Yoga is for Every Body

Every day the phone rings at a yoga studio with someone stating, "My doctor recommended I try yoga." Similarly, callers will declare "I'm old, I'm overweight, I have arthritis, I have fibromyalgia, I can't balance." Many of these excuses wrapped in inquiry are from those afraid to try yoga. They've seen the cover of a yoga magazine or book in which the yoga practitioner is contorted, beautiful, 23, thin and smiling like this is how she wakes up. Yes, that yoga is available. No, that's no all there is.

People come to yoga for many different reasons, chief among them being stress-relief. This may be yoga's biggest gift. Yoga, in many of its forms, relaxes the body and calms the mind. This give the adrenal glands a break and takes us out of fight or flight, even if it's just for an hour so.

Our culture has escalated over the past few decades into a 'doer' mode. The more we do, the better people we are. Accomplishment and competition are everything. Children are over-scheduled, parents hold down or more jobs while still trying to shuttle kids to their various appointments and hold the family together. The economy has created a tremendous amount of stress. Homes and jobs being lost or even the threat of that happening, puts the body in constant readiness to react. Yoga helps take you from reaction mode to being able to respond. In other words, that tiny beat before jumping into reaction, you're able to consider how to respond.

Nearly every style of yoga can help relieve stress, from the gentlest to the most vigorous. If you're new to yoga, it is recommended that you start at a gentle or beginner level. The beginning level classes offer the most instruction for each pose, they move a little slower, and the teachers take a little more time to help align students and explain the benefits of each posture.

In most gentle classes, you will find every shape and size of body, ages ranging form teens to the nineties, and a very welcoming atmosphere. Everyone comes to yoga with their 'stuff'. The fact that someone can touch their toes, does not make them enlightened. People are working through injuries, illnesses, back trouble, work trouble, relationship issues, and stress, among other things.

In yoga, the focus is inward. As humans we will immediately visually assess a situation, like a yoga class, and make comparisons. 5-10 minutes into a gentle class, your attention will be brought from the external world of competition and ego, to the internal world of peace and self-acceptance.

As you become comfortable with the postures in the beginning levels, you may choose to try other more vigorous classes, or stay right where you are. It is always your practice. Always your choice.

There are many studios and many styles of yoga. Try the studio closest to your home or work. Or, the one your friend has been bugging you to go to. If it doesn't feel right, try another class, another teacher, or another studio. But, most of all, don't be afraid to try.