As a Yoga Instructor, members will often ask me about Yoga. They’ll say, “isn’t it just about of stretches?” “Don’t you just stretch for an hour?” They are curious though because somehow they know it would be good for them, or someone they know told them to try it. What they don’t know is all the amazing benefits Yoga has to offer, besides the stretches!
Yoga goes beyond the postures that you see in a typical class. There is also Meditation that is often included at the beginning or end of Yoga classes, and breath work that you’ll often find weaved throughout a class; Yoga encompasses both of these as a whole mind body experience.
With meditation you’re learning to calm your mind, to be present in the moment, and relax your body. This can help with these like Anxiety, Stress, Tension & Pain in the body, and even heal Trauma. It’s never to late to start a meditation practice and it doesn’t take a 60-minute Yoga class to do it either. You can start with taking 30-seconds to yourself to sit in silence, watch a candle flame while you breathe, or listen to the clock tick by, even that - is Meditation.
Breath work is just as easy, and like meditation, you don’t need to take a full Yoga class to do it. But if you have taken a Yoga class than you have done breath work! Every yoga class includes the breath. Whether you were aware of it or not, each posture moves with the breath, even Savasana (Final Resting Pose) when you’re laying on your back at the end of class done for the day feeling so glad it’s over and you take a deep breath all the way out! That is breath work. It’s also about being aware of the breath, feeling it coming into the body as you inhale, and as you exhale. It takes time and practice to learn to focus and control the breath, but anyone that wants to learn can easily begin!
So know that you know a little more about Yoga, Meditation, and Breathwork - you can see that it’s more than just stretching! Try a class with us here at Radect Health and see if you can notice the meditation and breathwork within the Yoga class. 🙏
Namaste,
Written by: Desiree Schmidt