What Does Yoga Offer to Me?

This week, we continue the discussion on opportunities that Mossy Creek Fitness provides, and how it happens to help you, our athletes.  Caitlin Griffith has agreed to help us develop a better understand of what Yoga is, and what it can do to improve you performance both in, and out of the gym.  As we approach this week's blog post, we will discuss what yoga is, who should be doing yoga, what to expect from yoga and debunking some common misconceptions about yoga. 

What is Yoga?

When this question was posed to our Yoga instructor, Caitlin, she defined yoga as this, " the use of postures, and sequences, to create strength, stability, and release tension in the body.  The same postures, and sequences combined with breathing practices and concentration of your mind create a state of mental health and relaxation.

Who Should Do Yoga?

The easy response to this question would be simply said as, "everybody."  "People of all ages, and range of mobility can practice yoga" says Caitlin.  Do you have stressors in your life?  Have you found a lift in the gym that you simply can't master because of a lack of mobility?  Are you experiencing soreness from the strenuous physical activities in the gym?  Have you found a need to increase lung capacity to complete a metcon?  Or would you like to learn how to move more intuitively in your body? 

If you answered yes to any of these questions then you are ready to start yoga?

How is Yoga Going to Help Me?

This section will breakdown the answers to the questions below and provide where Yoga fits into the Fitness Wellness Continuum. 

Lengthening muscles after heavy exertion, or just on a regular basis, can help prevent them from becoming overly tense and putting strain on the joints.  When muscles and connective tissue are abnormally tight, it restricts fluid movement to the muscles and and often the joints they are connected too.  This action creates a toxic build-up and lack of nutrition to the overly tense area.  By lengthening muscles and connective tissue you encourage fluid movement (and therefore nutrients) to the muscles, connective tissue, and throughout your lymphatic system, thus also creating a better immune response. 

Doing Yoga will help aid in your ability to move well in your movements.  Tight muscles restrict your range of motion, and the mobility of your joints.  To move well, and with ease as you lift weights, your muscles and connective tissue need proper recovery, mobility work, and deep breathing practices. 

Current Yoga Schedule and Costs

Schedule:
Monday 5:30p
Wednesday 5:30p

Costs:
Yoga is included in Crossfit and Bx Memberships
Drop-ins - $8.00

Misconceptions About Yoga

Yoga is commonly thought of as an activity just for women or flexible people.  

• Yoga was created by men and the movements are actually anatomically more comfortable for men than women.  Women have to alter a lot of poses in order to fit their different bone structure.  Yoga is beneficial to all people, but it is typically most challenging for flexible people; they tend to over stretch/hyperextend muscles very easily because they cannot sense when they have gone to far.  People who struggle with flexibility or mobility stay within their scope of movement better and develop a stronger understanding of how to intuitively stretch their body. 
  
• Yoga is about moving well within your body , not about looking like the perfect Pinterest picture illustrating it. 
  

What does Yoga Offer You?

For Crossfit, BX, and other athletes, Yoga is quickly becoming more popular to enhance muscle recovery, decrease lactic acid build-up, increase range of motion and overall mobility.  It will help with the ease at which they perform most repetitive movements, increase body awareness or intuitiveness which decreases risk of injury, helps with body positioning, and balance.  Lastly, Yoga will help develop an increased lung capacity and restores/resets the nervous system back to the rest and recovery mode when you need it the most, decreasing overall recovery time and reducing stress demands on the body. 

To put it in more succinct terms, if you have a serious desire to take your performance to the next level, expand your horizons and see Caitlin in her next yoga session.