YOGA? What is this strange and exotic form of exercise that has been turning up in the news lately? Who does it and why? “Yoga” may create images in your mind of an emaciated Indian enunciate sitting in pretzel position, naked on a bed of nails. But, would you believe that those who practice hatha yoga in the good ol’ USA range from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Raquel Welch, from Sting to the Miami Dolphins? The practice is quickly gaining popularity among the health conscious who find that yoga is more effective than pumping iron for building strength and flexibility, more effective than aerobics for building stamina and breath control, and more relaxing than jogging. Its adaptable to any age or physical condition, from super active kids to sedentary seniors, and the benefits of a yoga practice are undeniable.
While our lives seem to be spinning at ever increasing speeds, yoga is emerging as an effective way to slow down and stay balanced while creating physical and mental vitality.
The beginnings of Yoga are lost in the history of India. It has been thought that yoga was originally developed to allow a spiritual seeker to gain complete control over his physical vehicle so that he could meditate uninterrupted for extended periods of time. While there are many branches on the yoga tree, the current popular adaptation of yoga to our modern lifestyle has taken the form of “Hatha Yoga”. This form that tends to focus on “asanas” or poses to build fitness, control, vitality and harmony. The word “Hatha” comes from the Sanskrit “ha” meaning Sun and “tha” meaning moon, expressing the balancing of opposing forces. “Yoga” means “union” or “reintegration.” Together, “hatha yoga” expresses the union or balancing of opposing forces. Through a yoga practice we can create balance, wholeness, health and peace within ourselves.
In this Valentine month of love, what could be more loving than to give yourself the gift of health, vitality and peace? Begin with just a breath, the basis of your life. Try inhaling deeply for 5 counts, hold your breath for 5 counts, and exhale slowly for 5 counts. Repeat 3 to 5 times. Notice how your mind slows down, your body releases tension, and your outlook becomes more relaxed. When we’re relaxed, we’re more patient and loving. By loving and caring for ourselves, we are able to create more peace and love around us.
When I was a kid, my Dad asked me if I could design a chair for people whose knees bent backwards. I’m still working on that one. But since I began doing yoga, I’ve been working on designing a practice for those of us whose knees bend forward many hours a day. What do we do with bodies that ache because we sit, and sit, and sit? We’re a society of “chair people.” We sit for meals, sit for classes, sit in the car, sit at a desk, sit in meetings and movies. We sit to talk on the telephone and watch TV, sit at computers, on planes, on trains, in waiting rooms. Some of us sit due to accident or illness, weakness, or job requirements. Some of us sit because we just have a lazy life style. Do you ever feel that your life has become a series of transitions from one seated location to another?
I don’t think our bodies were meant to live that way! Most chairs aren’t designed to support our bodies with healthy posture. They cause us to slump, curve our spines, push our heads forward or lean us back onto our tailbones. The worst back problem I ever had came after sitting in a seminar room for three days of lectures.
Inactivity can cause stiffness, backache, weakness, constipation, poor circulation, mental dullness, nervousness, cramps, and degeneration. Depressing thoughts. Whatever the reason and wherever you sit, its possible to begin to become fit, even while sitting in your chair.
Yoga, the 5000 year old gift of body/mind balance, can be adapted to a seated stretching program that can counteract the inevitable results of too much sitting. Body awareness, better posture, relief from aches and pains, as well as increased flexibility and strengthening, and a deep sense of relaxation can be achieved right where you are….are you sitting down?
Although a consistent yoga program of standing, balancing, lying poses, and inversions is a more complete practice, yoga need not be relegated to the yoga studio or health club. The time commitment of hours per week can sometimes be difficult to fit in to a busy schedule. Doing a pose or two hourly throughout the day can give you some of the benefits of a yoga practice and help relieve the results of sitting too much. In fact, small efforts while sitting in various daily situations, can contribute greatly to our strength, flexibility, relaxation, increased circulation, stronger respiration, and clarity of mind. Yoga poses adapted to small bites may not have the same intensity as a full yoga class, but the benefits of yoga are readily available to those who nibble on yoga throughout the day.
