Who Has Access to Yoga?

This term I did community work and writing for my writing 122 class at Portland Community College. My theme was Health and Wellness and my question was; who has access to yoga?

You hear a lot of people say that they can’t do yoga for many reasons such as; I’m not flexible, I don’t have the time, etc. But really anybody can do yoga, it’s just not everyone’s preferred route to wellness. There are many styles of yoga and yoga is not just the physical postures. Yoga also works on the breath, clearing the mind and how you treat yourself and the world around you. Even if you are worried or unsure that’s okay, yoga encourages you to bring all your emotions to the mat so you can work thru them and realize how you really feel. At anytime you can turn your senses inwards on your breath, doing various breath exercises. Breath exercises can help clear the mind calm down, re-energize, etc. Lawyers even do yoga to find balance in their lives. With what they learn on the mat they take with them to work to be more compassionate, understanding and happier doing their job. Women who are pregnant can even access yoga! Allowing them to stay in shape and keep a balanced mind, when labor time comes she can use her breath work to possibly make giving birth easier. As long as somebody can breathe, they can practice yoga. You just have to experiment with the different styles to find the one that is right for you and your lifestyle. Yoga is an art of living that you integrate into your everyday routine to live a happier and healthier life for your mind and body.

Resources

http://texitariankitchen.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/my-yoga-journey-during-pregnancy/

This blog is about a pregnant woman who talks about how during her current pregnancy, which is her second one, she feels far better then the first due to yoga. She talks about during how she was training for a marathon but got pregnant with her first child, after her third trimester she could no longer keep up with her routine and had to stop. So she started doing yoga, over time she noticed that she was in far better shape then she was as a runner. Soon she noticed yoga transformed how she thought off the mat on how she cared for her body and her thoughts towards herself. Sometime after giving birth she fell out of her practice and noticed a negative changed in her body and mind. She got pregnant again and after a chain of events she got back into her practice and claims that she is stronger then she ever has been and has started caring more for herself and body on and off the mat.

This is an authoritative source to my question because it shows that pregnant women are able to do yoga. That it will help them take care of themselves and them taking care of themselves means that the baby is being taken care of.

http://bodymindbeautyhealth.com/2014/03/03/why-you-should-try-essential-yoga-one-classic-pose/

This blog talks about the main point of a yoga book called Essential Yoga by Sarah Herrington, which is now. Now is what you need to start yoga. Anyone can do yoga, even if you are nervous or skeptical, yoga encourages bringing all feelings to the mat so you get to know your feelings. Yoga is not only the poses but the breath and meditation as well. So at any point you feel at of the moment just focus in on your breath and that will bring you to now, this is practicing yoga. It goes over Lotus Pose, which is the traditional meditation pose; it goes over step-by-step instructions to get into the pose along with modifications. This blog shows that if you have mixed feelings about yoga you can still do it, it will allow you to explore your feelings more. It also shows that not only the physical postures are yoga but meditation and breath work are as well, so anyone can practice this at any time.

http://go.galegroup.com.libproxy.pcc.edu/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=AONE&userGroupName=pcc&tabID=T002&searchId=R2&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=2&contentSet=GALE|A348452029&&docId=GALE|A348452029&docType=GALE&role=

This article talks about a woman named Kristin Scheel who practices law and is a yoga teacher as well. Her journey started after law school while working in a law firm and was unhappy with her work. She was asked to take paid vacation to find balance with her work. During that time she did a yoga teacher training and became a teacher. While in training she found her business partner and they opened a joint yoga studio and office where she practiced law. They both grew large scale simultaneously and she could not handle two full time jobs, so she joined a small firm with a friend and still teaches yoga. I chose this article because it shows that law practitioners can do yoga as well, using it to find balance in your job. People with full time jobs are still able to practice yoga using what they learn on the mat off the mat in their daily lives.