Healthy Sustainable Lifestyle
This issue will look at how yoga can help with everyday ailments that we commonly reach for the medicine cabinet to relieve. I never realized that I had practiced yoga till I was told some of the stretches I was doing, was yoga positions.
Enjoy,
David Proctor
We may not live on a farm, but we can grow where we live.
Yoga Lifestyle Interview
August 6, 2015
Published Weekly
David: Okay, so here we are Urban Farm Lifestyle Magazine, and we are interviewing Kelsey Proctor and her yoga classes that she gets. Kelsey, can you tell us something about your yoga classes?
Kelsey: Well the kind of yoga that I’m learning to do is healing yoga. It’s more gentle than your power yoga classes.
And the basis of it is, when you’re doing your deep breathing and in a state of deep relaxation is when your body can really heal itself.
Because when you’re stressed out, your body pumps out cortisol. And that can be really detrimental to your body if you’re constantly stressed and pumping out cortisol.
So if you’re doing healing yoga, it kind of gives your body a break. And you can re-wire yourself and heal in a gentle way.
David: Well, let me ask you this, if it’s healing what type of things can be healed. Is it just stress, or are there other things that yoga can help heal?
Kelsey: You can heal old sports injuries. You can lower your blood pressure. Hypertension, aches and pains, headaches, cramps. You can heal a lot of depression and anxiety.
And so it’s not just physical. It can be an emotional practice too.
Beach Yoga
David: So I take it that if you practice yoga then you can even intensify what it does if you maybe even eat a little healthier.
Kelsey: Without a doubt. Yoga is a lifestyle. It’s not just about the physical side of it. You have to incorporate the diet as well, or your body’s doing everything it can to try to heal, but it’s not getting the nutrients to really have the full effect.
David: So, how long does it take for you to start noticing changes?
Kelsey: After the first class you’ll notice that you can breathe a little better. You might notice that your shoulders aren’t as tight.
And my yoga instructor always compares it to taking your blood pressure medication everyday. If you take it everyday, if you practice everyday, you will notice results. Your results just get better and better over time.
David: Now is yoga just for someone that’s young and in shape? Or is there a particular age bracket? Or is it good for everyone?
Kelsey: Yoga is for everyone. Children can do yoga, which in that case, you want to be certified. And people that are mature clients can do yoga as well, for sure.
You can do yoga if you’re handicapped. You can do yoga if you’re skinny, if you’re overweight, if you’re injured. It’s all about just educating yourself first to keep you safe.
Find the right instructor. But without a doubt it does not have to be a strenuous exercise. It can be if you want it to be.
But it’s really about just finding what works for you. It’s a personal practice.
David: Well, what if I am just a commuter and I’m in the car most of the day? Is there anything that can be done while I’m driving that can help ease the back pain or the neck pain from just sitting there all day?
Kelsey: Well I think your best bet is not to just wait until you’re in the car to take care of it. If you can set out a few minutes in the morning to do some neck rolls, some light neck rolls. Touch your toes and kind of breathe into your back to loosen it up.
You can also doing stretches in the car, but you wanna be careful. But, yes you can definitely, yoga will help with a lot of the back pain and the strain, and there’s also a lot of other things too.
You can play some more relaxing music so you’re not as tensed up in the car.
David: Is there a particular time of the day that yoga works best like early morning, late evening, middle of the day?
Kelsey: Well that’s why I like healing yoga. Because first thing in the morning you need to be gentle with your body. You can do yoga any time of day.
In the middle of the afternoon, if you wanna do power yoga, that’s your time to do it, because you don’t really want to get your strenuous exercise at night.
Because if you do power yoga at night, you might start pumping out some cortisol and that can interfere with your sleep. So I really recommend gentle yoga in the A.M. and P.M., and then get your heart racing in the afternoon.
David: Well, this has just been fascinating, it sounds like it would also be good even if you are injured, even as far as being used as physical therapy.
Kelsey: Yes, a lot of physical therapists use yoga with their patients. You actually find a lot of the stretches you do every day just when you’re waking up or to get the kinks out, they’re yoga poses.
So, there really is something anyone can do. It’s all about finding your comfort level.
You know what makes your body feel happy. That’s what yoga is all about.
David: Well I think this is something I’m gonna have to look into more, because my body could sure use some happy. So, Kelsey, this has just been a great interview and I appreciate your time, and hope we can come back and talk about this some more.
Kelsey: Yes, thank you very much.
Sun Salutation
Check It Out!
Heal Me Yoga
Heal Me Yoga
Yoga helped me to strengthen and heal my body and increase flexibility while at the same time strengthening awareness of the mind/body and spirit connection.
Toby…..
I noticed that after doing yoga I don’t get upset so easily I just close my eyes take a deep breath and relax. I do yoga with my 10 year old daughter
Theresa…
I really feel good and at peace with my body.
Samantha…
Yoga allows me to leave my worries and cares and reconnect to my spiritual side.
Rhonda…
Yoga has helped me with my anger. It takes a lot more to make me lose my cool.
Jessica…
My blood pressure is improving. I have asked my Doctor to take me off my medications and he has agreed to wean me off them slowly. I have been on blood pressure medications for 25 years.
Anne…
My blood pressure drops 28% after a yoga class.
Stacy…
Yoga has helped my back. It does not hurt at all anymore.
Kami…
My flexibility went from just down right horrible to pretty good.
Michael…
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