http://www.care2.com/greenliving/yoga-delivers-on-its-promise.html
Yoga Delivers on its Promise
Following a daily vinyasa yoga practice gives you exactly what is promised. A strong, limber and agile body, and a focused, calm and alert mind, on the best of days. On the worst of days you still have more energy and focus than most of the people around you. Over the years I have narrowed my world of exercise to daily walks and my yoga practice. This has brought me great joy and satisfaction and yet I recently felt I needed some play in my life, but what and where to find it?
As all things are impermanent and subject to change it is our ability to embrace this need for change that allows for growth to occur. Out of fear or lack of self-awareness we stay in the same patterns, whether with exercise, relationships, food, or religion and it is only when we break out of these restrictive patterns that we can see how we have limited ourselves.
My neighbor has a tennis court that is canopied by trees and weeds sprout from cracks running like highways across its surface. I have walked or driven past it for years, and some part of me has wanted to bring it back to life. One recent morning I appeared early at my neighbor’s door and inspired by my enthusiasm she agreed to teach me the game of tennis. At first I had to make peace with having a racket in my hand, then learn to swing it properly, which helps if you want to connect with the ball. Then there is the rhythm of using the whole body to run from one side of the court to the other, my heart rate moving up and down as I sprint or rest. Integral training at its best.
My yoga practice has given me a body that can take the demands of the game, and helps me to recover from the playing. My mind must stay focused and alert to keep up with the speed of the ball allowing for a different way to test the years of “moving into stillness” the flow of yoga has taught me. Most importantly, I have stepped out of my limited realm of possibility and discovered a whole new side to myself, one that had been waiting patiently to be discovered.
Godfrey Devereux, author of “Hatha Yoga, Breath by Breath“, says that, “We must first find our limitations before we can change them.” Yoga is one way to shine a light on the self and glimpse our limitations and imperfections. Then recognizing them we can take one step at a time towards change. Although it can seem daunting at the outset, the journey is truly the most important part of reaching a goal. A lesson can be learned and relearned a thousand or a hundred times, but we have our lifetime to get it right; and that is what it may take to become self-aware.
Delia Quigley is the Director of StillPoint Schoolhouse, where she teaches a holistic lifestyle designed to achieve optimal health and well being, based on her 28 years of study, experience and practice. She is the creator of the Body Rejuvenation Cleanse, Cooking the Basics videos and classes, and Broken Bodies Yoga. Delia’s credentials include holistic nutritional counselor, natural foods chef, yoga instructor, energy therapist and public speaker.
Quigley is the author of seven books on health and nutrition, including:The Body Rejuvenation Cleanse, The Complete Idiots Guide to Detoxing Your Body, The Everything SuperFoods Book, and Empowering Your Life With Meditation, available on Amazon.com. To view her website go to: www.deliaquigley.com
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7 comments
add your comment »I'm sure yoga is fabulous. I've gotta say though, people are constantly trying to shove yoga down your throat, as if it's a magical cure-all for whatever ails you. Serious mental illness cannot be cured by yoga, no matter how many classes you take. I wish my friends would tell me how great yoga works for THEM as opposed to trying to convert me to the cult of yoga, telling me how much better I'll be. It someone doesn't ask for your advice, please don't give it. No matter how much you love yoga, or going to the gym, or deep breathing, etc. your friends might not want to hear about it.
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Beautiful picture. Yes, it is amazing. Spirit is what feeds the mind and body which many people want to cut off though.
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Great post Delia!
http://www.facebook.com/prana
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I started yoga after years of weight training. After a year and half of consistent practices, what I can say is that I have gained more than I initially thought in terms of physical strength and flexibility, muscle tone and most importantly inner peace.
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I have osteoarthritis. If I did not do Yoga daily I would not be able to move....literally.
I can barely walk when I get up in the morning, but after a few Yoga stretches/poses I can move. After an hour I am in heaven. I can move freely with little or NO pain. I would recommend Yoga to anyone with muscle and joint stiffness. But, remember like any exercise start slow and work into the stretches. Your body stiffness did not happen overnight so it takes awhile to touch your toes or ?.
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A co-worker introduced the rest of us interested staff to yoga. We did a 12 week session. I couldn't believe how good I felt afterward! Then the session ended and I couldn't stop thinking about how much I missed it and want to still do it, but unable to really fit it into my schedule - so I bought a dvd from Padma, a yoga teacher in Vancouver, recommended by my co-worker who had taught the class we had done - wow, it is great! That feeling of being completely and utterly relaxed after a work out... indescribably delicious!! I so love it. I look forward to my co-worker offering another class here at work, but that won't happen until fall, so for now I will practice when I can at home with this dvd - I am definitely hooked!!
M.
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Thank you for an inspirational post! :)
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