Yoga

---

The word “Yoga” comes from the Sanskrit root “yuj”, which means “to yoke” the spirit and physical body together.  Yoga practice includes the linking of physical poses, “asana”, together with breath and intention. 

Yoga has evolved over thousands of years to embrace a wide range of styles and disciplines that focus on creating the most balanced, healthy version of you! 

For many, Yoga is meditation in movement, and we seek to provide you a space in your life to bring out the strongest, healthiest, most beautiful version of you.

A yoga class described as 'Hatha' will typically involve a set of physical postures (yoga poses) and breathing techniques. The practice of Hatha yoga aims to join, yoke, or balance these two energies. 

These are typically practiced more slowly and with more static posture holds than a Vinyasa flow or Ashtanga class. 

 A Yin yoga class usually consists of a series of long-held, passive floor poses that mainly work the lower part of the body – the hips, pelvis, inner thighs, lower spine. 

These areas are especially rich in connective tissues. The poses are held for up to five minutes, sometimes longer. 

We flow through the asanas connecting each sequence with “vinyasa”, which means “breath-synchronized movement”, to create a beautiful, dynamic style of Yoga that maintains a playful and dance-like quality. 

Aerial Yoga

Aerial yoga uses a silk hammock to perform poses and stretches designed to increase flexibility. You can use the hammock to make your workout either more or less intense, depending on experience level. Small studies suggest that aerial yoga may help aid weight loss and increase balance and strength.

Our nighttime classes focus on a slower pace with longer-held poses exploring healthy alignment while morning classes have a more vigorous, athletic flowing style. 

In every yoga class you will have ample opportunity to increase healthy flexibility in both body and mind.

Yoga has both mental and physical benefits to enrich your life. Physical benefits include cardiovascular health, and musculoskeletal strength and flexibility. It tunes and tones each organ system-respiratory, digestive, reproductive, endocrine, lymphatic and nervous. 

Our sweat during Yoga practice expels toxins and re-energizes your body. Mentally, the synchronized breathing relaxes your mind and helps to release any blockage of energy flow throughout your body. 

With a regular yoga practice, we feel better, we move better, we breathe better, we sleep better, we digest our food better.

• STRESS RELIEF: Yoga reduces the physical effects of stress on the body. By encouraging relaxation, yoga helps to lower the levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Related benefits include lowering blood pressure and heart rate, improving digestion and boosting the immune system as well as easing symptoms of conditions such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, asthma and insomnia. 

• PAIN RELIEF: Yoga can ease pain. Studies have demonstrated that practicing yoga asanas (postures), meditation or a combination of the two, reduced pain for people with conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, auto-immune diseases and hypertension as well as arthritis, back and neck pain and other chronic conditions. Some practitioners report that even emotional pain can be eased through the practice of yoga.

• BETTER BREATHING: Yoga teaches people to take slower, deeper breaths. This helps to improve lung function, trigger the body’s relaxation response and increase the amount of oxygen available to the body. 

• FLEXIBILITY: Yoga helps to improve flexibility and mobility, increasing range of movement and reducing aches and pains. Many people can’t touch their toes during their first yoga class. Gradually they begin to use the correct muscles. Over time, the ligaments, tendons and muscles lengthen, increasing elasticity, making more poses possible. Yoga also helps to improve body alignment resulting in better posture and helping to relieve back, neck, joint and muscle problems.

• INCREASED STRENGTH: Yoga asana use every muscle in the body, helping to increase strength literally from head to toe. And, while these postures strengthen the body, they also provide an additional benefit of helping to relieve muscular tension.

• WEIGHT MANAGEMENT: Yoga can aid weight control efforts by reducing the cortisol levels as well as by burning excess calories and reducing stress. Yoga also encourages healthy eating habits and provides a heightened sense of well being and self esteem.

• IMPROVED CIRCULATION: Yoga helps to improve circulation and, as a result of various poses, more efficiently moves oxygenated blood to the body’s cells.

• CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONING: Even gentle yoga practice can provide cardio-vascular benefits by lowering resting heart rate, increasing endurance and improving oxygen uptake during exercise.

• FOCUS ON THE PRESENT: Yoga helps us to focus on the present, to become more aware and to help create mind body health. It opens the way to improved concentration, coordination, reaction time and memory.

• INNER PEACE: The meditative aspects of yoga help many to reach a deeper, more spiritual and more satisfying place in their lives. Many who begin to practice for other reasons have reported this to be a key reason that yoga has become an essential part of their daily lives.

Expect to move and breathe smoothly from one pose to another. Your class will most likely include Sun Salutations, asana and savasana (corpse pose) to end the practice. 

Expect to be in a safe, peaceful and judgment free environment where there is no competition or stress!

Yoga involves a lot of movement, so wear something you are comfortable in to flow from one pose to another. 

You will likely be working up a sweat so wear something breathable and moisture-absorbing. Do not wear any jewelry, such as rings, earrings and necklaces, and come prepared to do your practice barefoot. 

Mats and blocks are available at the studio.