Common Misconception About Yoga
Oh, for the love of Yoga
- You have to be flexible to do yoga.
UNTRUE!
Yoga comes in different levels and is incredibly versatile. The practice of yoga helps you gain flexibility and keeps you healthy. There are so many types, such as Vinyasa flow, Yin yoga, Hatha yoga and many more. So no, we would not have beginners standing on their heads! That is advanced yoga. The simplicity of some basic beginners yoga has great benefits for everyone, including intermediate and advanced yogis.
At Yoga with Stacey, we encourage you to develop and build flexibility at your own pace. You are key to your practice, and loving yourself and your yoga journey is crucial.
- Yoga is hocus-pocus.
NOPE.
Too many times people assume, wrongly, that yoga is a religion. I often hear “I am a Christian oh, I can’t do such”, oh dear! It is not a religious practice. It’s a physical practice that helps you bring nourishment to the mind, body and spirit. Its origins (India) and the people who practice yoga traditionally, utilize it as a tool to benefit the body.
Yoga enhances strength, mental clarity, relieves stress and helps with weight loss amongst a million other great things. Given the tension and stress one gets sucked into, in Lagos traffic for instance, yoga helps to cleanse the body and mind, bringing down stress levels and realigning posture. We tend to crunch and slouch while driving or sitting for hours at work, resulting in knots and tension building up over time, in different areas of the body. Now specific yoga poses help release the tension, and helps you feel as light as air!
Yoga has been used to alleviate many diseases such as arthritis, asthma, colds, migraines, sinusitis, lower back pain, and a host of others. There is also fertility yoga, yoga targeting period cramps, yoga for autism and different areas of specialization. Who would have thought? It also improves the mood and makes you feel great!
- Yoga is a low impact exercise
OH YEAH??
Very often, we have heard people say, “oh no it is too dainty, I want to pump weights in the gym instead.”
The common misconception about yoga is that it is a low ranking cardiovascular activity.However, yoga can be rigorous, depending on the yoga class you attend. For example, Power Yoga is aerobic in nature and burns a lot of calories! Additionally, high levels of endurance is required in a Vinyasa class; think “Yoga Boot-camp”.
Yoga helps you tone your body and develop lean muscles, in my experience I’ve seen people drop lots of weight using yoga. The key is consistency, as with any workout.
You don’t need to lift weights to tone your biceps, ‘downwards facing dog’, ‘Chaturanga’ and ‘side plank pose’ for example, would do justice to your biceps. You want toned quadriceps, chair pose has got you!
- Yoga is for “women” alone.
WRONG AGAIN.
Only a few decades ago, yoga was practiced only by men!! Imagine that? It would seem that the mainstream media in the West highlights mostly women practicing yoga -as we see in movies and adverts- creating the impression, and grave misconception that it’s a practice limited to women.
There are many inexhaustible benefits of yoga, and to limit it to women would be doing men a disservice! Alas, my dear macho Nigerian men, welcome yoga into your lives and see, no, experience, yoga and your abs, quadriceps, and biceps will thank you.
So pop into any of our classes, and experience yoga with Stacey!
Class schedule: Wednesday’s 6 pm, Saturday’s 4 pm Sunday’s 4 pm at Stranger Lagos, 3 Hakeem Dixon, off Fola Osibo, Lekki phase one.
Contact: info_yogawithstacey@gmail.com for yoga at your doorstep, and other inquiries.
Follow us on Twitter because we rock, @yogawithstacey and Instagram @yoga_with_stacey
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1 Comments
See you on Wednesday!! ??????
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