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Yoga – much more than being flexible!
September 18th, 2015
September is a great time to start learning Yoga. With autumn and winter coming along we may find it’s more difficult to motivate ourselves to go to the gym or to go out for a run. A yoga class or a personalised Yoga programme could be just the thing to keep you fit during the colder months.
Many people see yoga as a way of increasing their flexibility and achieving some of the amazing postures they have seen in yoga books. Nothing could be further from the truth! As you study Yoga and begin to understand it, you’ll find that it helps you to discover more about yourself and it increases your self-awareness. It’s not about pushing yourself to achieve an amazing plank posture or to practice the perfect wheel pose. It’s about learning how your body responds to movement, understanding where you are tense and discovering what you can do to reduce tension and increase your flexibility and strength.
Strength is not the first word that comes to mind when we talk about Yoga. However, when you look at Yoga postures, it becomes clear that some strength is needed to achieve them. As you practice you will find that both your flexibility and your strength increase. There is a lot of interest in core strength and your Yoga practice will help you to understand what core strength really is and to help you develop it. You’ll discover that a well-balanced body, which has equally strong back, stomach and internal muscles, is a body, which is less prone to injury.
As your Yoga practice develops, you’ll learn more about your breath and how to control it so that you can reduce feelings of anxiety or stress. You’ll discover true, deep relaxation and learn how to practice this at home to improve your sleep. Once you have started your Yoga journey, you will find it quickly becomes something you want to practice regularly. Even a few minutes’ practice each day makes a huge difference to the way you feel and you ability to cope with the pressures in your life.
Izzy Ixer is a British Wheel of Yoga qualified tutor at the Woodbridge Complementary Health Centre. She offers 4, 6 and 8 week personalised programmes of Yoga, which help you to:
Build strength
Develop flexibility
Relax
Quieten your mind
Improve your resilience to life’s challenges
Keep calm under pressure
To find out more and book your personalised programme, contact the Centre on 01394 388234.