Live Whole Health #334: September is National Yoga Awareness Month: Yoga for everybody and all bodies

September is National Yoga Awareness Month, a fitting time to highlight how this practice can be beneficial for physical, mental, and emotional health.

I used to think yoga was “just stretching,” and as a non-flexible athlete I wasn’t sure it was for me. Initially I started trying it out as a complement to my sport, knowing that I needed to stretch more.

What I learned is that there is so much more to yoga than the movement or stretching. In fact, there are 8 different “limbs” or components that make up the system of yoga. These include social/moral disciplines (yamas), personal/ethical disciplines (niyamas), postures and movement (asana), breathing practices (pranayama), withdrawal of senses (pratyahara), focused concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and self-study (samadhi). Yoga classes may incorporate one or many of these components.

The more I learned through classes and training, I also began to understand the yoga can be for everybody and all bodies. It is adaptable and can be done standing, seated, or lying down.

When I first started practicing yoga, I was drawn to the movement and postures. What has kept me are the more restorative practices and the meditation, breathwork, and the ways that the mindfulness principles support self-care, relationships, and connecting to what is important to me throughout my daily life. I have frequently relied on these practices to get me through tough times.

If you are ready to give it a try, consider checking out this chair yoga session with Mary Ann Douglas, Whole Health Recreation Assistant at Grand Island, Nebraska VA. This 34-minute gentle and relaxing yoga series demonstrates how yoga can be practiced and adapted at any age for all bodies. Use this basic practice into your own routine.  

Want to learn more? Visit the Whole Health yoga website.

Curated practices for the month of September:

• Postures/Movement:
  • Gentle 12minute chair yoga session focusing on joint mobility
• • Gentle yoga practice with a stability ball
  • Standing twists
• Meditation and Breath Practices:
  • Awareness of Breath
• • Compassionate Breathing
  • Paced Breathing

Check out more in the #LiveWholeHealth archives.