Y - Yoga

Yoga exercises strengthen your body and make it more flexible.  Yoga also calms your mind and gives you energy.  In active sports or strenuous exercises, you use up energy.  In yoga classes, students report that they feel tranquil after a class, yet have more energy.  Slow and steady motion is the key to going into or coming out of the postures. You hold a yoga pose for several seconds or even minutes and give attention to full, quiet breath. 

A yoga session is designed for balance.  People of all ages can practice yoga exercises.  They are easily modified to meet your needs and physical condition.  Don't be put off by the difficult looking postures you may see in a yoga book or video.   A skilled teacher can adapt most exercises by using chairs, cushions, even a wall or other props.  A yoga practice can be tailor-made just for you. . Never compete with yourself or others.  Yoga is a stress-free but powerful way to exercise.  Yoga is good for increasing your flexibility and relieving stress.

Deep breathing is both calming and energizing. The energy you feel from a few minutes of careful breathe is not nervous or hyper, but that calm, steady energy we all need. Slow, steady, and quiet breathing gives a message to your nervous system: Be calm.

Here is one 5-minute Breath Break. (Read through the instructions several times before you try the practice.)

1. Sit with your spine as straight as possible. Use a chair if necessary but don't slump into it. Feet flat on the floor with knees directly over the center of your feet. Use a book or cushion under your feet if they do not rest comfortably on the floor. Hands are on the tops of your legs.

2. Close your eyes gently and let them rest behind closed lids.

3. Think about your ribs, at the front, back, and at the sides of your body.  Your lungs are behind those ribs.

4. Feel your lungs filling up, your ribs expanding out and up.  Feel your lungs emptying, your ribs coming back down and in.   Don't push the breath.

5. The first few times you do this, do it for 2 to 3 minutes, then do it for up to 5 to 10 minutes. At first, set aside a time at least once a day to do this.  When you learn how good it makes you feel, you'll want to do it at other times as well.

Just as one stressful situation goes into your next challenge, relaxing for a few minutes every day gradually carries over into the rest of your daily life and activities.