The Power Of Yoga
By Heather Shafer, CYT
Director, Kaya Wellness & Yoga
“Which class is going to challenge me more? I really want to feel the burn.”
Screeeeech…wait, stop….This is a tale-tale sign that someone needs yoga. Not more exercise and more challenging poses, but good ‘ole yoga. Yoga that encompasses so much more than asanas (physical postures). Yoga that creates change; emotional, spiritual, & physical. Yoga that takes you deeper, without creating injury.
In the US yoga has come to mean asanas or fitness. If yoga is limited to a physical workout, you are missing what yoga is truly about and diminishing what traditional yoga has to offer.
Yoga is translated as “yoke” or “union”, describing the integration of mind and body to create a greater connection with one’s own pure, essential nature.
It encompasses the spiritual, emotional, & physical bodies. Trying to sweat your way into a leaner form rarely works without addressing the emotional and spiritual bodies. For true transformation, all of these bodies must be prioritized & balanced, which involves drawing your yoga off of your mat, & into every aspect of your life. Once inducted into this yogic philosophy, the term “Live Your Yoga” will allow you to flow with your life with much less effort.
I have experienced and witnessed in my students a myriad of benefits from a deeper yoga practice more than I could have ever imagined from exercise alone.
Physically: increased flexibility, increased muscle strength & tone, improved energy & vitality, weight reduction, controlled blood pressure, improved sleep, enhanced balance, injury-free muscles and spine
Spiritually: improve and deepen your relationship with the world itself, mindfulness & an appreciation of your life for what it is right now, connect to your true self, find that place of stillness within yourself, closer to Spirit
Emotionally: Balancing hormones leads to emotional stability & more balanced moods, relieve depression & anxiety, reduced cortisol (cortisol is known as the “stress hormone” because it is activated when you are stressed”, create a sense of calm & peace
Anyone who has exercised knows that simply exercising will aid in physical & emotional balance, but when layered with proper yogic breath, intention, & energetic control, exercise, and everything else in your life is transformed into the sacred art of yoga.
Washing the dishes, running, doing laundry; all of these have the potential to be yoga.
So experience yoga in a spiritual space and learn the sacred art of yoga so that you can carry this off of your mat and transform all of the areas of your life. This attitude of learning, enjoying and growing from every experience that life throws at you translates to an amazing outlook in everyday life outside of the Yoga studio. It allows you to handle just about anything life brings with a sense of calmness, confidence and true inner peace.
Let go of your conditioning that a workout has to be painful to be effective to ensure that you are not diminishing the full potential of your yoga practice.
Kaya is dedicated to creating a sacred space to encourage students to find their True Self. Join us in-studio for classes or private sessions in yoga or aerial yoga, and on the beach for daily Beach Yoga (Memorial Day-Labor Day).
Beach Yoga 7 Days/Wk Memorial Day-Labor Day
Ocean & Swedes St., Dewey Beach 8 am – 9 am
Beach Yoga $11 cash-only
or NEW this year 10-pack of beach yoga for $100
(available with cc in studio, or cash on the beach)
Unlimited Studio Classes
3 months for $300 or 4 months for $350
Private Instruction- Beach, Studio, or Your Location
For more info 302-227-3450
*This article does not serve as medical advice or diagnosis. Please seek the advice of a medial professional before beginning any new routine. Statements herein have not been evaluated by the FDA & are from the author’s personal & student experience.
Testimonial
“When I first thought about taking Aerial Yoga I was assuming that it would be hard, and that there was no way that I could do any of it (I am almost 60 yrs. old). I also assumed that I had to be really strong and limber. I was totally wrong: From the very beginning it was fun, enjoyable, & allowed me to go in to yoga poses that I never had been able to do in regular floor yoga.” – PJ
302-227-3450 or email
[email protected]
Kaya Wellness & Yoga
Rehoboth Beach, DE
Find Yourself… at Kaya
