12 Weeks of Yoga -

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Namaste friends! (sorry, couldn’t resist). Last month concluded the 12 week yoga program I participated in, so I thought I’d do a little recap of the class! I had done yoga briefly in college but it was definitely not as informative as this class was. I learned a lot about the benefits of different poses, which muscles need to be stretched the most (they’re not always the most obvious!), and how important it is to simply be present in the moment. There’s a lot I took away from 12 weeks of yoga – so let’s (downward dog) dive in!

We warmed up every class by rotating our spine in circular motions in a simple cross-legged pose, then gently rocked side to side in the knees-to-chest post. Those easy movements surprisingly made a big difference in how my back felt! After warmup, we worked on a different part of the body each class. We would always take a second in-between switching sides to feel the difference in how our left side of our body felt verses our right side and vice versa. It always felt so good! Later on we learned the Makko Hos and sun/moon salutations. The Makko Has are a series of poses that tonify (or increase the energy flow to) the meridians. The meridians are defined as:

The meridians, or channels, are Qi (energy) pathways which form a network which interconnect all parts of the body at a physical, emotional, and spiritual level. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine the body has twelve main meridians, each part of a pairing of Yin and Yang Organs. – Pro Holistic

A couple of the pairings include the heart & small intestine, spleen & stomach, and kidney & bladder. The link above lists all of the pairings and this link shows explains all of the poses. They truly are fantastic stretches that help all important parts of your body. They won’t make you break out in a sweat, but they do leave you feeling almost “lighter” or looser. They’re an especially great benefit if you exercise a lot because they give you a deep, full body stretch.

The sun/moon salutations are more exercises we learned and are especially important if you spend all day at a desk (like me). The moon salutations help calm the mind, relieve stress and anxiety, and improve brain activity and concentration. Where the science is to prove those statements true, I don’t know, but there certainly isn’t any harm in doing them! The sun salutations do the opposite: They energize the body and mind, improve blood circulation, open up muscles that overtime become more closed (like shoulders), and lengthen and tone your muscles. Not to mention, they also lubricate joints which is critical for preventing injuries. Below is a handout on the salutations – you can always google them for further clarification!

The greatest benefit from this experience was learning how to relax my mind. I’m someone who’s mind sometimes moves at a million miles an hour and have a hard time slowing it down. In doing these exercises and just focusing on my breath, my mind became more calm – which carried over to my post-class activities. I was able to approach my daily to-do list without as much stress and with more clarity on what I can do/what can wait until later. It was seriously the greatest thing I could have done for my mind! If you’ve done yoga, let me know your thoughts! Thank you for reading!