief.  The cardiovascular, lymphatic, sympathetic and gastrointestinal systems of the body all benefit from a consistent yoga practice.  The practice goes into mental health, spiritual growth and  benefits for sleep and immune system. Ultimately the benefits come from a healthy balance of practice and discipline. 

Yoga is for everyone because the concept of yoga is to bring union to the mind and body. The goal is simply to settle or quiet the mind to achieve the state of yoga. When we are lost in thought we are ‘asleep’ according to yogic tradition. By practicing presence, we manage and choose where we place our attention and focus. Yoga teaches us that we are not our thoughts and how to shift to realizing the mind is a tool we use to enhance our lives.  Yoga also integrates breathing practices which are the quickest way to quiet our intrusive thoughts. 

One limb of yoga is asana or the poses which help focus our minds on the body and break away from mental-ramblings.  There are many schools of yoga asana, some are more strenuous asana practices like vinyasa power yoga, and some that are gentle and restorative like hatha.  All these styles encompass similar poses but vary in the way they are taught in sequence, intention and length of time. When registering for classes look at the description of the class to see what the style is and check in with one of our certified and experienced teachers before class to ask questions.