Louise Fisichella...
Louise Fisichella has studied Comparitive Religions,Yoga, nutrition and health for over 30 years
Yoga Made Weezie
YO-BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE
Recently, I was at a well known bookstore and stumbled upon a display stand with a variety of different Yoga "props". An assortment of Yoga things to buy, the mat, a CD of "Yoga music", Yoga incense, and a booklet of instructions, all color coordinated and ready for purchase. And, I thought to myself, I wonder if people really believe you have to have all this "Yoga stuff"” in order to practice?
On another day a visit to the sporting goods store I found basically the same thing, except in this case there were "Yoga pants", "“Yoga tops", even a "Yoga sports-bra". And, I thought to myself, I wonder if people really believe that you have to have all this stuff to do Yoga? I started thinking that people who buy all this stuff must have some very different ideas about Yoga than I do!
Anyone at any time or place can do Yoga and you don't need any of this stuff, just you! That's part of the beauty of the practice. Anyone can do Yoga, at their current level, and feel good about it. I recommend the "Sun Salutation" because it is all encompassing of the benefits of Yoga as a whole and it is simple to remember. The positions (asanas), come easily to anyone who practices, even those who haven't had any formal training from an instructor at a spa! Like the Nike slogan goes, "just do it".
Years ago I worked out in a gym. It was around the time when "thong" work-out leotards first arrived on the "scene". At that time I was seriously into lifting and thought to myself that no self-respecting athlete would be caught dead in one of those!? And as time has proven, I was right. You see, it’s not about what you wear, or if the music is right, or if your mat matches your pants, it's about what really motivates you.
Do you have a burning desire to be physically fit? Does that vision and desire stretch out across the decades you have in front of you? Or have you thought about longevity as part of your fitness plan. Well for those of you that haven’t let me clue you in. Yoga can be done at any age, it can be done in sweat pants with paint stains or it can be done in your birthday suit! (And some of the best Yoga I have done was in my birthday suit, it is highly recommended!) You don’t need Far Eastern CD’s with sitars, or incense. You can do your Sun Salutations while catching up on the morning news, or while listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The point is to touch your toes and breathe. That is basically what the Sun Salutation: a series of stretches meant to be done in order to stretch all your major muscle groups, stimulate your lymph system and glands, while massaging your internal organs.
Talk about practical, all you need to achieve these things is space on the floor! And, depending on how tall or wide you are, you won’t even need much of that!
Remember, you can always e-mail me at Louise@higher-ground.com for more suggestions!
Namaste
Contact Louise at Go Figure Body Works
E-mail: Louise Fisichella
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