Each week I see new faces of awesome individuals ready to try yoga. There are a lot of reasons people seek out yoga classes - and, there are many more reasons people continue yoga as part of their daily/weekly routines. Of course, at the same time - many people tell me each day they can't do yoga because they're not flexible. While we may not be in an ultimate frame of mind - body shape - (etc) when we start any type of exercise program, it's knowing we can move and ultimately relax and strengthen our body over time.
THERE is YOGA for EVERY BODY - the thin, the overweight; the muscular, the weak; the tight, the flexible; the old, the young; the trauma sensitive, the strong willed; the male, the female; and everything in between. Various yoga programs have been developed to reach every possible body out there to find peace and relaxation in yoga. While not every group exercise class may not meet the needs of your individual body - there is yoga for you.
Just a few types of yoga to reach different needs -
Restorative Yoga - This type of yoga focuses more on relaxation than work. When our bodies might be experiencing acute tension, extra stress, or has a hard time moving - restorative is a great option. While to the outsider looking in, this class may seem like people just laying around on pillows and blankets - when actually there is more passive stretching occurring to allow the body to deeply release and relax. A restorative class may only have 5-8 poses to relax various parts of the body with the use of props - bolsters, blankets, blocks, straps, balls, eye pillows - and anything available to encourage release in the body - without strain.
Kids' Yoga - This type of yoga is geared towards children - of various age ranges - to make yoga more playful and engaging for our younger friends who may have shorter attention spans. The goal of kids' yoga is to stimulate creativity, body awareness, and mindfulness. Classes are generally designed for age ranges that just play with their parent in yoga, to those able to follow instructions, and leading to be able to feel strong in a yoga class for any general audience.
Chair Yoga - Yoga for anyone who doesn't necessarily want to sit on the floor - or move up and down off the floor quickly. Many chair yoga classes only sit in the chair and move - some mostly sit in the chair with options to balance with the chair - and some even end reclining on the floor using the chair for leg stretching. Many enjoy this type of yoga to find strength and empowerment in their movements.
Trauma Sensitive Yoga - This is a specific, yet general type of yoga that can be available in multiple settings - from restorative to kids to chair - and everything in between. Individuals who have experienced any form of trauma - PTSD, Abuse, Childhood Abuse (often repressed), Major Injuries/Disease/Illness. etc. - all benefit from a trauma sensitive setting. A setting for those recovering - or even in the midst of trauma - find a safe, secure environment in which to freely express what their bodies give each day.
Vinyasa Yoga - This style focuses on movement with the breath. It is a flowing class, moving fluidly through the class from pose to pose. No two classes are exactly the same - and focus on various body parts, pose enhancement sequences, as well as moving the entire body in some form during the class. Many people enjoy this style of yoga for the variety and building of the strength and flexibility and balance in the body each class.
While these are just a few styles of yoga - these are the main types of yoga I teach - I also am trained in Prenatal/Postnatal and Yoga Nidra (Yoga Sleep) - which are pretty self explanatory. While I don't teach all of these classes in a public forum each week - I am available to guide you in a session of any of these in a private forum.
While many people choose various types of yoga for many different reasons - I've found my personal Top 10 list of reasons so many are #FallingForYoga everyday:
1. Stress Relief - As our bodies focus on relaxing the muscles and expanding our breath, we are reducing the stress hormones in the body and allowing our organs to function in a more optimal level. We are teaching our bodies to breathe through intensities in life to reduce stress buildup.
2. Strength and Flexibility - While not every style of yoga allows ultimate strength building, most all forms of yoga encourage flexibility - even in passive stretching. In Vinyasa yoga, the entire body is accessed to enhance strength in the arms, torso, and legs. Flexibility can be relative to what our bone structure allows once our muscles have lengthened - but - most of all - we are ensuring an increase of mobility and adaptability as we age and experience intensities of life.
3. Digestion and Organ Function - Throughout yoga we are moving our body to encourage the various systems in our body to function more efficiently. Yoga stimulates the lymphatic system - releasing toxins; the digestive organs - allowing ultimate release of built up waste; and when we ramp up our body to sweat - cleansing the body by releasing excess salt and other electrolytes - as well as producing endorphins - which help us feel good.
4. Mindfulness and Proprioception - With yoga we are focusing on feeling the body - noticing the muscles engaging to keep us upright in our balances - guiding the breath throughout the lungs and releasing the body - noticing where our body is in space at this moment. There are very few avenues that teach us to find the mind/body awareness to keep our bodies safe as we stretch and breathe each day. And, with yoga - everyday we may feel different sensations through our body with the same pose - relating to how our external world may be affecting our bodies.
5. Posture and Self Confidence - As we feel stretching in our bodies which are counter to our everyday movements - we are allowing our bodies freedom from getting 'stuck'. When we spend multiple hours in a hunched posture - and then in yoga allow our bodies to expand the chest and throat - we combat the effects the hunched posture wants to define in our spine. Also, finding strong core muscles in yoga, we allow our bodies to find greater length with better spine support - all helping us to feel like our best selves each day as we stand and walk tall.
6. Focus and Concentration - While many with ADD/ADHD diagnosis find yoga to be challenging - because of it's overall slower pace than many other forms of exercise - learning to find focus and concentration helps relax the mind and body. Simply feeling the body, the breath, and emotions in the body in each posture helps train the mind to focus on one thing at a time and calm our mental chatter - helping us all to enhance our creativity and overall mental functions.
7. Releasing Stuck Emotions - Especially in trauma sensitive classes - which I try very hard to create in each of my classes - we find a safe space to relax and unwind. It can be just relaxing the immediate stresses we felt build up throughout the day - or eventually allowing deep repressed emotions to release over time. Sometimes, just one pose can allow us to find a deep sense of relief and stress float out of the body. Other times, we may begin crying or laughing when we've felt the peace of the deep intensities release out of our bodies.
8. Play - Be a kid again - Many times at the end of yoga class I've thanked the class for playing with me. Sometimes when we allow ourselves to try something new - which may be mentally or physically challenging - we find a practice which helps us activate a child-like mind - instead of dwelling in frustration. We become less goal-oriented and more present in each day.
9. Better Sleep and Pain Reduction - When we work through the intensities in our bodies each day with guided stretching and breathing, we create not only physical relaxation, but mental relaxation. When we learn to quiet our minds, and release our joints and muscles, we find deeper peace and rest. Not only are our bodies able to fall asleep more quickly, but the quality of our sleep is enhanced.
10. Gratefulness - Thanking our bodies each day for allowing us to move and breathe helps us focus on the areas of our lives which require more dedication - and less time on trivial matters. Noticing the strength our bodies allow each day - and feeling the sensations of freedom in movement - empower us to conquer any challenge headed our way with grace.
Many people joke that every day a new study comes out touting another new benefit of yoga - and while there are an abundance of reasons to dedicate your body to this practice - it doesn't cure every ailment in life. Don't stop taking your medications or stop getting check-ups because of how awesome yoga allows you to feel each day - but do start relishing in the amazing body you are creating with the strong stretching and breathing yoga brings you.
Just for fun - I've created a yoga flow - which begins with a variation of Sun Salutations - and activates various systems in the body to release toxins and stress - and build strength and relaxation - while not a large part of the flow - do take extra time for some long deep breaths.
The shirt was made for the head strength coach at The Forge Abilene - where I share yoga each week. He just kicked cancer - so I'm dedicating this flow to everyone seeking to be healthy and strong and beating any illness life brings your way. Pics of some fun parts of the flow -
Be your strong, healthy, beautiful selves each day! Enjoy the benefits of the yoga that works best for your body, and let me know if I can help you in your yoga journey!