Those who are physically challenged due to age, illness, or who just can’t do poses on the floor, need not miss out on the many benefits of yoga. Invalids, those confined to wheelchairs or recovering from injury, with their physician’s approval, can benefit from their own adaptation of the breathing and gentle seated poses. Seated yoga can build the strength and flexibility, needed to progress to more and more challenging poses. Breathing, stretching and strengthening can be introduced at a slow pace, gently bringing bodies to new levels of fitness, increasing circulation and bringing in healing “life force” energy.
“Sitting Fit” benefits all of us, regardless of our physical condition. Sitting needs to be balanced with moving, breathing and stretching, so try some of these simple poses for a “mini yoga break.” You’ll feel the difference and return your attention to your work refreshed, more relaxed and with a clearer mind.
Sitting Fit Can Be Done in a Chair … Anytime, Anywhere
Breathing Sit up straight on the edge of your chair, feet flat on the floor directly below your knees. Let your hands rest on your thighs. Take a long, deep breath, and exhale completely. Inhale deeply again, reaching for the ceiling with the crown of your head, lengthening your spine. Continue breathing with full deep inhalations and complete exhalations for 10 to 20 breaths.
As you exhale, slide your shoulder blades down your back, dropping your shoulders away from your ears as you reach through your finger tips. Keep breathing deeply for 3 to 5 breaths. Exhale as you lower your arms.
Shoulder shrugs Inhaling, bring your shoulders up tightly toward your ears. Roll your shoulders back, pressing your shoulder blades tightly together. Exhale as you press your shoulders down toward the floor. Inhaling again, bring your shoulders up again, roll them back and press your shoulder blades together, and release down. Repeat several times and don’t forget to breathe!
Forward Fold Still sitting on the edge of your chair with your feet hip width apart, inhale as you bring your arms out to your sides. Reach forward with your chin as you rotate from your hips, exhaling as you bring your chest toward your thighs. Keep your back flat. With your next exhalation, allow your self to relax, chest on your thighs, arms and head dangling, relaxed. Take 3 to 5 deep, full, relaxing breaths. Inhale as you sit up slowly with a flat back.
Knee Raises Sitting up straight, inhaling as you raise your right knee up in front of you. Grasp your leg in front of your knee with both hands. Keep your back flat as you exhale and draw your knee in toward your chest. Hold it there for 3 to 5 breaths. Release as you exhale. Repeat with your left leg.
Susan Winter Ward, internationally recognized yoga instructor, author, and video producer, is the creator of Yoga for the Young at Heart?, a multimedia publisher which publishes an informative and inspiring collection of CDRoms, videos, audio tapes, books and television programs, as well as exciting vacation retreats. Her product line is available at: Yoga for the Young at Heart
Showing posts with label fountain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fountain. Show all posts
February 23, 2009
What Mountain?
Hopefully we’re starting to get the message in our goal-oriented culture, that the full life experience is “in the going”, not in “getting there.” What do we miss along the way in the frantic rush to “get there”? Life itself? We miss the process, the richness of fully appreciating where we are in the moment, relaxing into it, and observing ourselves inwardly as we move through our experiences. How often have we reached our goals, gone over the mountain, only to find another mountain!
The style of yoga that I teach is a metaphor or training in relaxing into the process; relaxing into the moment Its referred to as “flow” or “vinyasa” (flowing, in Sanskrit). The emphasis is on the process of moving from one pose into the next, pausing in a pose for 3 to 5 breaths, relaxing, fully experiencing it, and flowing gracefully and gently into the next pose, and so on. How we practice yoga can be a metaphor of how we practice our lives. With tuning into our breath, our life flow, we allow our energy within to carry us along throughout the yoga practice. This brings with it an awareness of our own inner patterns. Where do we rush? Where do we push? What do we do with the discomfort and discipline required in learning a new way of moving and being with ourselves?
