If you think yoga is only for the young, fit and flexible, or that it requires lots of time and money for classes, think again! Yoga was never meant to be intimidating, exclusive or a fashion trend. Yoga has endured for five thousand years because everyone - no matter what their age or condition - can practice it. Each of us can experience its benefits for body, mind, and spirit. These benefits include: stronger bones, fewer injuries, increased flexibility, decreased stress, stabilized blood pressure, pain relief, improved balance and graceful ageing. In this get-you-going guide, gentle teacher Emily Slonina shares simple exercises and ideas that you can incorporate into your daily life right away while sitting in a chair, lying on a bed, working at the office, travelling or doing housework. Photos of regular people - not advanced students or masters - show you how to modify poses as needed. Like many of us, some of these models have health issues such as chronic pain, heart disease, scoliosis, arthritis, or fibromyalgia. That's okay, because yoga is not a "no-pain no-gain" exercise or a competitive sport.
Modified poses and chair yoga offer all the benefits that traditional poses do. With that in mind, Slonina shows you how to: breathe for ease, listen to and work with your body, warm-up and de-stress, enjoy and modify classic poses, experience meditation and relaxation whenever, wherever. With yoga, a few minutes here and a few there add up. And because yoga is designed to help us develop balance and awareness, chances are that as you become more flexible in your body, you'll find your mind and spirit become more calm and resilient also.
Author Biography
Emily Slonina is a yoga practitioner, teacher, and facilitator in Phoenix, AZ. She is a registered Yoga Alliance Instructor, a certified Trager Neuromuscular Re-Education Practitioner, and a Reiki Master/Teacher. She specializes in teaching yoga to individuals with limitations such as chronic pain, fibromyalgia, MS, scoliosis, etc. She is also part of the therapeutic team at the A.R.E. Medical Clinic in Phoenix, AZ.
