Yoga

Bend & Stretch
By Satenik Sargysan

Yoga is the short path that leads to a peaceful mind and a healthy body from injuries and discomfort.

Yoga is a fundamental of Hinduism. Originated from Sanskrit word meaning “to control,” “to unite,” yoga has yoked together the West and the East in a fast-growing “yoga culture.” According to recent studies, 16 million people in the United States practice yoga on regular basis.

“I think the reason why yoga is so popular today is that we, often times, distance away from the society and need something to bring us together. Yoga is the bond between us and the outer world,” says a first-year yoga student Ani Mirzakhanyan.

There are currently four yoga classes offered at USU for spring semester. They all filled up within the first couple of days of registration, as evident on class search agent. They are mostly combinations of the three basic kinds of yoga: veniyoga, anusara and hatha.

“Some instructors focus on meditative part of yoga; others concentrate just on the physical aspect,” Mirzakhanyan says.

Vineet Lakhlani is a native former yoga practitioner. His practice of yoga included both meditative and exercise part of yoga.

“I practiced meditative part of yoga for quite a while,” says Lakhlani, “but the exercise part of yoga I did for two years. My high school yoga class concentrated on different things. It mostly focused on helping us become more attentive students. It also helped the torso muscles and the digestive system.”

Some exercises increased the antioxidants’ level in the body and helped the digestion process.

Laklani rarely practices yoga since the time he moved to the United States. He says that he is very disheartened by how westernized yoga has become.

“Yoga was found by saints who practiced it as a part of their devotion and sacrifice to God, Lakhlani says. “They sat in one posture, padmaasana, for hours to express their gratitude to God.”

‘Padasmaasana’ is one of the basic yoga postures where one puts his feet on his hips, brings his wrists down to his legs and meditates to God.” ‘Downward facing dog’ is another well-known simple posture that deeply stretches the back, opens the chest, and builds upper body strength. This posture stimulates the brain and nervous system, improving memory, concentration, hearing and eyesight.

“Sometimes western yoga instructors don’t even use the correct yoga terms. In my opinion, it’s not true to the culture that it belongs to.”

High blood pressure, carpal tunnel syndrome, mood, cognition and quality of life, strength and flexibility are some of the reasons why people start practicing yoga, according to MedicineNet website.

After practicing yoga for 11 years, yoga instructor Emerald Green admits that in the earlier stages of her life, she did not expect to be involved with yoga. The sexual abuses she had to go through as a child, led to serious injuries and chronic pain.

“My back was horrible,” recalls Green. “I couldn’t stand the pain in my shoulders. I was sick of my headaches. I was on the edge of dropping out of school.”

Later she was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. It is the most common and widely known of the entrapment neuropathies in which the body's peripheral nerves are compressed or traumatized. Because of decreased grip strength it was difficult for her to form a fist, grasp small objects, or perform other manual tasks.

The doctor gave her an option. She either had to have a surgery or take yoga classes. This is how her love affair with yoga started.

“I didn’t like it in the beginning,” she said. “It hurt. But after my teacher approached me, I accepted the challenge.”

After teaching for several years, Green states that the main demographics for yoga in her classes are women in their late twenties to their fifties. Most of them practice yoga to improve their flexibility. Children and “troubled teenage girls” are among her many students as well.

“It is an absolutely different experience teaching these girls to calm down and find the awareness of their breath,” Green says. “Yoga helps them find their sense of ‘self.’ They can understand themselves better physically and mentally.”

Another yoga instructor from Dallas, TX says that unlike Emerald Green’s class her class is more diverse in terms of gender.

“Almost half of my classes consist of men. Often men are more conscious about posters. But I am glad we are overcoming the trend of ‘female western yoga.”

A 2001 research study at the University of Miami looked at a resistance and yoga program for older men and women between the ages of 60 and 79 years. This study wanted to determine if doing moderate exercise consistently over a relatively short period of time (3 times per week for six weeks) carried over into the ability to have a better quality of life. The study showed that yoga provided strength, endurance, flexibility, and balance in an exercise program that translated into an increased ability to perform activities, the energy to do things, and restful sleep.

Brenda Cooper, 61, is a professor at Utah State University. A dedicated runner with more than 30 years of serious road work behind her back, she says she always found yoga “boring.”

“I tried yoga in my early days of running because I read an article in ‘Runner’s World’ that if I did yoga, it would help me be more flexible and have faster times in the races that I competed in,” Cooper recalls. After a couple of “extremely boring classes,” she was sure she would never go back.

Years later, though, she had to face a tough decision. A hip fracture took her away from the track. The only physician who believed she would be able to run again had one recovery plan: yoga.

“Finally I decided to go take three classes and tell my physician later that I hated it. And I loved it.”

She practiced Anusara yoga, which concentrated more on “opening of the human heart,” rather than the physical aspect of yoga. Her relationship with the instructor helped her open up and feel comfortable in the class.

One of Cooper’s biggest concerns was her age. Everyone in her class was younger than her. The discomfort didn’t last long.

“Once we are in class, nobody watches. We are all in our little ‘zen’ area,” says Cooper.

Yoga helps people be more flexible. At the age of 61, Cooper can do a handstand. But there is something beyond the physical aspect of yoga she says: stress release and mental peace.

“Yoga is the hour and a half that I can really zone out,” Cooper says, “When I get to class I am not focusing on my mom’s health or the papers I have to grade. With all the stress in my life, I can get lost in the movement and concentrate only on breathing.”