Karen Watson Reeves is hosting online yoga classes for children as well as adults.
Photography – Fred Padilla.
By Karen Watson Reeves
This column is taking a different turn this month, which seems appropriate since just about everything else in our lives is pretty different at this moment in time, too.
Typically, I share a particular yoga pose and write about some of the benefits of the pose featured. This month I want to share with you some of the benefits of a regular yoga practice.
As most people do, I discovered yoga for the physical workout. But it did not take many classes for me to realize that I could calm an overactive mind and de-stress my central nervous system during that time I spent on the mat. And even better, yoga gave me “tools” that I could use any time to help find calmness and inner peace.
Without going into great detail, here are a few ways yoga can lower stress and anxiety (if you are interested in specifics, I would be happy to discuss with you):
- Promotes relaxation & lowers tension
- Helps regulate the breath
- Increases body awareness
- Interrupts worry cycles
- Fosters self-acceptance
- Trains us to deal with discomfort
- Keeps us in the present moment
There are many factors in this current time of uncertainty that produce discomfort, tension, worry, anxiety.
Businesses may close, jobs may be lost, social events are canceled, social distancing (a term we had never heard of just a few weeks ago) is mandated, meetings/church/other gatherings are held by video conference. All these things make us feel isolated, lonely, afraid. Stressed!!!
Families who are not accustomed to being cooped up together indefinitely can become irritable, angry, bored. Screen time with limits can be fun and educational. But what else can families do when movies, video and board games, art projects, cooking and baking together have lost their interest?
Yoga, of course! Hot Springs is full of outdoor nooks and crannies where you can be safely distanced from others. Weather permitting, be outside! Take a yoga scavenger hunt (this can be done creatively indoors as well,) make a list of animals and create a pose, including sounds! Traditional games such as “Ring around the Rosy,” “Simon Says,” “The Hokie Pokie,” just to name a few, can be played using traditional yoga poses, or making up your own.
Make up an obstacle course (outside or one station in each room of the house) using yoga poses. Take a virtual yoga class as a family. There are no hard and fast yoga rules. Just moving your body, taking deeper breaths, enjoying nature, and especially taking the time at the end of your “yoga practice” to be quiet for a few minutes will make a huge difference in your stress and anxiety level. And – yoga is non-competitive, so everyone is a winner!
Karen Watson Reeves has called Hot Springs home since 2006. She became a registered yoga teacher and a registered children’s yoga teacher in 2011. She has taught children and family yoga in many settings, and would welcome an opportunity to help your family stay physically active during this time of quarantine.
She owns The Yoga Place, is on the Hot Springs YMCA teaching staff, is an adjunct instructor at National Park College, as well as teaching in several other fabulous venues. www.TheYogaPlaceHS.com.
