Practicing yoga can be a time for the mind to focus inward on the breath, the body and how we’re feeling. This allows the outside world to recede into the background for a while as we become fully present with ourselves. The thought process begins to slow down and a sense of peace and calm replaces the chatter.
As the mind attunes to the body and emotions the wisdom they have to share with us is more evident. If we spend most of our waking time in our heads we may miss the more subtle messages of tension, discomfort, sadness, anger or pain. The more we ignore our body and emotions the louder they have to become, until the pain and discomfort are so great we have no choice but to listen and act.
When we give our full attention to a child’s needs we are better able to hear what is best for them. So too with our body. Yoga can help us tune in sooner and faster. By doing hamstring exercises, we are far more likely to stay healthy and balanced.
There are many wonderful physical benefits of stretching, increasing flexibility and strengthening the body that practicing yoga gives us. And since the meaning of yoga is “unity”, we see how this form of meditative movement can have profound benefits on all aspects of the self.
The style of Hatha Yoga I teach is slow, meditative and gentle. The postures flow together, beginning with warm-ups, then going on to standing, kneeling, sitting, inverted and lying down postures, ending in savasana, or corpse pose, for about 10 minutes.
An evolving and creative form of yoga, Flow classes integrates breath and movement, awareness and alignment, strength and flexibility, with grace and serenity.
There are many benefits of yoga, some of which are listening to your own body; tuning into the energy of the students in each class; being sensitive to factors such as temperature and available space; and allowing each class to develop organically from within.
Try exercises for the back