A yoga practice can be a microcosm of how we live our lives, if we allow it to to be our mirror. How do you approach your yoga practice? Are you disciplined, rigid in that discipline? Do you give yourself a break when you need to, and honor your body’s limitations? Are you competitive in a yoga class, or with yourself? Do you push to your limit at the beginning of each pose? Do you back away from doing certain poses out of laziness or fear? Do you “listen to your body” and treat it gently with love? How does your attitude toward your practice reflect in your day-to-day lifestyle? Becoming the observer, as well as becoming one with your yoga practice enriches the process of integrating yoga into your life. Let your yoga be your teacher. Slowing down and taking the time to observe your own movement and patterns takes practice. That’s why its called a yoga “practice!”
There is no goal in yoga, there is no place to “get to.” There is always someone who can do the pose “better.” And with about 84,000 yoga poses, (I can’t imagine who counted them,) there is always a new level of any pose to challenge us, another mountain to go over. Isn’t life like that? So what’s the rush? Are we enjoying ourselves, relaxing into our practice of yoga, allowing it to teach us about life itself? We’re not living to compete and beat ourselves up for not climbing more mountains faster, we’re here in this life experience to be happy, to share a joyful, exciting and entertaining journey inwardly, and with each other, and to learn from each other along the way. Let yoga be your teacher.
Susan Winter Ward, internationally recognized yoga instructor, author, and video producer, is the creator of Yoga for the Young at Heart?, a multimedia publisher which publishes an informative and inspiring collection of CDRoms, videos, audio tapes, books and television programs, as well as exciting vacation retreats. Her product line is available at: Yoga for the Young at Heart
The style of yoga that I teach is a metaphor or training in relaxing into the process; relaxing into the moment Its referred to as “flow” or “vinyasa” (flowing, in Sanskrit). The emphasis is on the process of moving from one pose into the next, pausing in a pose for 3 to 5 breaths, relaxing, fully experiencing it, and flowing gracefully and gently into the next pose, and so on. How we practice yoga can be a metaphor of how we practice our lives. With tuning into our breath, our life flow, we allow our energy within to carry us along throughout the yoga practice. This brings with it an awareness of our own inner patterns. Where do we rush? Where do we push? What do we do with the discomfort and discipline required in learning a new way of moving and being with ourselves?
A yoga practice can be a microcosm of how we live our lives, if we allow it to to be our mirror. How do you approach your yoga practice? Are you disciplined, rigid in that discipline? Do you give yourself a break when you need to, and honor your body’s limitations? Are you competitive in a yoga class, or with yourself? Do you push to your limit at the beginning of each pose? Do you back away from doing certain poses out of laziness or fear? Do you “listen to your body” and treat it gently with love? How does your attitude toward your practice reflect in your day-to-day lifestyle? Becoming the observer, as well as becoming one with your yoga practice enriches the process of integrating yoga into your life. Let your yoga be your teacher. Slowing down and taking the time to observe your own movement and patterns takes practice. That’s why its called a yoga “practice!”
There is no goal in yoga, there is no place to “get to.” There is always someone who can do the pose “better.” And with about 84,000 yoga poses, (I can’t imagine who counted them,) there is always a new level of any pose to challenge us, another mountain to go over. Isn’t life like that? So what’s the rush? Are we enjoying ourselves, relaxing into our practice of yoga, allowing it to teach us about life itself? We’re not living to compete and beat ourselves up for not climbing more mountains faster, we’re here in this life experience to be happy, to share a joyful, exciting and entertaining journey inwardly, and with each other, and to learn from each other along the way. Let yoga be your teacher.
Susan Winter Ward, internationally recognized yoga instructor, author, and video producer, is the creator of Yoga for the Young at Heart?, a multimedia publisher which publishes an informative and inspiring collection of CDRoms, videos, audio tapes, books and television programs, as well as exciting vacation retreats. Her product line is available at: Yoga for the Young at Heart
Yoga is Like Sex
Yoga is like sex. You can read about it, hear about it, and watch other people do it, but until you experience it first hand, yourself, you don’t really get it. So what’s the excitement all about? Why is yoga showing up everywhere from auto ads to executive meetings? Why are airlines presenting it to their passengers and why is it featured on Oprah? Kids are doing it in schools; buff athletes are doing it, even pregnant women and the wheelchair-bound. There must be something very seductive about yoga!
