Take A Little Savasana...

Wondering what a savasana is? Well its a Sanskrit term used to describe the yoga pose of total relaxation.  I began taking yoga classes last year with my swim team, and fell in love with the challenging, rewarding and relaxing exercise.

Yoga has become an extremely popular form of exercise in Western culture over the past few years.  Yoga was developed in Ancient India, and has been adopted throughout Hinduism Buddhism religions.  While the sanskrit language which the poses are named in can be intimidating, not to mention the extreme pretzel-like poses, yoga for beginners is fun and a perfect stress release.

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Being a college student, stress is always a component of life.  But taking one class a week, offered for free by my school, allows an hour for me to find my center, gain perspective and relax my mind and body.  According to the Mayo Clinic, yoga provides health benefits, like stress reduction, a great physical workout, and the management of chronic conditions.  It is becoming an overwhelming trend amongst athletes to take up yoga to gain flexibility.  These athletes range from professional hockey players to club level rugby players.

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Afraid you won't be able to do that pose?  Well don't worry, because not many people can.  Besides, a yoga class is considered "practice" and who nails their first goal at their first practice?  There are several different types of yoga, like hot yoga or the several types listed here, on Women's Health.  I have taken classes like anusara, hatha, bikram, and power yoga.  Each brings something different to the body and the mind, and the best part-- each features levels from beginner to expert!

The top two reasons as to why I take yoga is to develop a balance of mind and body (destress!) and it provides me with manageable challenges.  There are so many expressions of each pose, and if one week I can go further in a certain pose, I can feel accomplished.  But if I don't, that's okay too.  Yoga is very individualized, and there is no pressure to achieve the deepest expression.  There may be expressions that my body physically cannot achieve due to my bone structure.  And that is perfectly acceptable in the yoga-world.

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I forgot the best part of yoga, so I guess there are three reasons as to why I love yoga: the Savasana.  Each yoga practice works the body to make it tired in preparation to rest... aka savasana.  Lying flat on your back, every muscle relaxed, eyes closed, full breaths leaves the mind an opportunity to find center and reward itself for working so hard.

Bottom line: Take yoga to find peace in a stressful life.  Or take yoga to develop strength.  Or take yoga to try something new! If you are afraid of yoga, try it with a friend, or a group of friends.  Just don't compare yourself to what your friend may be able to do and you can't.  Its all about you for an hour and no one else!

Did I hook you? Forbes claims the top 10 "yoga friendly cities" are:
1. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA
2. Seattle-Tacoma, WA3. Philadelphia, PA4. Washington, D.C. & New York City6. Baltimore, MD7. Boston, MA8. Portland, OR9. San Diego, CA & Boise, ID
Now, head out and find a yoga studio!