55+ Living Guide 55+ Living Guide Fall 2017 | Page 34

HEALTH & WELLNESS SERIES: PART 1
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Take Deep Breath
Yoga is for everyone, even you!
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by Kayla Tote . Head Instructor . Hot Yoga Spot
As yoga continues to grow in popularity, there are
still a number of people that wonder if yoga is some-
thing that is right for them. Any yoga teacher would tell
you, “you don’t have to be flexible to do yoga; you have
to do yoga to be flexible.” Still, the thought of needing
to touch one’s toes or hold an inverted position seems
too intimidating for some. The truth is, there are many
different types of yoga and there is a style suitable for
anyone willing to try. The word yoga does not mean
“touch your toes or fail.” The word yoga actually means
“to join” or “to yoke.” Practicing yoga is about con-
necting with the disconnected parts of our lives,
body, mind, and spirit. In most yoga classes, the
session is primarily focused on connection
through physical poses (asanas) and breath
(pranayama). The connection of the two
leads to a sense of grounding and focus on
the present moment. This connection is
beneficial for people of all ages, sizes
and backgrounds. Anyone
willing to try yoga and
approach it with an open
mind will find themselves
enjoying the benefits. With regular practice, you will
see the physical benefits of trying something new and
will notice the positive effects trickling into other as-
pects of your life.
Yoga benefits everyone including young children
with playful minds, athletes with limited or hyper-mo-
bility, older individuals experiencing chronic pain or
limited mobility, and everyone in between. Taking yoga
classes 2-3 times per week aids in building long, lean,
and strong muscles, while simultaneously increasing
mobility and flexibility in the body’s joints.
In yoga, the aim is to create space through
breath and movement. In that space is where
strength is built. It is the combination of creating
space and building strength where the magic
happens, keeping people of all ages, shapes,
and sizes coming back for more.
Through the practice of yoga, a strong
sense of balance and focus is cultivated
both physically and mentally. Every
yoga class serves to improve
balance and each pose offers
individuals the opportunity
to simultaneously engage,
release, and breathe. This flow of energy, strength,
and awareness is how physical balance develops, both
on and off of the yoga mat. Focusing on one’s breath
and physical movement in the present moment leads
to a sense of feeling mentally focused and grounded.
While people continue to experience the physical
benefits of yoga, there is a growing awareness of the
power that yoga has to calm and balance the mind. In
an age where people are constantly met with an influx
of information, communication, and expectation, it
has become increasingly difficult to focus and relax.
This inability to calm the mind has resulted in an
increased number of individuals living with anxiety
and depression. It may be impossible to rid our minds
of everything that takes up space and causes distrac-
tions. However, with yoga and meditation it is possible
to become more aware of the energy we give to those
distractions. Yoga practitioners learn to control their
breath as a tool to return to the present moment, turn-
ing off the distracting “noise” in the mind.
As the body ages, natural wear and tear on mus-
cles, tendons, ligaments, bones, and even cells, has a
deteriorating effect. Yoga has the ability to significantly
reduce the rate of deterioration, and can even reverse
the effects. Chronic pain, especially
in the back/spine and major joints
like the hips, shoulders, hands and
feet, is often experienced as indi-
vidual’s age, leaving people feeling
helpless and frustrated. While
many “western” studied doctors
turn to prescribing medications as
an immediate fix to the problem,
many “eastern” medicinal practices
focus on natural cures yoga. The
power of yoga and focused breath-
ing is becoming more accepted as a
means of treating pain. This shift in
treatment is leading to less and less
doctors using medicine and sur-
gery as a cure for their patients. In
an article from Psychology Today,
Christopher Bergland talks about
the connection between breath fo-
cus and pain relief, and how a yoga
practice ties them together.
Most of the pharmacological
treatments for chronic pain are opi-
oid based and are highly addictive.
Luckily, the effectiveness of
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