Polk County
Living
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 13, 2016 7A
BREATHING INTO THE NEW YEAR
NATHAN WOODS/Itemizer-Observer
A yoga class at Dallas Yoga and Balance Studio warms up on Thursday by doing various postures. Yoga is a thousands-year-old practice.
Stretching across communities, yoga has benefits for old, young and those in between
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
POLK COUNTY — Yoga is
not a religion, but a prac-
tice, a sort of meditation.
“I’m not preaching,” said
Dawn Spires, yoga teacher
and owner of Dallas Yoga
and Balance Studio. “I’m
not going against any reli-
gion. Prayer is talking to
God; meditation is listen-
ing.”
Yoga adds a facet to fit-
ness that is difficult to
achieve with weights or car-
dio alone, Spires said.
“I found mental and
physical strength,” she said.
After trying it once on a
business trip, Spires was
hooked. Unable to find a
nearby yoga studio, she
took the classes needed to
become certified in hatha
yoga, which focuses on
proper form in postures and
breathing.
A yoga posture or pose
can be as easy as standing
straight with your feet
under your shoulders,
hands at your side, breath-
ing deeply.
But it’s more than that, as
you visualize your spine
lengthening and tune into
your body, clearing your
mind and releasing stress.
When Spires saw how
yoga affected her first class
of students, she began
teaching more groups.
“I jokingly called it ‘drive-
by yoga,’” Spires said. She
loaded up all the mats and
other supplies needed for
class and took them to vari-
ous locations in Dallas,
from the Catholic Church to
Dallas Retirement Village.
That means her students
need fewer supplies to get
started in yoga — just some
comfortable clothing and
maybe socks.
“I provide everything any-
NATHAN WOODS/Itemizer-Observer
A yoga student at Dallas Yoga and Balance Studio holds
her hands together while in tree pose, a balance posture
on one leg. Yoga includes many balance postures.
one needs,” she said. “I use
lots of props.”
Props are used in yoga to
help support yogis in poses.
For example, if you are un-
comfortable touching your
toes, you can use a prop to
bridge the gap to the floor.
On the other hand, a prop
can be used to lengthen a
stretch and push someone
further, too.
“Hatha yoga, the science
of yoga, focuses on proper
alignment,” Spires said. “I
base it on everyone’s
needs.”
She has students as
young as 6 and as old as 94.
“One of my students in
her mid-80s said people
commented that she gets
up and down like nothing,”
Spires said. “She’s been
doing yoga for three years.
Even the family says, ‘Wow,
grandma.’ She’s not on
medication or anything.”
Spires, herself, has scolio-
sis, a curvature of the spine,
and so struggled with some
yoga postures. Continued
practice of yoga has helped.
“Pre-yoga, I was at the
chiropractor three or four
times a month because I
couldn’t find things to keep
me aligned,” she said. “I
went twice last year. I’ve
been able to stabilize my
own skeleton. If something
comes up, I know what to
do to help.”
Improved health is some-
thing that the group of yogis
have found at the Mon-
mouth Senior Center, too.
Gene Lund, of Mon-
mouth, started doing yoga
when she was diagnosed
with arthritis. She decided to
start an early-morning class
at the Monmouth center.
“I, for one, do yoga as a
discipline,” Lund said. “I do
it to concentrate on my
breathing and strength.”
The class is free and open
to people of all ages, Lund
said.
The group meets Monday
through Friday, and includes
men and women ranging in
age from 70 to 94.
Elaine LaFond said she
has learned a lot about
aging and her body through
regular yoga practice, but it
NATHAN WOODS/ Itemizer-Observer
A yoga teacher stretches her arms up, preparing to go into a balance posture.
took some time. The classes
are guided by a tape, and
stretches are very gentle,
designed for those facing
chronic pain.
At first, LaFond said she
wondered if the stretching
was doing any good.
“As I age, my joints start-
ed aching,” she said. “I
started coming every day
and, thankfully, the pain
went down and it’s not there
anymore.”
Wilbert Peron said he
started participating in yoga
because of trouble with
arthritis, which would get
particularly painful some-
times during the winter
months.
“Since I do yoga, and do
it almost every day, that
hasn’t happened at all,”
Peron said. “One of the sur-
prising side effects is, it’s
improved my lap swim-
ming.”
Peron said the balance he
has developed doing yoga
postures has helped him
find better balance in the
water.
Darrell Pennington said
he drives from Dallas to join
the group.
“I came only because my
wife passed away,” he said.
“I had kind of lost my iden-
tity. I thought, ‘I’ll come see
what this yoga is.’ Now I
can’t leave. I’ve been absent,
and I always come back.”
The deep breathing that
accompanies yoga came as
a surprise for Marilyn
Swearingen.
“I learned to breathe
deep, which I had never
done before,” she said. “It
took some practice. I had to
really concentrate and think
about how I was breathing.”
Bev White said finding
that deep breath helps in
other aspects of fitness, too.
“You actually have more
air in your lungs,” she said.
Yoga itself is helping keep
her active, White said.
“It took me probably six
months holding onto a
chair,” she said about trying
to hold the balance posture
known as tree, with one foot
resting on the inner thigh or
knee, and the other foot
firmly planted on the
ground, arms raised like
branches overhead.
“My children all know
about my yoga group, keep-
ing active and doing some-
thing about health,” White
said. “Adult children tend to
worry about their elderly
parents’ health.”
Yoga is one of those
things you can continue
into old age, regardless of
physical condition, so long
as you do it safely — and, of
course, after consulting
your doctor.
“I can adjust pretty much
anybody in poses,” Spires
said, adding that she prefers
if a first-timer calls her to
discuss any health con-
cerns, prior history with
yoga and fitness.
“It helps me to place
them in which class,” she
said.
Yoga is not just for the
studio, Spires said.
“The gratification to me
is, not just coming to me,
but learning how they can
do these at home,” she said.
“I feel so blessed to be in
such a nice, small commu-
nity that has embraced
yoga.”
Practice the art
Many venues in Polk County ofer yoga classes:
Dallas Yoga and Balance Studio: 503-999-8016.
Monmouth-Independence YMCA: www.theyonline.org.
Anytime Fitness, Dallas: 503-623-1131.
Monmouth Fitness Club: 503-838-2951.
World’s Gym, Dallas: 503-623-4440.
NATHAN WOODS/ Itemizer-Observer
NATHAN WOODS/ Itemizer-Observer
Yogis go at their own pace. Above, yoga students at Dallas Yoga and Balance Studio
work their way into triangle pose, each going at the level that feels comfortable.
The class at Dallas Yoga and Balance Studio begins class in greeting or mountain pose,
aligning themselves and mentally preparing for the postures that come next.