SW Florida Paper on Yoga

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Islander: Marco residents gather for yoga classes

SW Florida Paper on Yoga

http://www.naplesnews.com/03/07/marco/d948510a.htm

Friday, July 11, 2003

 

By DEBORAH WIGHT, Special to the Islander

 

"Western science has evidence proving numerous physical and

psychological benefits from the deep and rich-rooted discipline."

 

 

 

A "yogi" has nothing to do with the lovable cartoon character known

as Yogi Bear. Rather, a yogi is someone who practices yoga, a

discipline that involves physical positions and mental concentration.

 

Yoga is no passing fad. According to a recent special on CNN, yoga is

a Hindu discipline that was developed in India some 5,000 years ago.

 

Today, 20 million Americans practice yoga. And, according to a June

27 Associated Press article, even dogs are getting into the act:

 

 

 

The Marco Island YMCA offers Yoga classes three times a week taught

by instructor Joyce Taylor, who recently moved to the area from

Boxborough, Mass. Hatha Yoga is taught on Wednesdays and Saturdays

and power yoga on Fridays. Gary Coronado/Staff

 

"New York City dog owners who worry that their furry friends need

some stress management have a new option: yoga for dogs. Ruff yoga —

a so-called doga class aimed at relaxing the canine denizens of this

often un-Zen city — is being offered once a month in a downtown city

park."

 

The article also claimed yoga for dogs, sometimes called doga, has

taken hold with pet lovers beyond New York.

 

Well, yoga for dogs hasn't spread to Marco yet.

 

But on a recent Saturday morning, nine of those 20 million real-live

human yogis who reside on Marco gathered for a class with certified

yoga instructor Joyce Taylor, who teaches two hatha yoga classes and

one astranga (power) yoga class each week at the Marco Island YMCA.

 

Sitting cross-legged — known as the lotus position in yoga — on

individual mats strewn across the floor, class members listened to

Taylor's instructions, which were softly uttered in a monotone voice,

backdropped by the methodic music marked with chant-like sounds and

the steady, rhythmic pounding of waves onto shore.

 

"Get comfortable. Bring your focus inward to your breath," said

Taylor. "Close your eyes. Follow your inhale and then the exhale.

Invite your breath to deepen and lengthen. If you find your mind

wandering, gently bring it back to your breath."

 

Yes, yoga means solitude, peacefulness, stillness.

 

And no, it "doesn't mean tying yourself up like a pretzel," said CNN

medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, host of the July 6 special.

 

The word "yoga" means union. Traditionally, the goal of yoga was

union with "the true self," according to the yogasite.com Web site.

Today, the emphasis is on yoga's "down-to-earth" benefits that

include improved physical fitness, mental clarity, self-

understanding, stress control and overall well-being. To some

practices spirituality is also a strong component.

 

 

 

Ronnie Poffenberger of Marco Island works on hatha yoga movements

during a class taught by Joyce Taylor at the Marco Island YMCA on

July 5. Hatha yoga is taught on Wednesdays and Saturdays and power

yoga on Fridays. Gary Coronado/Staff

 

Taylor, who started teaching at the YMCA in June, moved to Marco from

Boxborough, Mass., in September 2002 after retiring from Hewlett-

Packard, where she was a multimedia producer. A yoga practitioner for

more than 10 years, she began as a result of a pinched nerve in her

neck.

 

"It moved down my arm and was caused in part by the stress of

corporate work," said Taylor. "Yoga helped me to go inside and listen

to my body."

 

Yoga connects mind to body, movement to breathing, mental focus to

relaxation, awareness to activity. It brings all aspects of lives

into balance and harmony by working the body and mind together.

 

When something in your life goes awry, throwing off your equilibrium,

yogis assure a few yoga breaths or stretches will restore your

balance.

 

Today, most yoga focuses on physical postures, breathing exercises

and meditation. Movements are slow and synchronized with the breath.

Assuming the lotus position enables yogis to relax, and quiet the

mind and body. That is when all the mental and physical benefits of

the postures are derived.

 

According to a yoga Web site, yoga, in its versatility, lets

practitioners focus on physical, psychological or spiritual — or a

combination of all three — levels.

 

Whereas traditional exercise is typically goal-oriented, yoga is a

process in which the idea is to focus your awareness on what you are

doing and how you feel as you're doing the postures. In exercise, you

believe you failed if you missed your goal. In yoga, trying is

considered success.

 

Yoga can make you look and feel better, regardless of your weight.

But it can also lead to weight loss because it helps burn calories.

In addition, yoga helps tone muscles and improve posture.

 

Yoga also increases the efficiency of the heart and slows the

respiratory rate, improves fitness, lowers blood pressure, promotes

relaxation, reduces stress and allays anxiety. It also improves

coordination, posture, flexibility, range of motion, concentration,

sleep and digestion.

 

In addition, yoga can be used as supplemental therapy for conditions

such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, migraine headaches, asthma and

AIDS.

 

AT A GLANCE

 

For more information, call the Marco Island YMCA at 394-3144.

 

 

While the American Heritage Dictionary defines yoga as "a Hindu

discipline aimed at training the consciousness for a state of perfect

spiritual insight and tranquility, a system of exercises practiced as

part of this discipline to promote control of the body and mind,"

Western science has evidence proving numerous physical and

psychological benefits from the deep and rich-rooted discipline.

 

But Marco Island yogis have reaped their own benefits.

 

Sheila Hicks, 60, absolutely loves yoga.

 

"I've been taking yoga for about four years and there's been a huge

difference. It's been a life-changing experience for me," she

said. "I even went to the doctor and was taller. I used to see a

chiropractor and now I don't need to. Yoga is just me inside my body,

doing the best I can. It isn't competitive or high-powered."

 

For Hicks, yoga is also spiritual.

 

"Not only has yoga increased my strength and flexibility, but it's an

inner experience," she said. "Yoga and walking the beach make me

whole."

 

Sara and Rennie Poffenberger have been taking yoga for the past two

years at the YMCA, and "off and on" for the past five years in

England, their former primary residence.

 

"Yes, Rennie is the token man in class today," said Mrs.

Poffenberger. "But he's a runner, too, so he comes to the classes

slightly less often than me. But we think it's great, very calming

and also wonderful exercise."

 

She enjoys most the stretching and feels stronger, more supple.

 

"Oh, I go to all three classes at the Y, including the astranga yoga,

which is the same power yoga that Madonna does," said Mrs.

Poffenberger.

 

According to Taylor, more and more men are "coming into it."

 

So, if a yogi is someone who practices yoga, what's a "yogin" and

a "yogini?"

 

Male and female yoga students, respectively.

 

Taylor plans to start a yoga and meditation class if enough interest

is generated.

 

For more information, call the Marco Island YMCA at 394-3144.