If you do yoga, you know that it’s seductive. That delicious feeling of stretching from the inside out; that soothing sensation like warm honey flowing through energized limbs; and the “big payoff” at the end of a practice: floating away into the infinite. You can’t access this in pictures, and yoga isn’t a spectator sport. The real experience is only available to you if you actually do yoga.
Yoga is not just about the beautiful bodies of diehard yogis and yoginis, although fitness is definitely one of the major payoffs, yoga is a path to that illusive center we are all seeking…it’s a path to inner peace. We’re being drawn to yoga by the thousands because we need it; we crave what yoga offers and deeply need the body-mind-spirit connection we experience when we practice the 5000 year old art of yoga.
Increased strength and flexibility, relief from headaches, back problems, sleep troubles, and stress related issues; deep relaxation, feeling energized, powerful, peaceful and centered… Sounds good? These are only a few of the myriad benefits of a yoga practice. Life is so much easier when we feel comfortable in our bodies, relaxed in spirit and come from a peaceful place of power within. Our days become more enjoyable and more relaxed. Our relationships become deeper and more sensitive. The world seems to be more manageable and, rather than reactive, we become positively proactive.
Many people first come to yoga for physical reasons. They want to find relief from back pain or they want to lose weight. They see the external benefits of a yoga practice, but like sex, the internal experience is what keeps them coming back for more.
“This all sounds good,” you say, “but I haven’t bent forward and touched the floor since I was 12. Sure, seems like a good thing to try, but I haven’t exercised since high school! I’d be embarrassed to be seen in those tight yoga clothes… or worse, in a yoga class. I’d make a fool out of myself!” I’ve heard it all… and there’s always a way. Don’t allow your chattering mind or your fragile ego to keep you from discovering the treasures you’ll find through yoga. Yoga is accessible to everybody. All you need to do is make a decision to go for it.
Regardless of your physical ability, yoga can be adapted to be accessible to you. If you are physically challenged, you can do yoga seated in a chair. Even those who are bedridden can do yoga and we can all benefit greatly from “pranayama,” the yoga of the breath.
Too busy? Weave it into your day with seated stretches at your computer, in the airplane, or while standing in line at the bank. Yoga can be subtle, internal and powerful. As you might suspect, I never take “No” for an answer. There’s always a way to do yoga.
Here are a few tips to ease your entry into the world of yoga:
The first step is commitment. My first yoga class was a rude wake-up call. Every injury I’d ever had was talking to me. I thought I was in pretty good shape at 44, but my body’s ability to do those poses was beyond discouraging… I hated it. There was voice inside my head that screamed, “Get me outta here!” But there was a more persistent little voice inside of me that said, “You don’t have to like this, just do it.” I knew, on some level, that I’d be really sorry if I quit so I made a deal with myself to keep going back to yoga class twice a week for a month. No judgments, no analyzing, no deciding “like it or not.” So I pre-paid the classes and took my body to yoga class. After that month, I was hooked. I highly recommend this approach… It changed my life.
Once you get yourself into yoga class, the next biggest challenge is self-acceptance. A yoga teacher of mine once said, “Begin where you are and stay there.” Wise words, and a big relief! After all, there’s no other place to start than by accepting ourselves right where we are and realizing that we’ll never be exactly there again. Every yoga practice is different because we are different, day-to-day, and minute-to-minute. One of the basic lessons we learn from a yoga practice is not to judge ourselves. For most of us, that’s a hard one. Our culture trains us to be competitive. We want to compare ourselves with each other, with the teacher, and especially with our image of what we think we should be able to do. If you want to enjoy your yoga practice, judge not! Watch yourself from the inside; explore the sensations and the new feelings. Experience yourself from the inside out.
Another big hurdle is overcoming the goal-oriented, “Type A” personality approach to yoga; the attitude that the body must conform to perfection and each pose must be the textbook ideal. Give it up! Not a good idea for a number of reasons. First, no body does perfect poses. Not even the teacher, even though you may think so initially. There is no perfect pose. Yoga is a process, not a goal. The perfect pose for your body is different from the perfect pose for my body, or for any other body. The pose that is most integrated and balanced, that give you the best stretch and honors your body’s limits… that is your perfect pose.
