YOGA HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERY BODY

by Jen Groundwater

HERE’S A QUICK MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUIZ FOR YOU. ONE QUESTION: WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT YOGA?

A It’s too hard unless you’re young and flexible. If I tried it, I’d probably pull a hamstring.

B Totally overrated. I went to a class one time, but I was so bored! Never again!

C I know it involves strange poses and maybe some chanting. I’d feel silly. D Love it! Every time I do it, I feel better afterward. But I don’t really have a serious practice.

E Please don’t distract me – I’m working on my one-legged crow pose. Namaste.

IF YOU ANSWERED A), B), OR C), IT MIGHT BE TIME TO OPEN UP YOUR MIND AND GIVE YOGA ANOTHER TRY.

WINTER’S COMING IN—IT’S THE PERFECT TIME TO SWITCH TO INDOOR EXERCISE.

And here’s the thing: yoga is for everybody. And every body. Yes, even you and your body.

Let’s do a little yogic myth-busting.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE YOUNG & FLEXIBLE.

If your muscles are tight and you can’t even see your toes, let alone reach them, you can still do yoga. In fact, you NEED to do yoga! Becoming more flexible is one of the main reasons people take up the practice. Improving your physical flexibility helps you participate more fully in your other sports and activities—and in your life in general.

Other physical benefits of yoga include better balance, reduced pain (it’s even been shown to help with osteoarthritis), increased strength and a healthier heart.

The practice also increases your mental flexibility. Doing yoga regularly has been shown in real, scientific studies to help people manage stress, feel more relaxed, sleep better, and feel more cheerful.

Right? This stuff is GOOD for you. And it doesn’t have to be hard—every yoga teacher worth their salt will tell you this. Do your best to follow their instructions, but listen to your body and don’t push yourself. If a certain posture feels painful or impossible, it’s okay just to lie on your mat and rest. You can try again another day.

As far as yoga being only for young people: Come on now, that’s not a very Fairwinds attitude! I asked Miranda Greening, who teaches yoga at the Fairwinds Wellness Club, “Can someone be too old for yoga?” and her answer was a resounding, “NO! The whole reason I got into yoga was I knew it was something I would do and enjoy for the rest of my life.”

YOGA DOESN’T HAVE TO BE BORING.

It’s been estimated that 300 million people do yoga worldwide, so the practice is constantly evolving and expanding to include new ideas and innovations. There are dozens of different styles of yoga that range from intensely athletic and sweaty to ubermellow. So if you think yoga is slow and snoozy, try a class with “ashtanga,” “vinyasa,” “flow,” or “power” in the name—these types of yoga will keep you wide awake and working hard.

NOPE, THERE’S NO WAY AROUND IT. YOGA DOES INVOLVE SOME STRANGE POSES.

As far as chanting goes, some teachers like to lead a good group “OM” at the beginning or end of class, but it’s really not a big deal and you don’t have to participate if you don’t want. But asanas or poses are key to every kind of yoga. The good news is that some are as simple as standing up straight (Tadasana or mountain pose) or lying flat on your back (Savasana or corpse pose).

Poses require you to stand, sit, or move your body in a particular way and hold that position for a certain amount of time while focusing on your breathing. Many poses require stretching or awkwardly aligning limbs, but you never have to push beyond what you feel comfortable with.

You ease into the pose, then try to maintain it, which can take a surprising amount of concentration. Distraction vanishes as your body and breath unite in a moment of mini meditation.

You’ll soon discover that your body likes some poses more than others. That’s the coolest part about any yoga class, as Miranda explains. “Everybody is experiencing something different. What’s really hard for one person is a cakewalk for someone else.” Her advice? “Focus on the experience of breathing. Just come to yoga to breathe and be in your body.”

Miranda Greening

Blair Landry

MYTH-BUSTING FOR THOSE WHO ALREADY DO YOGA

“I don’t want to work hard. I just want to stretch and relax.”

Guess what? That’s still yoga! The most important part of yoga is that it helps quiet the mind. A practice like yin yoga, with its emphasis on holding simple stretching poses for a long time, is a gateway to that stillness. Miranda says: “The world can make you feel guilty for doing yin, but you’ve got a busy lifestyle. Give yourself permission to relax and take care of yourself.”

“There are no in-person classes

these days.” Live yoga is back, baby! Since COVID started, many people have missed the experience of doing yoga with other people, under the guidance of a qualified teacher. But at the time of printing, Fairwinds Wellness Club is offering live classes following all COVID protocols. (So are other local yoga studios like Surya Wellness in Nanoose Bay and Red Door Yoga or Find Your Balance Yoga in Lantzville, but you can always find a yoga teacher on Zoom or YouTube.)

“I don’t have a serious

practice.” Even if you love doing yoga, it sometimes can feel like you’re not doing it often enough or well enough. There’s always a temptation to look at the person on the next mat who’s doing the advanced pose, or to think it doesn’t count if you don’t do #yogaeverydamnday (over 19 million Instagram posts include this hashtag!).

Miranda Greening has an answer for this, too: “No practice is ever serious!” Don’t aspire to perfection: whatever yoga you do is going to be good. She adds, “Yoga is a beautiful form of selfexpression. Every body DOESN’T move the same way—and yoga makes room for that.”

If you’re completely new to yoga, we recommend you take a class with a real, live instructor who can teach you the poses correctly and offer modifications so you don’t injure yourself.