We live in a world with so many conveniences and advancements that make our lives easier.
Makes you wonder if the yoga of 1000 years ago applies to the modern day body.
I would say no.
Our survival isn't based on the need to move, but in positions that take us out of natural alignment - we do our best to stay active with DVDs, the gym, yoga studios.
In an ideal world, I would love to see people working out 2, 3, 4 or 5 days a week - getting their yoga, strength and cardio, but seriously, who's got time for that?
I don't.
Some yogis out there would say I teach "watered down" yoga - I say I'm thinking outside of the box. There’s a time and place for all movement, including "traditional" yoga, but not if it comes at the expense of avoiding any sort of strength work.
I look at what the busy, modern day body needs - and that means ditching old school yoga.
When I first opened Body Mind Fitness, I was moving away from "fitness yoga" and became a yoga snob - only teaching traditional yoga.
Then articles started coming out where people started talking about their repetitive strain injuries that came from doing strictly yoga.
Woah - don't freak out and cancel your yoga membership. I'm not saying doing yoga will cause injury, I'm saying that it's the exercise we're not getting that could lead to injury. Strength training to balance all that yoga stretchy-goodness.
This was at the forefront of my thoughts when I was on maternity leave, add to that the struggle of finding time to sleep when the baby sleeps, but still wanting to move my body in ways that felt good.
This is where I started incorporating strength and functional movement into my yoga practice - squats, deadlifts, pushing, pulling and twisting.
When I realized that the students coming to the studio also didn't have the time, I started sharing the way I practice at home in some of my studio classes.
And guess what? It was a hit.
We need it all, especially if we aren't getting a lot of movement outside the studio
Put this all together and trust me when I tell you it's life changing.
Not only do you get to explore incorporating strength into yoga poses, sometimes with the purpose of achieving a yoga pose in a welcoming community - but you’re getting it in an environment where I look at each individual registered student and plan the class to meet their needs and goals.
It's as close as you're gonna get to 1:1 coaching in a group setting.
My goal is to meet you where you are today, figure out what you need to feel strong and confident in class, and make it as accessible as possible to you. If you don't have time to fit strength into your yoga class - then you're gonna wanna check out the classes at Body Mind Fitness, not only will you get the stretch and the strength - but you're also going to get that one to one attention that you deserve within a group setting.
Makes you wonder if the yoga of 1000 years ago applies to the modern day body.
I would say no.
Our survival isn't based on the need to move, but in positions that take us out of natural alignment - we do our best to stay active with DVDs, the gym, yoga studios.
In an ideal world, I would love to see people working out 2, 3, 4 or 5 days a week - getting their yoga, strength and cardio, but seriously, who's got time for that?
I don't.
Some yogis out there would say I teach "watered down" yoga - I say I'm thinking outside of the box. There’s a time and place for all movement, including "traditional" yoga, but not if it comes at the expense of avoiding any sort of strength work.
I look at what the busy, modern day body needs - and that means ditching old school yoga.
When I first opened Body Mind Fitness, I was moving away from "fitness yoga" and became a yoga snob - only teaching traditional yoga.
Then articles started coming out where people started talking about their repetitive strain injuries that came from doing strictly yoga.
Woah - don't freak out and cancel your yoga membership. I'm not saying doing yoga will cause injury, I'm saying that it's the exercise we're not getting that could lead to injury. Strength training to balance all that yoga stretchy-goodness.
This was at the forefront of my thoughts when I was on maternity leave, add to that the struggle of finding time to sleep when the baby sleeps, but still wanting to move my body in ways that felt good.
This is where I started incorporating strength and functional movement into my yoga practice - squats, deadlifts, pushing, pulling and twisting.
When I realized that the students coming to the studio also didn't have the time, I started sharing the way I practice at home in some of my studio classes.
And guess what? It was a hit.
We need it all, especially if we aren't getting a lot of movement outside the studio
- yoga poses
- strength training
- mobility
- functional movement
- dynamic movement
Put this all together and trust me when I tell you it's life changing.
Not only do you get to explore incorporating strength into yoga poses, sometimes with the purpose of achieving a yoga pose in a welcoming community - but you’re getting it in an environment where I look at each individual registered student and plan the class to meet their needs and goals.
It's as close as you're gonna get to 1:1 coaching in a group setting.
My goal is to meet you where you are today, figure out what you need to feel strong and confident in class, and make it as accessible as possible to you. If you don't have time to fit strength into your yoga class - then you're gonna wanna check out the classes at Body Mind Fitness, not only will you get the stretch and the strength - but you're also going to get that one to one attention that you deserve within a group setting.
