insideKENT Magazine Issue 31 - October 2014 | Page 76

HEALTH+WELLNESS

FITNESS for your

Body AND Mind

BY LISAMARIE LAMB

Yoga, Pilates, and Tai Chi are all wonderful ways of keeping your body and your mind healthy and
in the best possible shape. Although similar, these three ancient arts are actually different in terms
of what they can do to benefit you. Each one works different areas of the body and alleviates a
different kind of ache or pain, and yet each one can, if done right with a good instructor and the
correct frame of mind, quite substantially improve your quality of life.

There are different strands of yoga, each one slightly different and focusing
on its own area of the body or mind. However, there are some components
that are the same for each style. These are: breathing techniques, meditation
(and a relaxed state of mind), and the perfect body position and posture.

Yoga
It may feel as though yoga has only
been around for a few years, but it
actually originated around 4,000 years
ago – and it hasn’t changed too much
since then. The idea behind yoga is
that it unites the body and mind, and
allows the practitioner to become one
with him or herself. Perhaps it sounds
rather mystical and strange to
beginners, but for those who have tried
yoga, that bonding of body and soul
doesn’t sound so farfetched. There is
a remarkable moment in yoga when
complete relaxation occurs, when your
mental and physical faculties really do
seem to meld into one. For some, that
is the ultimate goal in studying yoga. For others it is off putting and shows
them that yoga is not their cup of tea at all.

The great thing about yoga is that it is for everyone. It is safe as it is not a
strenuous form of exercise, and the basics behind it are that all bodies can
be trained to be the best they can be. For young or old, healthy or unhealthy,
yoga can help. As with any form of exercise, though, it is best to check with
your doctor if you have a back or neck condition, just to make sure that
yoga is the best way to deal with it. Once you have been given the go
ahead, yoga is an effective and enjoyable way to soothe these pains without
making them worse.
Yoga is ideal for healing injured muscles. It can even speed up recovery
time and prevent the injury from re-occurring, which is a serious danger
when it comes to muscle related problems. Speak to your yoga teacher
about what ails you, and they will be able to show you the best techniques
to stop the pain and make you feel on top of the world.

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