Yoga

               This past week I took a yoga class at the studio where I work, Solid Ground Yoga.  I have taken classes in the past but had not taken one since we did our lectures on the different yogas.  After listening to the information gone over in lecture I went into the yoga class with a different view of what I was about to do. 

                Since I have practiced yoga in the past I have always been aware of the benefits that it provided.  In addition to the physical benefits that yoga gives you, there are many other things that a practice provides.  One of the main things that yoga is known for is stress relief.  With the combination of the stretch that the poses provide, peaceful music and pleasant lavender aroma it is easy to see how stress could just melt away.  The one thing that Solid Ground Yoga is known for is ending each session with savasana, deep relaxation.  This is a wonderful five to ten minute period in which you lay peacefully with a lavender eye pillow over your eyes.  When this period of relaxation is over you feel amazingly refreshed and rejuvenated.

                One of the other things that yoga helps with is grounding.  It is easy for people to get caught up in the crazy world that we reside in.  With the demands of life (work, family, etc.) it is easy to get out of touch with reality.  In addition, it is easy to put emphasis on the things that do not really matter and stress out about them.  This takes us away from the present moment and makes us feel like we are never fully connected and in touch with things in our lives.  Yoga helps center you through breathing and really connecting the breath to the movement and the posture itself.  It is amazing that something so simple as breathing can bring you back down to earth and make you feel in the present. 

                Overall, yoga is a wonderful practice and has a ton of benefits.  From increased endurance and flexibility to stress relief and the connection to the present it is clear that yoga is wonderful for you.  I know that I will continue to practice and feel the benefits of yoga.