Friday, February 3, 2012

Fitness Friday

It's Friday and you're muscles are sore from your grueling workout all week long, right?  Well, how about some relief.  It's important to take days off, but rather than lying around on the couch & catching up on your DVR, why not incorporate in an "active rest" day?  By this I mean taking a day to a lower intensity activity such as taking a walk at the park with a friend or going to a yoga class.


You hear celebrities rave about yoga all the time and they may be onto something.  Here are a few ways yoga can benefit you and why it's worth adding in to your current routine:


  • Stress Reduction- Yoga can be a great way to shift your focus away from your busy day and help calm you as you move through poses that require both balance and concentration.

  • Better Posture- The very nature of yoga teaches the practitioner how to hold and control one’s body in a more healthful position. Through consistent practice, your posture will improve so that you look more confident and healthy.
  • Increased Flexibility- A key component of fitness that is often overlooked, flexibility decreases with age and contributes to decreased range of motion.  By gaining and maintaining flexibility, you will help to  decreases risk of injury from sports or basic activities in life.  

  • Core Strength- One of the premises of yoga is that you are using the weight of your own body for overall strength.  Many of the poses require you to draw strength from your core in order to stabilize your body. A strong core helps heal and reduce injuries, which is why many athletes do yoga as cross training.

  • Improved balance- An integral part of the yoga exercises involve balance and control over your body. With a consistent practice, you will find that your overall balance will improve outside the yoga class

  • Body Awareness- Doing yoga will give you an increased awareness of your own body. You are often called upon to make small, subtle movements to improve your alignment. Over time, this will increase your level of comfort in your own body. This can lead to improved posture and greater self-confidence.

To find a Yoga class near you, click on one of the following links. Many places offer free classes & new member trial specials

http://www.sunstoneyoga.com/LocationsSchedules.aspx

http://www.yogasportdallas.com/?gclid=CIua46e3_q0CFS6Ctgod4U4Atw

http://www.gaiaflowyoga.com/

http://www.uptownyoga.com/

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