Is it a bad idea to play music in a yoga class?

2016Mar28_Yoga_ANowadays, we listen to music wherever we are. We listen to it while we’re in the train, while we’re in a restaurant, while we’re working out and even while we’re walking around town. But should we be playing it during our yoga sessions? Since yoga is a meditative practice that involves movement, it can seem ineffective to listen to any sort of music while doing some much needed self-reflection. Here are the common reasons why people think it’s a bad idea to bring music in a yoga class.

Silence is required in yoga

In a class where silence is needed to achieve a ‘higher state of being’, blasting loud music during a yoga session can be counterproductive. Yoga is about concentration and calming the mind but erratic music tends to distract you from keeping this goal. Playing an album with varied rhythms and volumes makes it more difficult to focus on your breathing and poses. As soon as you’ve adapted your breathing to one song, another one immediately takes you out of sync when a song with a completely different tempo begins to play. This means maintaining your poses becomes a lot harder.

Music is emotionally suggestive

Studies show that music switches on different parts of your brain which elicit an emotional response from the listener. These responses can be apparent in roaring and aggressive rock and pop songs. So instead of trying to achieve inner piece, you’re off thinking about punching someone in the face while doing a downward facing dog.

Loud music and yoga just don’t mix

Equally, exposure to loud music can suggest your body to respond by pumping adrenaline and cortisol into your bloodstream. These are hormones secreted when your body is experiencing certain levels of stress to help your respiration and give you more energy. While this is usually good for more intensive exercise, it can seem out of place in a yoga environment and even make you feel quite uncomfortable while meditating. It’s also incredibly difficult to hear your teacher’s instructions while the music is just booming throughout the studio. Remember, the session should be used to help you reflect on yourself and not about the new Kanye West album.

However…

While these common ideas are being held by many yoga practitioners there are some that are open to the idea of having some music guide their meditation. Music in yoga supporters, believe that both music and yoga on their own provide therapeutic benefits for their mental and emotional state. So it only makes sense for them to combine these two types of treatment together to create an even better experience.

At the end of the day, meditation in yoga is not just about simply sitting still on a pose in silence. Yoga is about finding stability in your mind and if some music can inspire you to do this then what’s the harm? If the music supports and enhances your meditative experience then by all means use it in your sessions. There is no one way to practice yoga.

If you want to know more about the latest in yoga trends, give us a call.

Published with permission from FitnessAdvisory. Source.

Common yoga questions answered

2016Mar21_Yoga_AYoga can seem a bit like a cult. Dozens of people line up in a classroom, all dressed in similar outfits, moving in unison and sometimes chanting words in a foreign language. To an outsider, this odd display of behavior can bring up a lot of questions. So if you’re scratching your head, wondering what’s the deal with this whole “yoga thing”, here are some answers to common questions the yoga curious ask.

What is yoga?

Yoga originated in India over 2,000 years ago. While today most people perform yoga through a series of postures and stretches, the original practice of yoga was much broader and included 8 total practices, which were referred to as “limbs”. The postures you see students performing in your local gym are one of these 8 limbs; the others include concentration, ethical guidelines, breathing exercises and a few others.

The original purpose of the posture-based yoga practice was to purify the body and prepare it for long meditation sessions. If you were to follow this and the other 7 practices, you would hopefully achieve the ultimate goal: samdhi, referred to today as enlightenment.

So does that mean yoga is a religion?

When you see how serious some students take yoga, you can see why it’s sometimes misinterpreted as a religion. However, yoga by no means qualifies as one. It should be noted that it was originally created as a philosophy (as described in the previous answer above), and some of the more devout practitioners today would still consider it a way of life. With that said, modern-day yoga can really be whatever you want it to. It can simply be a means to improve your flexibility, mental focus and health, or it can be a serious discipline that shapes every aspect of your life. Regardless of what yoga means to you, there are many varieties that are a far cry from religion. These include rage yoga (which involves cursing, screaming, and sometimes drinking beer), cat yoga, stiletto yoga and more.

Do you have to be a vegetarian to practice?

Vegetarianism in yoga is a hotly debated issue. One of the original principles of yoga philosophy stresses non-harming to self and others. Some interpret this to mean you can’t eat meat, as doing so harms animals. And if you choose to eat your triple cheeseburgers, steaks and mounds of bacon, you may be scrutinized by some of the old-school members of the yoga community. However, most fellow yoga practitioners won’t bat an eye, and will even enjoy that philly cheesesteak with you.

The point is that practicing yoga and eating meat is a matter of choice. You are free to do so if you’d like. And in today’s modern yoga scene, most people could care less whether you do or not.

How many times should you practice per week?

To achieve some of the benefits of yoga, aim to practice at least one hour a week. By doing so, you should notice your body becoming more limber with less pain and a slightly increased mental focus. However, if you want a more dramatic difference, aim to practice for an hour, 3 or 4 times per week. This can help you develop better posture and more muscle strength, greatly improve your disposition and provide an array of health benefits that include lower blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar.

How is yoga different from stretching?

On the surface, it’s easy to see why some people think yoga is just some glorified stretching practice. When you look closer though, there a few key differences. For one, most yoga classes try to sync your movement with breath. For example when you move into a stretch, you will breath in, and then exhale when you release it. Also, yoga requires you to pay attention to more than just the stretch and posture you’re maneuvering into. You’ll also be aware of what’s going on in your body, mind and breathing process. Becoming more aware of these three things will help you develop focus and mental clarity both on and off the yoga mat.

