Benefits Of Gay Yoga
December 17th, 2009 Posted by: Howie Holben
For many people both in India and the West yoga is more than a way to stay in shape, it is a way of life. Of course, this is the traditional purpose of yoga which actually encompasses much more than just the physical poses that are so common in the West. However, even if you are only doing Western fitness-based yoga, will you find that after some time yoga begins to define a part of who you are. There are many different variations of yoga available in the West including “flowing” yoga, a yoga and Pilates mix, and even “hot” yoga, yoga done in a hot room so that you sweat out toxins while you exercise. Yoga is a very individualized way to exercise; you only do the poses to the level at which you are comfortable. That also means that classes should be a very comfortable place where you feel safe enough push yourself to your limits, but not beyond. Because of this, many yoga classes have been created to put people together from the same community such as prenatal yoga, yoga for women, or gay yoga.
Since you need to feel comfortable and relaxed in order to get the full benefit of yoga, besides tailoring classes to certain demographics of people, the entire structure of the yoga studio and class is geared toward a soothing atmosphere.
A good instructor will have a tone that is both encouraging and soothing. This means that you should push yourself has hard as your body lets you, but not feel tension if you can’t immediately accomplish full-blown poses. Being surrounded by people who are at your same physical level also helps to make you feel comfortable.
They should have both a firm but comforting tone that challenges you to work your hardest but doesn’t make you feel bad if you aren’t as advanced as the other students. Of course, being with students who share your physical level or interests is also important.
The structure of a yoga class is also designed to reduce your stress level. When you first start you will engage in breathing exercises should help you to clear your mind.
Once you are warmed up and ready to go you will start to do poses that gradually get more challenging as the class goes on. It would be toward the middle or end of class that strength training and Pilates exercises would be held.
Then again you will engage in a cool down session and some more breathing and mediation exercises before you go on your way.
Since the whole point of yoga is to calm your mind and reduce stress through physical work, the entire yoga experience should be comfortable for you. This is why the atmosphere of the class is almost just as important as the exercises themselves. If you don’t feel safe enough to try new things you won’t get the full benefit of the yoga experience. Therefore, the rise of specialized yoga classes, such as gay yoga, should not be surprising.
