it’s never too soon, or too late, to start yoga
Patty Jo Thompson, Special to The Gazette
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
“Yoga Mama” Patty Jo Thompson, certified yoga instructor
Age: 69
Recent accomplishment: Recently released two “Ancient Yoga” DVDs available at www.MyYogaMama.com
I fell in love with the yoga and have been doing at least one pose daily since January 1, 2000.
Did you know we did 84 soothing Yoga poses in our mother’s womb? So, doing Yoga postures is like “coming home.” We now have 840,000 poses to choose from in order to keep our spine flexible. We indirectly stretch our spinal cord and tone the nerve roots with each Yoga posture that we do. Your body enjoys the fresh oxygen being delivered to your 60 trillion cells with each complete breath. Therefore, you are energized and love the feeling of youthful vitality being activated.
If you’ve never tried yoga before, then today would be the best day to start! The sooner we start doing yoga stretches the better our strength and mobility will be today and in the years to come.
Here are some basic poses to help you get started:
Downward-Facing Dog
• Stretches the shoulders, hamstrings, calves, arches, and hands • Calms the brain and relieves stress
• Energizes the body
• Strengthens all muscles and joints, particularly arms, shoulders and upper body
• Rejuvenating benefits to your brain
• Improves digestion
• Relieves headache, insomnia, back pain and fatigue
The Bow
• Stretches the entire front of the body
• Strengthens the back muscles
• Improves posture
• Stimulates the organs of the abdomen and neck
• Excellent back strengthener that helps to eliminate rounded shoulders
The Fan
• Stretches the sides of the torso and spine
• Opens the shoulders
• Stretches the hamstrings
• Stimulates abdominal organs and lungs
Upward-Facing Dog
• Improves posture
• Strengthens the spine, arms, and wrists
• Stretches chest and lungs, shoulders, and abdomen
• Firms the buttocks
• Stimulates abdominal organs
• Helps relieve mild depression, fatigue, and sciatica
Lateral or Sideways Bend
• Stretches the sides of the torso, spine and spinal cord
• Opens the shoulders
• Stretches the hamstrings
• Stimulates abdominal organs and lungs
Forward Bend and Holding Your Ankles
• Calms the brain and helps relieve stress
• Stimulates the liver and kidneys
• Stretches the hamstrings and calves
• Strengthens the thighs and knees
• Improves digestion
• Helps relieve headache and insomnia