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Yoga — For The Body And Mind
Every Wednesday night, I can be found, standing on my head, at the Crystal Garden New Age Center in Boynton Beach. Well, trying to stand on my head — I haven't reached that level of proficiency yet. But I can stand on my hands in a position called "the crow" and there are plenty of other asanas I can do.
I'm talking about yoga, a 6,000-year-old, time-tested discipline that many people are practicing for spirituality, exercise, stress relief and more. From one end of Palm Beach County to the other, yoga classes are taught in schools, New Age bookstores, corporate lunchrooms and even hospitals.
Why is an acient Indian form of exercise for body and mind gaining such popularity? According to Lantana yoga instructor Jonathan Panks, 41, people are realizing they really need yoga and its benefits.
"They want to get out of the craziness life throws at them every day and find some inner peace," Panks says.
"With yoga, they work the body and the mind, but the physical exercise is really the byproduct of getting to the peace of the mind."
Rita Milelli of Wellington has studied yoga for 25 years. She recently quit her job at the county Property and Real Estate Management Office to become a full-time yoga instructor. "I was looking for a physical exercise that balanced with my spiritual life," Milelli says. "It actively engages the mind, and that's a meditation in itself. That's what's given me the peacefulness that I experience when I practice yoga."
Though yoga is often mistakenly equated with Hinduism, it is not a religion. The name comes from the Sanskrit word for "yoke", or "to join togther."
Yoga joins your mind and body with awareness so that you may gain benefits.
Medical research is proving the health benefits, says Mimi Bailey, a registered nurse and yoga instructor at the Mind/Body Institue of Jupiter Medical Center.
Doctors refer patients to her classes, she says, because yoga has been shown to increase the efficiency of the heart, slow the respiratory rate, improve fitness, lower blood pressure, promote relaxation, reduce stress and allay anxiety. It also can improve coordination, posture, flexibility, range of motion, concentration, sleep and digestion.
"We're certainly using yoga as medicine, and very powerful medicine at that," Bailey says. "People are referred for every possible condition — from cancer, heart disease, depression and anxiety to chronic pain."
There are many types and forms of yoga, but the most popular is hatha yoga. Says Prem Shakti, a yoga instructor, this form primarily focuses on physical and mental discipline for strengthening the body, increasing flexibility, keeping organs and glands healthy and in balance, and keeping the mind focused and clear.
Shakti has practiced yoga for 28 years — sometimes for eight hours a day as a swami — and she believes that yoga's popularity today is a statement of how effective it is.
"I've had people come into classes with acute anxiety and later experience major life changes from their improved inner attitude as well as the physical exercise of yoga," says Shakti, of the Prem Yoga and Wellness Center in West Palm Beach. "It can also be effective in losing weight; one student lost 30 pounds in three months practicing yoga in conjunction with diet and exercise."
You need only loose comfortable clothing to practice yoga. Atypical class starts with gentle warm-up exercises, then focuses on breathing exercises, says Panks, who has taught corporate classes and now teaches one-on-one sessions in the home.
He says, "Most people breathe much too shallow. An experienced yoga practitioner takes in a 50 percent more air, which relaxes the entire body and brings oxygen to the heart and brain."
Body postures, or asansas, are next. Movement is gentle — never jerky or bouncy — while assuming the postures and maintaining regular, calm breathing. The goal is to stretch muscle groups and gently squeeze internal organs. Some postures may seem difficult or contorted, but contorion for its own sake is never the point, Panks says.
"It's about the attempt to do the posture and if something's painful, dont do it," Panks says. "As you practice, you'll get a better, no matter what your age or disability. A big part of yoga is learning to listen to your body and hearing what it says to you."
Rita Milelli teaches a class called restorative yoga, which uses props, pillows and bolsters to help people move into regular yoga postures. "A person who's not physically strong can go into poses by being supported. It's a wonderful process for anyone for stress management, or for those recovering from illness and injuries."
Classes end with a final relaxation, often a meditation to experience "the quiet within," Panks says. "It goes beyond the senses, and it's wonderful how peaceful it feels."
That's the part I like the best. It truly does instill a feeling of peacefulness that's hard to describe, but makes me want to keep practicing yoga.