Try Yoga: A Participant’s Perspective
Imagine (or maybe you don’t have to imagine) that your back is so tense and tight that leaning over to put on your shoes hurts. If you spent yesterday working at your keyboard, then attended a meeting that went on too long, and finally sat in traffic that barely moved for an hour on your trip home, it’s no wonder that your back’s tied in knots. What can you do? Take something and hope it helps? Tough out the pain? Here’s another recommendation: Try yoga.
Let’s imagine a new scene. It’s a room where people are listening to the instructor’s quiet voice, inviting everyone to close their eyes, center themselves, and breathe deeply. Yoga offers both relaxation and physical challenge, as you learn the various poses and build strength and flexibility. Georgia State’s Employee Development and Wellness Services sponsors regularly yoga classes, open to all faculty and staff. I’ve participated in the Friday noon class for the past twelve years or so. I always look forward to the class and benefit from it. I’m no athlete and no spring chicken either, but I’ve discovered that regular yoga practice always brings benefits.
Yoga is for everyone. No matter what your size, shape, or age, you can do yoga. Our teacher, Janet Wice, gives everyone individual attention as needed, with encouragement and advice about mastering or modifying poses. Janet creates a warm and enjoyable atmosphere for the class, and she plays great music, too. The hardest thing about yoga is convincing yourself to do it. Once you make it a habit, you’ll begin to feel the benefits as I do.
The yoga class encourages me to persist and master poses that promote strength and endurance while promoting calmness and relaxation. You may be thinking, “Oh, I have a video. I can do that at home.” No, you can’t. Participating in a regular class, with an instructor and other students, pushes you to do what you would not do at home. It pushes you to try, safely, some moves you might avoid at home; it pushes you to hold a pose a little longer than you might if you were alone. It allows you to learn how to modify a pose that you find too challenging at the moment. And it insures that you will stretch and strengthen all your muscles. I especially appreciate the chance to learn and practice poses that help maintain balance and agility, and I want to continue the practice of yoga within the pleasant atmosphere of the class. I want you to try it, too.
Will yoga make your meetings shorter, or the traffic move faster? No, but it gives you resources that will help you get through the stressors you face. It helps you learn to control your breathing, lower the tension, and untie those knots in your back. And keep in mind that the yoga class is free.
–Malinda Snow, Department of English
Note: Check out the Free Yoga Fridays new monthly classes, on July 29th, August 26th, September 30th, Troy Moore Library, Room 2343, 12PM – 1PM. For more information, call 404-413-3342.