We hope these five answers will help shed some light on these common yoga questions. If you have more you’d like to ask or are interested in joining a class, call us today.

Published with permission from FitnessAdvisory. Source.

3 tips for your first partner yoga class

2016Mar14_Yoga_AWhen you’re in yoga class, balancing in scorpion pose, focusing on your breath and pondering the greater mysteries of the universe, have you ever felt like there was something missing? No, we’re not talking about that special someone who magically completes your life…okay, actually we might be, but in a more literal sense. To be more clear, we’re talking about partner yoga. A type of yoga where you bring a significant other or friend to class to practice with you. If you have yet to hear about partner yoga, here’s what it’s all about.

What is partner yoga?

Partner yoga is exactly what it sounds like: doing yoga together with a partner in class, instead of solo. Expect to get physically close to your partner as you will be maneuvering into poses, hands-on with him or her. Sometimes the two of you will form into poses you never thought possible, as your bodies take the shape of some crazy, elevated jigsaw puzzle. Other times you will simply tumble over. Whatever happens, it will be all in good fun, as long as you follow these simple rules.

1. Bring the right partner

Your partner can make or break your experience. Don’t just choose some random acquaintance or new friend. Choose someone you can trust. You will have your hands on each other, be in each other’s personal space, and need to clearly communicate with him or her. And you’ll be doing this for an entire, hour long class. A good partner choice is likely your boyfriend or girlfriend, or a spouse. However, a close friend can also do the trick…especially if you’re simply looking to share a few laughs and some fun.

2. Come prepared

When you come to partner yoga, you need to bring the same items you would to your normal class. That includes a yoga mat, towel and water bottle. Also, like your normal yoga class, make sure to wear comfortable clothes. Lastly, (and probably most importantly) ensure your partner brings the above items too, minus the yoga mat as you only need one for the both of you. If your partner is new to yoga, they will likely be clueless as to what to bring. Make it your mission to fill them in.

3. Have an open mind

If you’re considering partner yoga, you likely already follow this guideline. Regardless, get ready for a yoga experience that is a bit more carefree than your typical Vinyasa class, and much more loose than a Bikram session. There will be plenty of playful opportunities and laughter in class, so be prepared to have fun while helping support your partner in various poses.

If you follow these three guidelines, you are sure to have a blast in your first partner yoga class. For more information on different yoga varieties or class times at our studio, give us a call today.

Published with permission from FitnessAdvisory. Source.

Three benefits of practicing Acroyoga

Two strong young women demonstrating an acrobatic yoga pose in a yoga studio
Two strong young women demonstrating an acrobatic yoga pose in a yoga studio

This particular discipline of yoga combines traditional yoga poses and flows with basic acrobatic skills to enhance strength and core training. Among the many variations of yoga available today, acroyoga stands out from the rest because it’s a focused and fun way in which you can enhance flexibility, mobility and core strength without having to give in to repetitive sequences and inconsistent levels of workout intensity.

The three primary roles in acroyoga are the base, the flyer and the spotter. The base is the person that lies on the ground to offer the flyer maximum stability and support, the flyer is the individual that is elevated from the ground by the base and moves into a series of movements and positions, and the spotter mainly observes and make suggestions to ensure the flyer lands safely. Besides making more friends, here are three other reasons why you should give acroyoga a try.

Develop core strength

Whether you are a base or a flyer, most of the core activation that is required of you falls in the category of stabilization. In order to hold many acroyoga poses or move through many acroyoga combinations it is necessary to move fluidly from one “tight” stabilized core neutral position to the next. So essentially your spine moves naturally and unloaded through flexion, extension, rotation, and lateral flexion to get to the next stable position with a neutral spine. Think fluid movements to planks in different position with a partner added in the mix.

Calisthenic conditioning

When practicing acroyoga, you’re with a partner, so the focus doesn’t lie solely on just your own body weight but also on the other person’s as well. If you are the base, you must create a strong platform for your partner to move on, for the flyer you must balance and press up from the base without overwhelming the base. Think calisthenics since you’d be holding people up and doing body weight exercises in the process.

It’s all about bench, overhead and leg pressing for the base with an added bonus of carrying a human being with a moving center of gravity. From the flyer’s perspective, think handstands, planches, and planks from various angles – regardless, acroyoga comes with a strength conditioning component that can’t be ignored.

Kinesthetic awareness

One of the hardest aspects of acroyoga is people not knowing where their body is in space. This requires a great deal of emphasis on executing the proper technique – without it, you can end up hurting not only yourself but your partner as well. To prevent injury, you must learn to examine joint alignment, body shape and position. Like weight lifting you won’t be able to achieve optimum results with being in the optimal position. By practicing acroyoga you’d experience what it feels like when joints are properly aligned to evenly distribute weight.

If your current yoga routines aren’t really doing much besides enhancing overall flexibility, you should give acroyoga a try. Not only do you get to defy gravity, core muscles are enhanced, condition overall strength with the calisthenics and become more aware of joint alignment and body position. For further information, take the leap and give us a call, we are more than happy to answer acroyoga-related questions you have.

Published with permission from FitnessAdvisory. Source.