Begin easy. Practice slowing down and breathing more fully. Than enter into a yoga program that suits your schedule and lifestyle. You will have plenty of time to discover different types of yoga practices and studios. Location, location, schedules and learning ability are important. Creating a new habit that is positive requires something that is possible not impossible.
Good Luck and enjoy the new window into health!
You will love it when you are ready!
OM
Yoga to some and to me is about refining the mind and cultivating clear perception so that we connect with, and act from, the place of true Self. This is an important step for me to process change in my habits; replacing old ways of thinking and reacting with new habits that serve me better.
Some days I have a strong urge to drink my tension away, instead of taking time to nurture the tension’s birth place. Pantanjali reminds us that this process of personal growth and development, of refining the mind and changing our habits, is something that happens gradually, over a long period of time. And, like a willing person learning a new skill, it’s a process of fits and starts. There is a flash of clarity, followed by a period of nonclarity. This flash of clarity followed by nonclarity may last days months or years. Even as these flashes of clarity become more frequent, I still feel I have taken one step back for every two steps forward.
I do notice myself responding to situations with more patience, yet I still lose my temper, or fall back into an old pattern of playing the victim, or revert to some other habit that isn’t serving me.
I now realize how blessed I am to have faith, strength and steadfastness to achieve higher levels of proficiency, refinement, and understanding. And by definition, my process cannot be compared with anyone else’s.
Compassion and patience for others processes have allowed me to feel empowered by the knowledge that I am enough, and I can move away from an attitude of judgment and comparison to one of appreciataion for my erfforts and the efforts of others.
Like I said, I sometimes have a strong urge to drink my tension away, yet I don’t and this is Yoga to me.
peace peace peace
mama t
First. What to wear? Wear your old baggy sweats and a favorite comfy T. Wear what suits you, but as long as you wash it often.
Second. I can’t bend, should I do yoga? Absolutely, that is why the postures have been developed in hopes that we have a steady practice and become more aligned or come back to our “Vital force”.
Third.Do you Have Hot Yoga? We certainly do, but a different hot yoga. A traditional approach. As Buddha says,”Seek within not with out.” Our Asana classes allow the heat to build within your body and giving you the great release of toxins without unnecessary dehydration of the major organs which happens when we exert our energy when in a hot space or environment.
Remember to stay open and find what appeals to you regardless of others opinions. This is your destination, not anyone else can decide for you how to live it.
Namaste
Mama t
Before starting to take yoga classes, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with some of the things a regular practice can do for you. You’ll hear lots of claims from lots of people: from those who just feel better physically, mentally and/or emotionally when they do yoga, to those who say they’ve been cured of specific problems from back pain to cancer. But what can you expect?
At its most basic level, hatha yoga is a physical practice that concentrates on maintaining and deepening the breath while flexing, extending and rotating the musculoskeletal system through a series of mindful exercises. These exercises are recognized as a safe and effective means of:
1) Increasing flexibility and ease of motion
Although a student may feel that a particular asana or yoga pose works on just one or two joints and/or muscle groups, the practice involves the entire body and its benefits are eventually felt throughout.
2) Improving cardiac and respiratory function
Yoga creates an awareness of breath and breathing and allows the student to deepen the breath and gradually increase lung capacity without straining. A regular practice can increase circulation, reduce the resting heart rate and improve aerobic capacity (VO2 Max).
3) Reducing stress and physical tension
Yoga is a recognized means of invoking the so-called relaxation response, “ a physical state of deep rest that changes the physical and emotional responses to stress… and the opposite of the fight or flight response.” A regular practice calms the nervous system and creates an awareness of the build-up of tension and an ability to consciously release it.
4) Promoting health
There are a lot of scientific studies whose results show that practicing yoga can lead to improvements in key indicators of health including body weight, coordination, reaction time, memory, blood pressure and levels of chemicals in the body such as blood sugar, cortisol, adrenaline and serotonin.