Secondly, yoga is a process of unfoldment. The symbol of yoga is the Thousand Petaled Lotus that keeps opening its petals deeper and deeper toward its center. Every time you do a pose, it will be a bit different, you’ll do it at a different level and from a different place within yourself. Allow for those changes and patiently let yoga bring you to deeper levels of each pose as time goes on. After a while you’ll discover that the real yoga isn’t about the external form of the poses, it’s about how you move the energy in your body to create them from the inside out.
And third, honor your body. It’s not about pushing to your limit in every pose. You’ll really regret that the next day! Yoga shouldn’t hurt, and it’s an inside job as to whether or not you’ll experience pleasure or pain. You are in control here. The teacher talks, you do the yoga with your body. Just as we resist psychologically when we get pushed too far too fast (Oh yeah? Just try to make me!), our bodies resist as well. So honor your body’s limits, don’t push; allow, breathe and soften into the poses.
Keep in mind that there are as many different forms of Hatha Yoga (the physical path of yoga) as there are yoga teachers. Every teacher has a unique teaching style, approach and attitude, even if they have been trained in the same yoga lineage. It’s important to shop around for a teacher who is well trained and one who inspires you. Find the teacher that suits your style and don’t be afraid to go to different classes and change teachers as you develop your yoga practice.
Yoga is an amazing journey of self-discovery. The way you approach your yoga practice is a microcosm of the way you approach your life. It’s a truthful mirror, a deep learning and exploration into the depths of the soul. I wish you blessings on your yoga path and light in your journey back to your most beautiful, authentic self.
Susan Winter Ward, internationally recognized yoga instructor, author, and video producer, is the creator of Yoga for the Young at Heart?, a multimedia publisher which publishes an informative and inspiring collection of CDRoms, videos, audio tapes, books and television programs, as well as exciting vacation retreats. Her product line is available at: Yoga for the Young at Heart
If you do yoga, you know that it’s seductive. That delicious feeling of stretching from the inside out; that soothing sensation like warm honey flowing through energized limbs; and the “big payoff” at the end of a practice: floating away into the infinite. You can’t access this in pictures, and yoga isn’t a spectator sport. The real experience is only available to you if you actually do yoga.
Yoga is not just about the beautiful bodies of diehard yogis and yoginis, although fitness is definitely one of the major payoffs, yoga is a path to that illusive center we are all seeking…it’s a path to inner peace. We’re being drawn to yoga by the thousands because we need it; we crave what yoga offers and deeply need the body-mind-spirit connection we experience when we practice the 5000 year old art of yoga.
Increased strength and flexibility, relief from headaches, back problems, sleep troubles, and stress related issues; deep relaxation, feeling energized, powerful, peaceful and centered… Sounds good? These are only a few of the myriad benefits of a yoga practice. Life is so much easier when we feel comfortable in our bodies, relaxed in spirit and come from a peaceful place of power within. Our days become more enjoyable and more relaxed. Our relationships become deeper and more sensitive. The world seems to be more manageable and, rather than reactive, we become positively proactive.
Many people first come to yoga for physical reasons. They want to find relief from back pain or they want to lose weight. They see the external benefits of a yoga practice, but like sex, the internal experience is what keeps them coming back for more.
“This all sounds good,” you say, “but I haven’t bent forward and touched the floor since I was 12. Sure, seems like a good thing to try, but I haven’t exercised since high school! I’d be embarrassed to be seen in those tight yoga clothes… or worse, in a yoga class. I’d make a fool out of myself!” I’ve heard it all… and there’s always a way. Don’t allow your chattering mind or your fragile ego to keep you from discovering the treasures you’ll find through yoga. Yoga is accessible to everybody. All you need to do is make a decision to go for it.
Regardless of your physical ability, yoga can be adapted to be accessible to you. If you are physically challenged, you can do yoga seated in a chair. Even those who are bedridden can do yoga and we can all benefit greatly from “pranayama,” the yoga of the breath.
Too busy? Weave it into your day with seated stretches at your computer, in the airplane, or while standing in line at the bank. Yoga can be subtle, internal and powerful. As you might suspect, I never take “No” for an answer. There’s always a way to do yoga.
