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(773) 463-YOGA | info@bloomyogastudio.com 4663 N. Rockwell, Chicago, IL 60625 |
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The Thinking Yogi by Kerry Maiorca June 2005: Yoga knows no Season The days are getting longer, the sun is out, you’re ready to hit the beach, the park, the pavement, and maybe the yoga class you’ve been attending so regularly starts to seem like less of a priority. It’s too nice to be inside today, you think. I can get back into it in the fall, you reason. I’ll be so active this summer that I won’t even miss my yoga class. Summertime is the perfect time to recommit to your yoga practice. Chances are you’ll be spending more time in the water, playing sports, and doing other physical activities that might leave you feeling sore and run down. Most of us tend to get a little overexcited when the weather gets nice – we’re so thrilled at the chance to be flitting about outside that we forget to pay attention to the way our bodies move and consequently we often end up overdoing it. Your yoga practice is more beneficial now than ever, both on physical and mental levels. Physically your body is working overtime as you take advantage of the warm weather and the plethora of Chicago summertime activities. Plus, the fact that it stays light for so long may have you staying out later and playing longer and harder. If you continue your yoga practice, when you get ready to hit the softball field your body will bend more easily as you reach down to field that grounder. When you’re out for a long bike ride, your legs will benefit from the big hamstring and quad stretch you did in class the day before. And when you’re splashing around in the lake you can try out the handstand tips your teacher gave you - to the delight of your friends! But how does summertime yoga benefit you on a mental level? As your life gets busier and more active over the summer, with parties and softball teams and days at the beach with friends and family, your yoga practice is time that’s entirely for yourself - a refuge from the activity. Yoga practice provides you a chance to do nothing for a little while, to slow down the frenetic pace of your body and your thoughts so you can de-stress, breathe, and pay attention to right now. Many of us spend much of the winter looking forward to summer, thinking about how we can’t wait until we can be outside more, but then once summer comes it seems to slip away before we even have a chance to appreciate it. We often find ourselves wishing the summertime away – when it gets really hot, Chicago hot, we start dreaming of the days when the leaves will turn and we’ll have to put on a coat before we go out. Summertime can be so jam-packed with activities that it’s easy to lose sight of how lovely it is to just hang out on the porch at night or go to the park and play around with friends. When you feel yourself getting swept up in the busy-ness of summer, take time to slow down and pay attention to this amazing day, this amazing moment. Your yoga practice is the perfect place to do it. You’ll find that just giving yourself this chance to slow down, pay attention, and restore will make your rowdy summertime play activies even more enjoyable! Your body will be relaxed and you’ll feel ready to take on whatever fun comes your way. So keep at it this summer and commit to regular yoga practice. Your body and mind will thank you for it (and so will your softball team)! |
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