in other words
Is Yoga For Me?
By Britt Bensen Steele
september13
2011
13
If done properly, you feel more open,
happier, and stronger when you leave
a class. Your day is brighter, and life’s
challenges are easier to manage.
Then, there are the pragmatics:
Yoga strengthens the muscles, deepens
one’s capacity for oxygen consumption
(which makes us feel energized and
clear), keeps low back pain at bay,
enhances posture, and increases one’s
overall ability to conduct general
ADLs (Activities of Daily Living such
as climbing a ladder, gardening, and
getting things out of the back of the
bottom shelf of the cabinet). It is also
linked to making better food choices and
maintaining a healthier body weight.
From a clinical perspective,
there is solid research that suggests
yoga is an exceptional treatment for
managing high blood pressure, lowering
heart rate and anxiety-related conditions,
improving digestive health, and
strengthening one’s immunity. Yoga has
been used effectively for heart disease
treatment and reversal, as an adjunct
cancer treatment, arthritis, auto-immune
related conditions, depression, stress
management, Irritable Bowel Syndrome,
and weight management.
For me, yoga is an anchor. Not
only do I feel the physical benefits of
strength, flexibility, and balance, but I
also feel the biochemistry in my brain
changing, shifting my perspective on
life, calming my mind and opening my
heart. As my mind quiets, I realize that
I am not all of the things I need to get
done, or the endless chatter in my head
when I have too much to do, but instead,
I am a living, breathing vehicle through
which goodness can come with every
choice I make, dollar I spend, and service
I render. For me, yoga sets a precedence
to do the best I can in each day with my
heart and mind wide open.
ball, even attending some high level rence, Sean Solberg are hard runners and Jake Titus, exchange student Leon Wie-
camps this summer. Seniors Ryan Law- good athletes; juniors Mikol Pihl, Jona- gand, Cole Harkson, and Shylo Dooley
thon Anderson and senior Dillon Deth- will see the most playing time.
lefs and Craig Weller round out the
On defense Jarmin mentioned
runningback corp. Seniors Brett Benes that T-john Wolf, Craig Weller, and
and Kanan Olsen will anchor the of- Shylo Dooley will all contribute playing
fensive line with newer players senior time.
Gabriel Ramirez , sophomores Jared
“This is a team that works hard
Whitton and Jerimiah Hammons and and is pulling together,” says Jarmin.
junior Dawson Shay all working hard
and improving. At tightend T-john
Wolf will play; Jake Stevens will bring
some real speed to the position and
foreign exchange student Fin Hoeck
brings some size. At wide receiver
The Loggers opened their season at
home on Friday September 9 with a 22-7
loss against Warrenton.
The Loggers next play away
against Gervais on September 16 and
Santiam on September 23, before return-
ing home again on September 30 against
Culver and face Portland Christian on
October 7.
Having taught yoga for nearly
2 decades, I often field questions from
folks who have not taken a yoga class
before. These questions are generally
something like this: Why should I do
yoga? What will I get out of it? Or,
sometimes instead of questions, I hear: I
tried yoga once, and it was too hard. Or,
I am not flexible enough to do yoga. I
also occasionally hear: I am a Christian,
so I shouldn’t do yoga. Or, my favorite:
Yoga is weird.
These questions and comments
are both common and understandable.
Now that Yoga is being offered in town,
it might be worth attending to some of
these questions and comments, as well as
offering up some additional information
that might be helpful in determining if
yoga is a good fit for you.
First, the word “yoga” itself
means to be in balance. The entire
practice of Yoga is designed to balance
the part of your brain and body that
works hard, pushes, accomplishes, and
gets things done with the side of the
brain and body that assures adequate
and deep, restful sleep, proper digestion,
relaxation, and ease. All of the practices
that are done in a typical yoga class are
designed to bring the body and brain into
balance, as life has a way of throwing us
off balance with day to day stress and
challenges. Yoga is “spiritual” in so far
as it allows your unique needs to be met,
for you to strengthen your body to do
good work, or to do God’s work, if you
see it that way. It is non-secular, non-
religious, and IF one were to argue that
yoga is religious, that religion would be
Kindness. Yoga is all about being kind to
yourself, so that you can share kindness
with your family, your community and
your world.
If you have tried yoga before
and had a bad experience, the best
advice I have is to try it again. As one of
my teachers in Thailand told me “there
are as many types of yoga as there are
ways to chop a cucumber”. This could
also be said about styles of yoga, and
personalities and approaches of yoga
teachers. If one didn’t work for you, that’s
great information. Just keep looking. A
teacher who allows you to honor your
body’s experiences, challenges, and
needs in the course of a class, while
guiding you gently to challenge yourself
and expand your strength, flexibility
and balance is a teacher worth pursuing.
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Britt Bensen Steele has her
Masters Degree in Public Health, her
Bachelors in Exercise Science and has
developed and run fitness and wellness
programs at the University level,
conducted mind/body clinical oncology
research, taught health at the college
level, and worked in health care research
for heart disease treatment and reversal
and whole food weight management. She
currently teaches Yoga at The Grange
here in Vernonia and can be reached at
britt@yogawithbritt.com or 503-780-
4034