Here are a few tips to ease your entry into the world of yoga:
The first step is commitment. My first yoga class was a rude wake-up call. Every injury I’d ever had was talking to me. I thought I was in pretty good shape at 44, but my body’s ability to do those poses was beyond discouraging… I hated it. There was voice inside my head that screamed, “Get me outta here!” But there was a more persistent little voice inside of me that said, “You don’t have to like this, just do it.” I knew, on some level, that I’d be really sorry if I quit so I made a deal with myself to keep going back to yoga class twice a week for a month. No judgments, no analyzing, no deciding “like it or not.” So I pre-paid the classes and took my body to yoga class. After that month, I was hooked. I highly recommend this approach… It changed my life.
Once you get yourself into yoga class, the next biggest challenge is self-acceptance. A yoga teacher of mine once said, “Begin where you are and stay there.” Wise words, and a big relief! After all, there’s no other place to start than by accepting ourselves right where we are and realizing that we’ll never be exactly there again. Every yoga practice is different because we are different, day-to-day, and minute-to-minute. One of the basic lessons we learn from a yoga practice is not to judge ourselves. For most of us, that’s a hard one. Our culture trains us to be competitive. We want to compare ourselves with each other, with the teacher, and especially with our image of what we think we should be able to do. If you want to enjoy your yoga practice, judge not! Watch yourself from the inside; explore the sensations and the new feelings. Experience yourself from the inside out.
Another big hurdle is overcoming the goal-oriented, “Type A” personality approach to yoga; the attitude that the body must conform to perfection and each pose must be the textbook ideal. Give it up! Not a good idea for a number of reasons. First, no body does perfect poses. Not even the teacher, even though you may think so initially. There is no perfect pose. Yoga is a process, not a goal. The perfect pose for your body is different from the perfect pose for my body, or for any other body. The pose that is most integrated and balanced, that give you the best stretch and honors your body’s limits… that is your perfect pose.
Secondly, yoga is a process of unfoldment. The symbol of yoga is the Thousand Petaled Lotus that keeps opening its petals deeper and deeper toward its center. Every time you do a pose, it will be a bit different, you’ll do it at a different level and from a different place within yourself. Allow for those changes and patiently let yoga bring you to deeper levels of each pose as time goes on. After a while you’ll discover that the real yoga isn’t about the external form of the poses, it’s about how you move the energy in your body to create them from the inside out.
And third, honor your body. It’s not about pushing to your limit in every pose. You’ll really regret that the next day! Yoga shouldn’t hurt, and it’s an inside job as to whether or not you’ll experience pleasure or pain. You are in control here. The teacher talks, you do the yoga with your body. Just as we resist psychologically when we get pushed too far too fast (Oh yeah? Just try to make me!), our bodies resist as well. So honor your body’s limits, don’t push; allow, breathe and soften into the poses.
Keep in mind that there are as many different forms of Hatha Yoga (the physical path of yoga) as there are yoga teachers. Every teacher has a unique teaching style, approach and attitude, even if they have been trained in the same yoga lineage. It’s important to shop around for a teacher who is well trained and one who inspires you. Find the teacher that suits your style and don’t be afraid to go to different classes and change teachers as you develop your yoga practice.
Yoga is an amazing journey of self-discovery. The way you approach your yoga practice is a microcosm of the way you approach your life. It’s a truthful mirror, a deep learning and exploration into the depths of the soul. I wish you blessings on your yoga path and light in your journey back to your most beautiful, authentic self.
Susan Winter Ward, internationally recognized yoga instructor, author, and video producer, is the creator of Yoga for the Young at Heart?, a multimedia publisher which publishes an informative and inspiring collection of CDRoms, videos, audio tapes, books and television programs, as well as exciting vacation retreats. Her product line is available at: Yoga for the Young at Heart
Yoga: A Fountain of Youth - REALLY!
