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Mat Yoga & Pilates
WHAT ARE MAT CLASSES?
These are classes for group participation. Each class meets in our spacious studio and is guided by our skilled teachers. Both yoga and Pilates are taught as mat classes. Mat classes are a great way to experiences yoga and Pilates. Join us and our community in these great classes. Rates and times are available on our schedule page.
THE BENEFITS OF YOGA
Yoga consists of a series of movements that help strengthen the body and increase mental vitality. How you use your body is an expression of your soul. Yoga creates beautiful expressions. Yoga can lay the foundation to transform your body with personal power and an understanding of yourself. You may learn to feel inner peace and serenity in challenging situations.
WEIGHT CONTROL-- Yoga can help with weight loss by conditioning the abdominal and lower back region . When this core of the body is lean and strong, the stomach is smaller and firmer. Yoga heightens your sensitivity to the effects food has on your body as well as your emotional state as you eat. In choosing food you are consciously trying to energize your physical body and sub-consciously trying to balance your emotions. So, if you can calm the mind, you can calm the appetite1. Yoga training will help you break unhealthy patterns naturally by cleansing and clarifying the body of toxins as it seeks to re-establish harmony within the frame of the body. A yoga teacher was once asked by a new student if smoking would interfere with her yoga. The teacher replied, No, but yoga would interfere with her smoking.
STRENGTH-- Athletic yoga takes the heart rate to 60% to 70% of maximum effort which trains the body with perfect efficiency. Strength is gained when smaller muscles are engaged in postures (asana's) requiring them to hold a variety of weight. Larger muscles are lengthened and then used to stabilize and steady the body while contracting. This has the same benefits as strength training, while also realigning the body.
OTHER BENEFITS--Poses from yoga will de-activate the fight or flight response1 and bring differences in everyday life. Stress related illnesses are on the rise. It's estimated that 60% to 90% of all patient visits to a physicians office are stress related and not easily understood or treatable3 so mind, body and spirit exercises are especially healing. Other benefits include increased immunity, more efficient digestion, positive energy, self-discipline, increased endurance, balanced hormone levels, and deeper, more rejuvenating sleep habits2 You learn to care for your body in a healthy way.
Ultimately, the greatest gift yoga may bring you is the ability to build a body free of fear and repetitive negative patterns. Yoga will lay the foundation to transform your body with your own personal power and understanding. You will learn to feel inner peace and serenity in a challenging situation. How you use your body is an expression of your soul. Yoga creates beautiful expressions.
Copy only with permission from Corena Hammer (801) 294-5999.
1Ralph LaForge, MS ralphlaforge@msn.com
Physiologist at Duke University Medical Center; masters athlete; research editor for IDEA Health and Fitness Source
2Sue Hollingshead btd@boulder.net
Yoga presenter/instructor
2Dr. Herbert Benson, M.D.
Professor of Medicine at Harvard School of Medicine
BENEFITS OF MAT PILATES
Although the fitness industry would have you believe Pilates is a "new" craze, celebrities and dancers have been shaping their bodies with it for years. With proven results, athletes wanting to rehab or prevent injuries were the next to discover it. Now it's available to you!
Pilates is a way of exercising your body with principles based on stretching and strengthening the muscles while initiating the movements from the "core" or abdominal and lower back region of the body. Pilates movements are based on techniques involving alignment, breathing, centering and balancing the body. It is a non-impact exercise that teaches the client to move from the center with focus.
yoga & Pilates in our Newsletter
