Although I'm usually open to trying many different types of workouts, I kind of avoided taking yoga classes over the years. I mean, I knew there were lots of benefits like improved flexibility, increased strength and even better posture, but since yoga is not typically focused on aerobic fitness, I wasn’t sure I wanted to put in the time. I vividly remember my mother taking yoga over 40 years ago when she wanted to quit smoking. Because of the deep and mindful breathing involved, she was able to give up the cigarettes and her lung capacity improved. She continued the practice and when my kids were little, she even taught them to do different yoga poses as a game when she babysat. It must have worked for her since she’s about to celebrate her 91st birthday.
However, since I’m usually stuck on hyper-drive throughout the day, I never allowed myself to be open to the mind-calming and heart health benefits of the practice.
I tried a “yoga-lates-boxing-fusion” kind of group fitness class a few years back, but I left with a sore back and a stomach ache. So when my daughter convinced me to go to a free yoga class at the lululemon showroom, I was a little skeptical. We arrived early, rolled out our mats and took off our shoes. I was convinced I was the only one there who wouldn’t even be able to bend from the waist and touch the ground or hold a pose or stand steady, and… I kind of was. But it was OK, because our instructor, Danielle (Danielle Tridenti -www.dyogahome.com and lululemon ambassador), amazingly was right there to quietly help me “re-adjust” my moves and modify ones that were too difficult. I felt great afterwards and even a little sore (in a good way).
We returned to lululemon another week and took a yoga class with Emily (Emily Goble, who teaches at Wellbridge and other places around St. Louis). I felt a little more confident this time, but it didn’t take long to see I had quite a way to go. Still, like Danielle, Emily would walk through the room gently moving and assisting us to position ourselves correctly. The hour flew by (unlike some grueling fitness classes I’ve taken) and I actually felt sort of relaxed. No small feat for someone with my type A personality!
Again, I’ve only taken two or three yoga classes, but from what I have gleaned, there are apparently many different styles of yoga being taught and practiced today and generally, all of the styles are based on the same physical postures or poses called asanas.
Hatha is a very general term that can encompass many of the physical types of yoga, and like Hatha, Vinyasa is a general term that is used to describe many different types of classes.
Vinyasa, which means breath-synchronized movement, tends to be a bit more vigorous. It uses a series of poses called sun salutations, in which movement is matched to the breath.
Ashtanga yoga is a fast-paced series of sequential poses beginning with sun salutations where students move from one posture to another in a continual flow and link movements to breath. It is more physically demanding to build strength, flexibility, and stamina. Power yoga is based on Ashtanga.
Bikram Yoga is practiced in a 95 to 100 degree room, which allows tight muscles to loosen and causes profuse sweating, thought to be cleansing. The Bikram method, developed by Bikram Choudhury, uses a set series of 26 poses. The heat is supposed to allow you to go deeper and safer into a yoga pose, while lowering the risk of injuries.
Although my gym (Lifetime Fitness) doesn’t offer Bikram Yoga, I did take a Hot Yoga class taught by Karen Fairchild. The class offers the benefits of the hot room, such as safely stretching your muscles, and releasing the lactic acid and other toxins that build up with muscle use, but it isn’t regimented to the specific series of poses in Bikram. Karen, like Emily and Danielle, helped guide us through the poses gently, but the heat really got to me (I'm told you get used to the heat after a few classes). I made it through most of the session, and I loved how Karen advocated lengthening of the muscles versus the contracting I usually do when I lift weights. She likes the balance yoga brings to a workout program and believes it’s a complement to all other types of exercise.
So...., will I continue to take yoga classes? I’m pretty sure I will. It’s a new challenge and I’m hoping it will help my flexibility. Best of all, I actually felt calm after each class (Maybe it was short-lived, but I’d like to extend that!).
As my friend Robyn said when I asked her why she takes yoga:
“I just feel like it’s good for me!”
And isn’t that what we’re all looking to find?
Check your gym’s schedule for yoga class times. Also, Lululemon Athletica has information on local instructors and offers weekly complimentary yoga classes (and they are sooooo great about giving you information). Log onto http://www.lululemon.com/stores/ to see if there is a store near you.
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