Yoga works. It has been clinically shown to lower blood pressure, increase circulation, build muscle tissue, increase flexibility, relieve stress and stress-related symptoms, and strengthen the respiratory system. Other benefits include relief from symptoms of menopause, counteracting osteoporosis, cleansing of internal organs, energizing the nervous system, balancing out the digestive system and relief from headaches and lower back pain. As a spiritual practice, yoga can be a pathway to greater enlightenment. It benefits the body, mind and soul, and the choice to enjoy those benefits is yours.
Choosing to live a full and active life, and to live it comfortably in your body means taking responsibility for your present physical condition, no matter what it may be. Taking good care of yourself deserves a pat on the back, as well as enjoying the benefits of being stronger and healthier. If you know deep down inside that your physical condition leaves something to be desired, what are you willing to do about it?
As we age, we come to realize that “staying in neutral” regarding our health and vitality is not an option anymore. The days when we could demand that our bodies ski, party or hike ten miles without rebellion and next day repercussions are gone. There is no “neutral” anymore. Its not a matter of “do I feel like exercising,” its that everyday we make a choice to become less fit or more fit.
What is your choice in creating the life you want? Are you willing to listen to the messages your body sends you and can you make a commitment to respond to yourself with compassion, love and respect? Health and fitness is a choice. Aging does not automatically mean weakness, pain and degeneration. How do you want to feel? How can you live life to the fullest if you’re dealing with discomfort or pain? Through yoga you can tune in to your body and create a life of strength, vitality, flexibility, and relaxation. You can choose to live a more dynamic and inner-directed life.
For 5000 years, yoga has been a path to health and living consciously in these bodies we inhabit. Here, in the West, we’re just discovering what has been known in India for thousands of years ? that yoga is a personal “fountain of youth.” Through yoga, we can increase our physical vitality, mental clarity, and heighten our spiritual awareness, regardless of our age or physical condition.
Would you enjoy your body serving you more comfortably and with greater strength? Have you heard your body talk to you lately? Yoga is a training in listening to our bodies. By tuning in through awareness of our breath, through conscious movement in the poses and in the transitions between the poses, we can receive an amazing amount of information from our bodies.
The stuck places, the places where energy is blocked, cause us discomfort in order to get our attention. What is that “stuck place” in your body trying to tell you? Yoga helps you tune in and focus your mind on the area of discomfort or contraction. You can mentally go inside it, breathe into the area, expand it with your breath, then relax, open your mind and ask your body what the stuck area is trying to tell you. Be open to the message. When you receive and accept the message is when the healing begins, and your body will tell you that too. The discomfort will begin to melt away, the blockage will open up and you’ll feel free!
I teach a gentle, yet very effective beginning yoga program especially designed for seniors I have been amazed at how quickly so many seniors, even those who have never done any exercise before, have positive results from just two hours of yoga a week. “Yoga for the Young at Heart” is a soothing and healing practice. It creates a format for you to tune in to your body and consciously, with great respect for inevitable limitations, build strength, stamina, flexibility and vitality.
It’s from this place of living life to the fullest, of respecting and nurturing ourselves, that we become relaxed and comfortable. When we are whole and at peace, that’s when our true potential can be expressed. That’s when we create peace within, in our relationships and in all the corners of our world.
We are incredible, powerful spirits having a physical experience. The quality of that experience is in our hands.
Have you heard this before? “You are responsible for your experience!”
Ancient yogis in India took that to an extreme. Imagine choosing to sit naked in the snow and creating such energy within your body that, not only would you not be cold, but steam would rise off your body from the heat you generated!
We choose our experiences, too. Are you “sitting in the snow” in some area of your life? Do you choose to sit there and shiver and moan about how cold you are? OR do you choose to gather your energy, your internal fire and radiate such joy and love around you that you transform your experience and that of everyone around you?
That is the yoga of life, and it begins right here, with your personal yoga practice. Carl Sagan asked, “Why are we here?” I think I’ve discovered why we’re here! To remember why we’re here! Why are you here?
I believe we’re here to grow into our most healthy, creative, and joyful selves, and to create peace and harmony in our corners of the world.