5) Detoxifying
By gently stretching and twisting the musculoskeletal system yoga massages all the internal organs thus increasing the circulation of blood and lymph and helping to flush toxins from the body.
Yoga students report that practicing regularly has helped them in a lot of other ways too including:
• More restful sleep
• Improved balance
• Increased self-esteem
• A sharper mind
• A reduced need for prescription and over-the-counter drugs
• Generally improved quality of life
• A new spiritual awareness
“For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, even more than things have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.”
We ask everyone we meet if they practice yoga. Wonderfully, we get a different answer every time. Responses range from wrinkled noses to hurried excuses to big wide grins. And while everyone has their own ideas about what a class might be like before they try, it’s the people who have smiled or grunted their way through an hour or two in a studio who offer the most enthusiastic nods of agreement. When all the preconceived notions disappear and you simply start to move, it all begins to make sense. We think it’s simply the best exercise going. Millions all over the world agree.
Yoga in North America has evolved rapidly since the first yogis arrived from the east to share their knowledge. In the decades that have followed, North Americans have not only embraced the teachings of acceptance and peace but have enthusiastically connected with the physical aspects of the practice. Indeed, the notion of practicing yoga primarily as a workout is very recent concept. It is just as realistic now to find a class as rigorous as an hour of aerobics as it would be to find a class where gentle stretching mends seamlessly into meditation and relaxation. It is a testament to yoga that it can offer this much variety for people of different physical ability without losing the message. So while the postures and the technical aspects of the practice may not necessarily be centuries old, the intention and the meaning resonate deeply.
But mystery and intrigue still remain about what might happen in a yoga class. While the best idea to rid yourself of these notions is to simply attend, there may still be a few surprises you can prepare yourself for. There are a few things you might not know about yoga class:
Yoga can be hard.
Physically, yoga can be very challenging – even a beginner class. It is best to be open and honest about your physical abilities and the limits you are setting on yourself. Muscle strength is just as important in yoga as stretching and the two compliment each other. Be prepared to move!
How you engage yourself in class is a lesson in itself.
We see people struggling, forcing, pulling and flinging themselves into postures. Not only is this uncomfortable but it can be dangerous. To avoid frustration, simply listen. A well-trained teacher will offer options and cues and successful students heed them. Understanding where you are and what you are doing is the beginning of self-knowledge.
There will be meditation of some sort.
Every class will have a component of silent time. Sharing moments of peaceful contemplation is certainly the most ancient portion of yoga and it has defied the boundaries of geography, race, time, gender and social class. Meditation is deceptively simple and can be difficult if you’re not sure what should be going on. What should be happening in this silent time in class? Absolutely nothing. Go figure!
You could end up upside-down
Inversions are common in yoga classes and even if you’re not doing headstands, there is most certainly a chance that your heart will be over your head at some time. Wear a shirt that won’t fly over your head and pants that you can control. Or simply wear good underwear.
You are not too old, too fat, too weak, too inflexible, too….
Yoga is enjoyed by people from all walks of life and there are no limits to what you can accomplish when you approach the practice with patience and acceptance. Ask some of the people who come from class flushed and glowing – they all started somewhere, too.
Come join us and nod in agreement! Yoga Source & Therapy Studio is located at 16925 Yonge Street, Unit 25, in Newmarket or you can call (905) 830-9700 or visit www.yogasource.ca
It is your responsibility to care of yourself, no one else is going to do it for you. Invest in your self, take care of yourself. Invest in the proper nutrition to feed your body. Invest in exercise, meditation and yoga. Take a walk, go for a picnic, be adventurous. Invest in taking the time out and receiving a massage or the pedicure that you put off because you feel you don’t deserve to treat yourself. Invest in the pursuit of knowledge. Invest in friends and family that support you in your endeavors. Take the trip that you have put off for years and just go by yourself. You are your own best traveling companion. Don’t wait to invest in your happiness. Invest in self love.
