Do yoga, my friends. There is nothing that compares to the benefits it offers. If you feel you have contraindications check with your doctor; it is truly rare that yoga won’t help whatever ails you!
I found yoga when it was introduced in my gym a few years ago and instantly knew my days of pumping iron and step classes were over, gone forever, kaput!! Halleluyah! And not long after I began a regular practice of yoga I realized my back pain was also a thing of the past!
Yoga is not about making your body into a pretzel. It’s about calming your mind, eliminating stress and pain, cardio-conditioning, weight management, increasing flexability and a lot of other more esoteric things that come along if you really get into all the branches of yoga. And, in a short time, you are doing amazing stuff you never thought you could or would do, and it feels GREAT!
No matter what you may or may not have been doing to stay in shape, yoga takes you right back to the beginning. Actually, very buffed-up people have to work through overdeveloped muscle mass, dance-trained have to unlearn the turned-out legs, runners have to stretch out their tight hamstrings, and the treadmill/elliptical trainer/spinning crowd have to give up on the idea of no pain-no gain.
There are many variations of every yoga position, and only over time would one move into a more challenging pose; so if you’re interested in trying a class, it’s fine to go with your friend who has been practicing for a while.
In the weeks to come I will write about where you can find yoga classes, poses you can do in your office or car, styles of yoga and anything else I can think of to encourage you to try this centuries-old, healthy for everyone, life-affirming and fun form of loving your Self!