Yoga for holiday stress

December 26, 1:16 PMColumbia Fitness ExaminerStephanie Gibson

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"Yoga?  Oh no, not me!  I'm not chanting "OM....." for an hour and standing on my head!  That's too weird."

Does this sound like you?  If it does, I'm out to change your tune!  You're missing out!  Yoga is awesome for flexibility and stress relief.  I love it.  I also teach it.

I did my first yoga class when I was teaching at a gym that decided to offer it after my big 5:30pm class.  I thought it would be great for me to get some serious stretching in after my class and I joined in.  I loved it right away and looked forward to those once a week yoga classes.  After several years of jumping in yoga classes here and there, I decided to get certified to teach it.  I'm the polar opposite of your "typical yoga  instructor".  I'm so high energy and so not the "Ommmm......."  type.  But that's the great thing about yoga.  It's for everybody and every body.  There's something for everyone!  You can go to a real yoga place that does only yoga and get the real experience complete with meditation.  I teach "gym yoga".  I teach at the same gym where I teach boot camp and cycling.  Most of the classes are fairly basic and most of the people, including me, are there to stretch and decompress a little.  In a gym setting like mine, there is usually a limited selection of classes and types of classes.  At our gym they offer yoga, hot yoga (Bikram yoga) and power yoga.  If you go to a real yoga studio, there are many various styles offered as well as many various skill levels. 

So, whether you go to the gym or go to a yoga studio, there are some suggestions I'd like offer.

• Wear comfortable clothing.  Try not to wear things that are so baggy that they threaten to fall off or go over your head every time you bend over.  Yoga pants and a tank top or t-shirt are the most suitable for what you'll be doing.
• Yoga is done barefoot, period. 
• You may want to take your own "sticky mat" to class for hygiene's sake.  This is a special yoga mat and it is really called a "sticky mat".  It keeps your hands and feet from flying out from under you.
• If they offer props like blocks, straps and blankets, take advantage of that.  They really help to make the practice work for your body and skill level.  All yoga people use them.  It is not a sign of a "newbie".
• When you are in class, even before class starts and after it ends, keep your voices down.  The yoga atmosphere is quiet and calm at all times.
• Funny thing about yoga.....don't strive too much.  When you try too hard and push yourself, you don't progress as quickly.  I know that sounds crazy, but yoga is about acceptance of your body in the practice on that day.  Many modifications and props are available to assist you.  This is a tough concept for us type A personalities, but it's just the way it is.
• Leave your day out side the door.  Focus on your breath and the here and now.  This gives you a total break from the stresses of your life that day.  You'll feel like you've had a massage when your done.

If you prefer the privacy of your own home, here are a few helpful resources.  You can get yoga classes online with www.yogatoday.com.  Each week they send a week's worth of classes using various formats for various skill levels.  There is also www.yogajournal.com that is an informative website that has a personalized "build your home practice" feature among many, many other resources.  It is the website that goes along with Yoga Journal Magazine.  There are also many yoga dvds out there that are excellent.  My very favorite is Yoga for Every Body by J.J. Gromley.  It is put together in such a way that you get hundreds of workouts for all different skill levels and all different time frames.  You definitely get more bang for your buck with this one.  I recommend it to my clients all the time.  Shouldn't I be getting some kind of commission for that?  Anyway, it is very good for all skill levels and I find her soft demeanor perfect for beginners.

Now for the big sell.  Yoga has saved me from some nasty injuries in the gym.  I had a bad fall with a hefty weight on my back on a wet gym floor that would have sidelined most people for a month.  I was able to teach a step class 30 minutes after that incident because I landed in a "king pigeon" pose and my flexibility kept me from injury.  Otherwise that would have been a wicked hip, knee and back injury.  Yoga contributes to functional fitness.  "You're only as young as your spine is flexible".   Think about that for a moment and you realize the truth behind that statement.  Functional fitness means that the ADLs or activities of daily living are easier because of the benefits of fitness.  This is important as we grow older because it allows us to live independantly longer and enjoy a better quality of life.  Yoga as well as other sources of fitness are like a fountain of youth.  Yoga will definitely improve balance, flexibilty, mental focus and reduce stress which are all components of functional fitness.  Stress can be a huge risk factor in terms of chronic disease, so keeping those stress levels down can keep us kicking a bit longer into our old age. 

Sold yet?  I hope so at least enough to give it a try sometime.  I also hope you can reap the great benefits yoga has to offer like certainly have.   Namaste (that's fancy yoga talk).