Susan Winter Ward, internationally recognized yoga instructor, author, and video producer, is the creator of Yoga for the Young at Heart?, a multimedia publisher which publishes an informative and inspiring collection of CDRoms, videos, audio tapes, books and television programs, as well as exciting vacation retreats. Her product line is available at: Yoga for the Young at Heart
Choosing to live a full and active life, and to live it comfortably in your body means taking responsibility for your present physical condition, no matter what it may be. Taking good care of yourself deserves a pat on the back, as well as enjoying the benefits of being stronger and healthier. If you know deep down inside that your physical condition leaves something to be desired, what are you willing to do about it?
As we age, we come to realize that “staying in neutral” regarding our health and vitality is not an option anymore. The days when we could demand that our bodies ski, party or hike ten miles without rebellion and next day repercussions are gone. There is no “neutral” anymore. Its not a matter of “do I feel like exercising,” its that everyday we make a choice to become less fit or more fit.
What is your choice in creating the life you want? Are you willing to listen to the messages your body sends you and can you make a commitment to respond to yourself with compassion, love and respect? Health and fitness is a choice. Aging does not automatically mean weakness, pain and degeneration. How do you want to feel? How can you live life to the fullest if you’re dealing with discomfort or pain? Through yoga you can tune in to your body and create a life of strength, vitality, flexibility, and relaxation. You can choose to live a more dynamic and inner-directed life.
For 5000 years, yoga has been a path to health and living consciously in these bodies we inhabit. Here, in the West, we’re just discovering what has been known in India for thousands of years ? that yoga is a personal “fountain of youth.” Through yoga, we can increase our physical vitality, mental clarity, and heighten our spiritual awareness, regardless of our age or physical condition.
Would you enjoy your body serving you more comfortably and with greater strength? Have you heard your body talk to you lately? Yoga is a training in listening to our bodies. By tuning in through awareness of our breath, through conscious movement in the poses and in the transitions between the poses, we can receive an amazing amount of information from our bodies.
The stuck places, the places where energy is blocked, cause us discomfort in order to get our attention. What is that “stuck place” in your body trying to tell you? Yoga helps you tune in and focus your mind on the area of discomfort or contraction. You can mentally go inside it, breathe into the area, expand it with your breath, then relax, open your mind and ask your body what the stuck area is trying to tell you. Be open to the message. When you receive and accept the message is when the healing begins, and your body will tell you that too. The discomfort will begin to melt away, the blockage will open up and you’ll feel free!
I teach a gentle, yet very effective beginning yoga program especially designed for seniors I have been amazed at how quickly so many seniors, even those who have never done any exercise before, have positive results from just two hours of yoga a week. “Yoga for the Young at Heart” is a soothing and healing practice. It creates a format for you to tune in to your body and consciously, with great respect for inevitable limitations, build strength, stamina, flexibility and vitality.
It’s from this place of living life to the fullest, of respecting and nurturing ourselves, that we become relaxed and comfortable. When we are whole and at peace, that’s when our true potential can be expressed. That’s when we create peace within, in our relationships and in all the corners of our world.
We are incredible, powerful spirits having a physical experience. The quality of that experience is in our hands.
Have you heard this before? “You are responsible for your experience!”
Ancient yogis in India took that to an extreme. Imagine choosing to sit naked in the snow and creating such energy within your body that, not only would you not be cold, but steam would rise off your body from the heat you generated!
We choose our experiences, too. Are you “sitting in the snow” in some area of your life? Do you choose to sit there and shiver and moan about how cold you are? OR do you choose to gather your energy, your internal fire and radiate such joy and love around you that you transform your experience and that of everyone around you?
That is the yoga of life, and it begins right here, with your personal yoga practice. Carl Sagan asked, “Why are we here?” I think I’ve discovered why we’re here! To remember why we’re here! Why are you here?
I believe we’re here to grow into our most healthy, creative, and joyful selves, and to create peace and harmony in our corners of the world.
Susan Winter Ward, internationally recognized yoga instructor, author, and video producer, is the creator of Yoga for the Young at Heart?, a multimedia publisher which publishes an informative and inspiring collection of CDRoms, videos, audio tapes, books and television programs, as well as exciting vacation retreats. Her product line is available at: Yoga for the Young at Heart
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