Yoga is a beautiful practice, with practice being the key word. It has many layers, all of which may take you an entire lifetime to uncover.  Being a former dancer I knew that my body yearned to stretch, twist, bend and turn upside down. Upon finding my first Vinyasa Flow yoga class I found this and so much more. Vinyasa Flow classes are set to music and you move in and out of poses with your breath in fluid movements much like a dance. What yoga offers is the mindfulness to stay conscious of that breath and like any other muscle you work, your breath can be strengthened and elongated too. This slow deep breath is medicine to so much that ails us as it calms the central nervous system and the mind. Why do you see yogi’s looking so refreshed and peaceful when leaving a challenging yoga class? I was convinced for a long time that this correlated to the five minute Savasana at the end of class, the time taken flat on your back for prayer, meditation or rest.  I now attribute this Zen state to a class focused on slow deep breathing. 

No matter what your goal may be, yoga can help. You want to become physically stronger?  I have Iron Men in class that will tell you they have never worked harder. Is your goal to increase balance as you age?  We spend a lot of time on this and the surprising truth is that it has much to do with slowing your breath and calming your mind.  Do you live a hectic and chaotic American lifestyle?  Join us as we all work towards becoming like the eye of a hurricane, peaceful and still in our center no matter what swirls around us. Do you desire a strong spiritual life?  This is yet another benefit of your practice. It happens that as you try to balance on your left big toe, your mind has no choice but to let go of the troubles of the day to help you focus on that task. This was the main reason that yoga poses (asanas) were created, to wear out the body and calm the mind so that meditation afterwards would be more successful. Besides physical health, a challenging yoga practice can bring you into the present  moment because it requires focus. When you first begin it will likely be the calmest 90 minutes your mind has in the day and following the practice with a time of meditation or prayer will be more productive as your body will be less restless and your mind will be less distracted by your “to do” list.  

In yoga, your age is determined by the flexibility of your spine.  It won’t happen overnight, none of it will, but given time our bodies will begin to open up allowing stress, tension and bad habits to be released; turning back the clocks. It makes me so happy to hear of all the 90+ year old yoga teachers in the country, I love knowing that my practice can last an entire lifetime. You aren’t too old or too young, too weak, too heavy or too inflexible to begin. We all start where we are, come join me as we bring yoga to North Fort Collins, LaPorte and Wellington.