Curious about Yoga: The Results and Benefits from Practicing Yoga Are Much More than I Ever Expected

“Yoga's an amazing release.” - Monica Keena, American actress

“Yoga is a way to freedom. By its constant practice, we can free ourselves from fear, anguish and loneliness.” - Indra Devi, Latvian celebrity

I am a group fitness instructor and have been having a blast teaching “SilverSneakers” classes for seniors. It is a terrific program offered by Health Insurance Companies at hand-picked fitness facilities. Besides focusing on preparing participants for ADL (Activities of Daily Living) functioning, one of the goals is to have fun.

The instructor training is excellent and the classes range from strength and range of motion exercises, cardio circuits, water aerobics, and in the past two and a half years, Yoga. When they were launching it, I signed up for YogaStretch – a modified Yoga class for seniors. I thought it would offer a welcome change, and I admit that I was curious about the benefits touted by so many Yoga enthusiasts.

Was I pleasantly surprised! Being an A personality type go-go being, I worried that Yoga might prove to be too slow for me. A big wrong! My classes have grown in size as I have grown to realize all of Yoga’s wonderful results and to love every minute. Many comment about how calm and relaxed they feel. One woman said it makes her feel “taller.”

American model, Christy Turlington, expresses it perfectly, “Yoga has brought me closer to myself. It's helped me realize the interconnectedness of the mind, body and spirit, in the Buddhist sense of the word.”

So many experts have expressed their feelings. Here are a few:

• “Yoga is wonderful. It clears up most health problems. It also gives you an overview.” - Helen Reddy, American musician
• “I mean the whole thing about meditation and yoga is about connecting to the higher part of yourself, and then seeing that every living thing is connected in some way.” – Gillian Anderson, American actress
• “Though the names karma yoga and sannyasa are different, the truth at the heart of both is the same.” - Vinoba Bhave, Indian educator
• “It's been my experience that the longer I do yoga, the more I want to know, the more I am able to understand and the less judgmental I am.” - Ali MacGraw, American actress
• “The deeper you get into Yoga you realize it is a spiritual practice. It's a journey I'm making. I'm heading that way.” – Sting, British musician
• “For me, first, it's finding quiet in my life - and I do that through yoga and meditation. It's also been a matter of changing the way I eat, because I think what we eat can inform who we are; food is a chemical and a drug to a certain extent.” - Mariel Hemingway, American actress

My suggestion to you is to take a chance and try Yoga if you are not already hooked. And, if you start attending a class, give it some time before it will begin having an effect. Do let me know how it works for you.