Why it’s time to become a Yogi or Yogini

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Lauren Updyke. This entry was posted in Being Active. Bookmark the permalink.

It wasn’t a surprise to learn that yoga was one of the top interests within the UW community. I have done yoga before (when injured from running or other sports), but for some reason my inflexible running body was never able to relax, breathe through my nose, and get through 45 minutes of this type of exercise. I guess this is what new runners must feel like, right? You have to get through the first few months of being uncomfortable before you reap the benefits and feel confident in any activity. The more I learn about this incredible mode of exercise the more interested I am in giving it another go. I think back to high school 20 years ago when my mother gave me a book called Yoga for Runners. I never read it until now….Thanks Mom. Why are you always right?

Yoga has been proven to improve your health in so many ways. Featured in the Yoga Journal, Dr. Timothy McCall lists 38 reasons why it is time to roll out our yoga mats. Below are a few of my favorites, but you can read the full article here if you are interested.

GET FLEXIBLE
Improved flexibility helps aches and pains disappear. Tight hips and hamstrings can be painful, and inflexibile muscles and connective tissue can cause poor posture.

GET STRONG AND BALANCED
Strong muscles not only make us look good, but they protect us from conditions like arthritis and back pain. The strength you build through yoga is balanced with flexibility, which you’ll sacrifice if you just lift weights at the gym.

GET STRAIGHT
Yoga helps correct bad posture, which causes back, neck, and other joint pain. Since it takes a lot less work for a straight spine to hold up our heavy heads that means we’re less tired by the end of the day, and I can use all the extra energy I can get.

GET A HEALTHY SPINE
Spinal disks depend on movement to get nutrients. A well-balanced yoga practice with plenty of backbends, forward bends, and twists will keep your spine agile.

GET THE BLOOD FLOWING
The combination of aerobic and relaxation exercises in yoga gets your blood flowing, which increases circulation. Yoga also gets more oxygen to your cells, which function better as a result.

GET RELAXED
Yoga lowers cortisol levels, which keeps our stress levels and immune system healthy. Yoga encourages us to relax, slow our breath, and focus on the present which is calming and restorative.

There are several yoga opportunities for all levels within the UW community. Here are the current yoga partners in our fitness network offering discounts to UW faculty, staff, and their household members:

• Breathe Yoga Studios offers a 20% discount and over 100 classes each week.
• Exhale Pilates offers a 15% discount and offers yoga classes.
• Fruition Yoga offers between 20-25% discount and has a hot yoga studio, meditation room, kids yoga, family yoga, hot Hatha yoga – beginner to advanced.
• Jasyoga comes to Hec Ed Mondays and Wednesdays at noon. Just drop in and get a $3 discount per class.
• Aditi Yoga and Massage offers 20% discount on all classes and services – offering yoga and massage for everyone and also specialty pre- and post-natal classes and massage.
• The IMA offers yoga classes and has video demonstrations online.

Click here for more information and to check out other gyms or studios in your area!

The Whole U would like to grow our yoga network and would love to hear from you. Do you know of a local yoga studio that may be interested in being part of our discount network? Or do you have a yoga group on campus and would like to be highlighted or receive support from The Whole U? Email me at updykl@uw.edu and let’s grow our network!

Namaste.