Blog Co-Editors:
Sasha Quince – Let’s Go Yoga Founder, Core Strength Vinyasa, Consultant & Prenatal Yoga
Jacquelyn Sit – MTS Marketing Director & certified Hatha Yoga instructor
Welcome to the MTS monthly Health & Wellness blog post series.
In this issue, we look at the benefits of Yoga and how to do it right. Yoga has been introduced into the healthcare system in recent years with India being the first country to officially set up a ministry to endorse such alternative and traditional practices. If you have no experience with Yoga, it is time to read more about it and to dig a bit further. We hope you will find this issue an enlightening one 🙂
Any burning questions? Send us an email at info@movementtherapystudio.com and let us know what’s on your mind – we might feature your topic next month!
All About Yoga
Hear the word Yoga and think ‘I am not flexible enough’, ‘it’s too slow’, or ‘I cannot keep my mind still’. This is what I hear from potential students people far too often, who are interested in Yoga but haven’t tried it yet. If only they knew the ancient and now scientific benefits of the practice of called Yoga, they would truly be amazed. Since yoga is a feeling practice – you most definitely have to experience it to feel the benefits. And you will feel the benefits after just one class. Those benefits will be enhanced once you commit to a weekly practice, and once a week in this day and age of too much sitting, driving and spending time on devices goes a LONG way!
Benefits of a Yoga Practice
“Yoga changes you on a molecular level”. When I read a study stating this it made me smile, because as a practitioner and a teacher of yoga it makes sense. Each session stimulates your organs, your circulation, your lymphatic, hormonal system, your central nervous and endocrine systems. The key to any yoga practice is the breath – the quality of the breath coupled with moments of movement and stillness goes a long way in shifting our cells. The more superficial benefits are physical strength, endurance and flexibility. The internal benefits are detox. The emotional and mental benefits are stress reduction, clarity, focus, elevation in happiness and peace. The list truly goes on and on. Once you experience the feeling after a yoga class you will begin to understand what I mean.
What do you need to know about attending a yoga class?
I strongly believe that yoga is for anyone and that anyone can receive these benefits, even those who have never exercised in their whole life. My advice to you is to go with an open mind, understand that each body is different, know that if you find it hard to follow instructions, breathe as the teacher guides or know the names of the poses – that is totally normal! Lastly to avoid injuries in the practice of yoga, be sure to listen to your body. Understand that muscles must be affectively warmed before they can be stretched. Keep your knees bent in stretching poses to alleviate the strain on your joints. Keep consistent with a once a week practice with a teacher who you feel comfortable to guide you! Yoga is a not a competition so enjoy the step-by-step process which us yogis feel evolves through a lifetime.
With this consistency (once per week) you will truly start to feel the tension melt, the body open to an awareness in everyday life and that feeling of happiness and peace rise! Now nothing can beat that!
Love & Light,
Sasha
From the co-editor: Jacquelyn Sit
The core of any yoga practice and its benefits stays the same, no matter which type of yoga that you prefer. The quality of our breathe steady our mind and makes us more attuned to our inner self (or in yoga speech – our ‘inner goddess’ :). It is finding our balance and marrying effort with ease, with each yoga practice.
Here are a few of the main yoga styles that you can choose to try, based on where your interest lies.
I hope that this blog has inspired you to get up and onto the mat for your first or next yoga practice. Namaste.
Hatha Yoga
The Sanskrit term “hatha” is an umbrella term for all physical postures of yoga. In the West, hatha yoga simply refers to all the other styles of yoga (Ashtanga, Iyengar, etc.) that are grounded in a physical practice. Hatha yoga classes are best for beginners since they are usually paced slower than other yoga styles. Hatha classes today are a classic approach to breathing and exercises.
Astanga Yoga
In Sanskrit Ashtanga is translated as “Eight Limb path.” Ashtanga yoga involves a very physically demanding sequence of postures, so this style of yoga is definitely not for the beginner.
Vinyasa Yoga
Vinyasa means “to place in a special way” and in this case yoga postures. Vinyasa is the most athletic yoga style. Vinyasa was adapted from Ashtanga yoga in the 1980s. In Vinyasa classes, the movement is coordinated with your breath and movement to flow from one pose to another. Many types of yoga can also be considered Vinyasa flows such as Ashtanga, power yoga, and prana.
Bikram Yoga
If you are looking to sweat in yoga, this is the style for you. Bikram yoga is named after Bikram Choudhury and features a sequence of set poses in a sauna-like room—typically set to 105 degrees and 40 percent humidity. The sequence includes a series of 26 basic postures, with each one performed twice.
Yin Yoga
Yin yoga is a slow-paced style of yoga with seated postures that are held for longer periods of time. Yin is a great class for beginners, as postures can be held from 45 seconds to two minutes. Yin can also be a meditative yoga practice that helps you find inner peace.
Restorative Yoga
Restorative yoga focuses on winding down after a long day and relaxing your mind. At its core, this style focuses on body relaxation. You spend more time in fewer postures throughout the class. Many of the poses are modified to be easier and more relaxing.
Contributor Bio:
Sasha Quince is a Registered International Yoga Teacher from Canada. She left the corporate world and took a chance by developing Let’s Go Yoga – wanting to share the benefits she was receiving from Yoga and Mindfulness with the Abu Dhabi community. Sasha specializes in Core Strength Vinyasa Yoga, a style unique to the UAE and only taught by Let’s Go Yoga, while sharing a range of programs with highly qualified instructors including Hatha Yoga, Asthanga Yoga, Pre-and Post-Natal, Mommy and Baby, Kids Yoga and Corporate Team Building for corporations as well as Physical Education programs for Universities.
To find out more on Let’s Go Yoga, please visit: www.letsgoyogame.com
What Do You Want To Know More About Your Health & Wellness?
MTS started a community initiative from May 2018 where we will be organising a meet up (yes in meetup group) where we will host a common topic of interest among the public from a professional expert in the field.
The first MTS community initiative kicked off during Ramadan with a special pop-up event at Boutik Mall, Reem Island. MTS gave an educational talk on organs detox followed by a mini detox yoga session. If you missed this event, don’t fret – there will be more to come.
Sign up for our meet up group, tell us what you would like to know (yes, please talk to us) and we will do the rest for you! Sign up now – YOURS-MEDICAL-WELLNESS/
We look forward to meeting you soon in one of our meetup sessions!
Till then, don’t be a stranger.
