Yoga is a foundation for getting healthy in the new year

Not only could practicing yoga be a New Year's resolution, it should be, according to one certified instructor.
Jenn McCullough said seeking a new year of health and fitness is typical, but not often achieved.

It's hard to keep the motivation to ride the bike, go to the gym or take a run, she said. But with yoga you get a “decent workout,” strengthening muscles and stretching, she said, as well as working with your mind.

“That is the biggest distinction,” McCullough said. “It's quieting the mind and learning how to relax. Stress is the biggest thing that keeps us from keeping our resolution. Once you are quiet, you really start to see how to do things.”

For example, when yoga clears your mind, it will help you evaluate your decisions, such as coming home from work and eating junk food.

“I don't want to have a whole bag of chips; I need to relax,” McCullough said of what yoga can show you.

Toledo resident Fran Carr practices yoga and meets with McCullough once per week. The long-time yoga lover said it's a wonderful way to deal with stress. She tends to store stress in her body, in particular her neck.

“Yoga is a wonderful blend of mental discipline, a spiritual experience and fully living in my body,” Carr said. “You don't have to be flexible. Take the pose only as far as you can take it.

“You can get in shape by doing yoga,” Carr said. “The body becomes more toned.”

John Seibenick, who teaches at the Toledo School of Yoga, said yoga isn't just for women. He teaches classes where women outnumber the men, but then he has a class where there are more men than women.

McCullough said yoga's 5,000-year history started with people meditating, and when they got stiff, they stretched — hence yoga poses. After stretching, they could meditate longer, she said.

Source:www.toledofreepress.com