Do you need flexibility?
Now you can purchase a Nine-Pack of passes to attend Power Core Yoga or Just Yoga - or both!

Members and Students $54.00
Non-Members $72.00

>>>>Power Core Yoga
with Janna or Kathy

Kathy or Janna provide you with a unique blend of styles. Astanga-based Yoga and Pilates inspired core strength work combined to aid you in moving your practice to the next level or simply increasing your general fitness level.

Wednesdays
6:45pm to 8:15pm
$10.00 per class

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>>>>Just Yoga
with Mike

The name says it all. This class will be a solid Yoga workout. Mike will lead you through the basics of Astanga based yoga.

Tuesdays
7:00pm to 8:15pm
Members $5.00 per class
Non-Members $10.00 per class

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What is Yoga?
by Kathy Daigle

Ask a hundred different people and you will get a hundred different answers. I've heard stretching, relaxation, exercise, meditation, breath, stress relief, strength, flexibility, incense, bells, etc. etc. Yoga has many definitions, but all imply movement and evolution. The word "yoga" means to bond, bring together, to unite, drawing a parallel to the individual's practice of linking mind and body.

I took my first yoga class in 1977 at the Spring­field Rec Center. My instructor, a truly enlightened soul, learned through her own experience the powerful combination of union in mind and body. She believed through her practice in yoga she achieved what her doctors told her was impossible. I was then introduced to a style of yoga called "Hatha Yoga." Hatha became very popular here in the U.S. preceding the Beatles trip to India and their re­turn with their own personal guru. As a young mother with a fifteen month old child, I found myself very unconditioned; Hatha was excactly the practice I needed. It's a much softer form of yoga than I teach now, but challenging to both mind and body. Through a series of postures Hatha Yoga begins to awaken an acceleration of joint lubricity (synovial fluid) to your movements. It also promotes an increase in circulation. These benefits allow a great sense of healing and well-being.

After the birth of another child I left my yoga practice behind. I began to feel unhealthy from a lack of physical exercise. It was the start of the fitness craze, so I sought out an aerobics class. Again I found a great teacher who understood body mechanics. As I learned through her instructions, I began to understand the dynamics of movement and the importance of strength for a healthy body. So began my training with weight resistance machines and free weights to strengthen bones and muscles with cardio for endurance.

As I pursued my physical fitness training, with each passing year I noticed more tightness and stif­ness. I began to evaluate my workouts and the stresses I had created, mainly through repetitive movement without the connection to overall body performance. I had lost range of motion through increased muscle mass and stiffness (inflammation) through repetition. A balance had to be found or, as my age increased, my doing would be going. I began my yoga practice again but found it more difficult than I did in my twenties.

While taking a yoga certification workshop I again encountered another powerful teacher who introduced me to Astanga Yoga (Power Yoga). We began our practice in an 85 degree room and were introduced to Ujayi breathing, used to create and maintain heat along with increase in lung capacity. A series of movements called "Vinyasas" connects you to the opening of one side of the body to the other and brings great connection between right and left. As my body began to heat up, I found myself moving through tightness that I hadn't been able to do in years. It was truly the most challenging practice I had done and I was hooked.

The physiology of creating heat to release stiff muscles and tissues was a revelation to me. Restric­tions our bodies have acquired could be improved through toxic release as we sweat. As we gain flexibility our strength load increases due to greater range of motion. So without strength we cannot be flexible and without flexibility we cannot be strong.

I would like to leave you with this one thought: everyone's practice or workout needs balance. I feel Yoga, whatever style suits you, brings self awakening back to the mind and body.

Kathy Daigle has been a certified fitness instructor for 19 years, massage therapist for 14 years, certifed yoga instructor for seven years. She is teaching Astanga Yoga (Power Yoga) at Ripples Fitness Center in Bellows Falls, Vermont. To find out more call (802) 463-4344.

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