“Breathe in… breathe out….” is something one might hear in a Yoga studio as participants focus their mind while their muscles are stretching and bodies relaxing. Yoga, after all, is an exercise designed to bring “the body and mind into one harmonious experience,” according to the American Yoga Association.
Becky Lang, professor of health and physical education, said, “Yoga is a great low-impact workout and it’s a lot harder than people think it is because it’s slow, sustained muscle work, as well as relaxation.”
Lang said Yoga focuses on the body with muscle strengthening, endurance and flexibility; and the mind with breathing and relaxation.
Jenny Prindle, health promotion senior, said, “I think it is really good for stress relief. It helps clear your mind and makes you in the moment. You don’t think about everything else, which helps you to focus.”
Prindle got her start in Yoga seven years ago while in high school as part of an experimental gym class. After an instructor came to her school, Prindle attended some of the instructor’s classes and then eventually purchased videos to use at home. Prindle hopes to get certified to teach Yoga in April or May.
Nicole Wells, health promotion junior, teaches Yoga to Grand View’s dance team and introduces it to the Lifetime Fitness and Wellness class (HPED 205).
Wells said her favorite part of doing Yoga is the calm feeling afterward and knowing she got a great workout, too.
Wells said, “It’s just something that I love to do when I am stressed out because I know I’ll come back a relaxed and better person because of it.”
Wells also said Yoga can also help tone the abdominals, triceps, biceps, quadriceps and hamstrings.
“Who doesn’t want a better looking stomach?” Wells asked.
Lang said people often comment they have never felt so relaxed after doing yoga in her HPED 205 class. Although the majority of men, according to Lang, have a difficult time with Yoga because they don’t stretch as well, Lang encourages them to keep doing it.
“We really need to remember that the body needs recharging,” Lang said.
“Whether it’s the immune system that needs to get stronger, or our mind, we just need to stop.”
“Sometimes we’re so busy we kind of end up going in circles,” Lang said. “You get in a little tizzy and you’re running on adrenaline. We can do that short term, but long term the body breaks down.”
Lang, Prindle and Wells all recommended joining a class to get the Yoga basics and to avoid injury.
Revive Yoga, at 434 ½ East Locust Street in downtown’s East Village, offers the first class free. Revive’s owner, Gretta Jensen, has been teaching Yoga for seven years and is certified in Vines Power Yoga.
Lang said DVDs are available from certified, quality individuals but to keep in mind the purpose for the exercise. Lang said athletes would want to find videos geared toward sports-performance and people looking for a workout would want to find videos geared for muscle training.
Yoga can be practiced anywhere. Eventually, Lang said, people can get to the point where they find a few favorite poses and do them wherever.
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Tags: health and physical education, http://www.relaxfastforfree.com/what-are-the-benefits-fitness.html, running on adrenaline
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