I am a recent convert to the challenges and joys of yoga. I attended my first ever yoga class in June and have since been attending yoga 2-3 times a week. My yoga instructor and her classes are probably pretty different than most: the music is loud and fast paced (though the movements generally aren't), the temperature is kept high--between 90 and 95 degrees, there is no chanting and she doesn't use the conventional order of movements or flows.
Yoga classes certainly aren't for everyone--and not every yoga class or instructor would work for every fan of yoga. But like every new convert, I'm annoyingly excited about what is new and joyful to me, so I thought I'd share some of the benefits tonight.
Stretch down past the hump to read more...
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Yoga is the primary exercise I get during the week. I was doing the Couch to 5K program, but that fell by the wayside when school started up and my daylight hours were more limited. I try to jump on the elliptical machine at my house a couple of times a week but that doesn't always happen.
The yoga classes I attend are an hour long. The first 10-15 minutes are generally focused on stretching and developing a strong, deep breathing rhythm. The next 15-20 minutes does actually take on a cardio element--there are no sudden or jerky movements, but there is definitely a sustained period of increased cardio work as we work through a series of flows or strength movements that flow in order from one to the next. The next 20 minutes or so we try to maintain an elevated heart rate while doing some high intensity, focused strength work, with a lot of balance practice woven through. The last 5 minutes we bring the heart rate down, stretch, and return to deep, slow breathing.
Even with the relatively limited exercise I'm getting, the results from yoga have been visible and pretty dramatic. My arms are much more toned, my chest is higher, and I can see an actual waist (with some ab definition). My goal is not to become a body builder and I'm still far from my goal weight, but it sure feels good to see a difference.
Even more exciting is the difference I feel. I have much more endurance--no more getting winded just walking up my stairs. I have dramatically increased strength--I carried my two year old nephew around on vacation this summer with less weariness than I had carrying him last summer at one. Flexibility and balance--which had not even been on my radar as concerns--have improved the everyday quality of my movements. No more stumbling over my feet or clumsiness, no more morning aches & pains that I have to walk out. For the first time in years I do not have heel and foot pains that cause me to hobble around for the first hour of the day. No shin splints when I run or fast walk.
So that's my personal testimonial about yoga, but it's been in the news quite a bit lately.
Yoga in the News:
Regular yoga practice is associated with mindful eating, and people who eat mindfully are less likely to be obese, according to a study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
The study was prompted by initial findings reported four years ago by Alan Kristal, Dr.P.H., and colleagues, who found that regular yoga practice may help prevent middle-age spread in normal-weight people and may promote weight loss in those who are overweight. At the time, the researchers suspected that the weight-loss effect had more to do with increased body awareness, specifically a sensitivity to hunger and satiety than the physical activity of yoga practice itself.
Hatha Yoga Practice Lessens Fear Of Falling In Older Adults, Study Suggests
Indiana University researchers found promising results in an exploratory study involving yoga practice by older adults who expressed a fear of falling. After a 12-week, twice weekly hatha yoga class, taught by a professional yoga therapist, study participants reported a reduced fear of falling, increased lower body flexibility and a reduction in their leisure constraints.
Yoga may ease chronic back pain
For the current study, published in the journal Spine, researchers randomly assigned 90 adults (average age 48, range 18-70) with chronic lower back pain to either stay with conventional care or take six months of Iyengar-style yoga classes.
Iyengar is a form of yoga that emphasizes proper body alignment and uses "props," such as blocks, blankets and the wall, to help support people in the various yoga postures. The certified Iyengar yoga instructors in this study had experience using yoga therapy for back pain.
Overall, the researchers found, the yoga group showed not only greater improvements in pain and mobility, but also a larger reduction in depression symptoms. And the benefits were seen immediately after the six-month yoga regimen ended, as well as six months later.
For Homeless, Serenity Arrives On a Yoga Mat
...When Aaron Swieringa, 29, feels the flash of his anger heat up inside him -- when the job center put him on hold again or someone is moving in on his sleeping spot on the street or looking to steal his stuff -- he breathes in. "And I breathe out: 'Whoooosh.' And I calm down. I remember the stuff that Julie said, and I use that yoga on the street."
Do you have any experiences with yoga? What is your exercise and fitness plan? How has your plan gone over the weekend? Do you have a plan for the upcoming week? Chat about whatever's on your health & fitness mind below!
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