Yoga Heals

In my opinion, every person has the ability to enhance their lives by adopting a consistent yoga practice, especially people who have suffered a trauma. While the road to recovery for sexual abuse survivors is long and difficult, and there's by no means a cure-all to such trauma, many survivors of sexual abuse have turned to yoga to help.

Being a sexual abuse survivor myself, I have experienced yoga’s healing power in a very real way. For me, movement is extremely important. After going through a body trauma, like rape, it was difficult for me to be inside my body because I felt uncomfortable in my own skin.  After a couple of months of practicing, I noticed several changes: my mind was clearer, my body wasn’t as rigid and I felt stronger. I felt like I could finally breathe again.

Yoga has helped allow me to find stillness in a world consumed with chaos. I love the feeling and effects of yoga. When stepping onto my mat I begin to feel immediate changes to not only my physical body but also my mental capacity. These changes have helped me to long term health and transformation.

Incorporating yoga into your daily routine can be beneficial and healing for survivors. Here are some reasons why:

• Yoga quells the fluctuations of the mind. It helps slows down the mental loops of frustration, regret, anger, fear, and desire that can cause stress.

• Yoga and meditation build awareness.

• Yoga combines the elements of breathing, poses, and mindfulness in a gentle way allowing survivors to reconnect with their bodies and emotions.

• It teaches us to foster self love and compassion.

• Yoga gives us strength and helps show us how strong we really are.

• Yoga helps us regain control over our bodies. It can empower you to take your life back.

Yoga provides tools to help you grow and you might even start to feel better the first time you try practicing. Then, the more you commit to your practice, the more you benefit. Yoga can help give you power to effect change and seeing that you can effect change gives you hope. Hope itself can be healing.

Written by: Keri Mandell

17 Reasons to Do Yoga in 2017

Yoga is an ancient practice with origins stretching back thousands of years in India. It was designed as a way to help the yogi achieve a more positive outlook on life and a focused, more permanent sense of serenity and peace. Nowadays we also use yoga as a way to help build strength and increase our flexibility. If you think yoga might not be for you, I urge you to reconsider.

I have practiced yoga for a long time now and could not be more grateful that I was introduced to the practice when I was because of all the amazing benefits it has given me. In fact, I love it and believe in it so much that I’ve decided to open my own studio.  

Yoga’s benefits are available to everyone (really everyone)! You may need to find the style or teacher that suits you and your situation, but once you do, yoga has the capacity to change your life for the better. I swear!!!

Below are some of the many reasons why I think everyone should do yoga.

17 Reasons why you should start doing yoga in 2017!

1. People of all shapes, sizes, ages and abilities can do yoga and adapt it to suit their individual needs.

2. You can still do it when you’re nearly 100 years old.

3. It’s a great workout. You can adapt the practice to your own speed and ability.

4. It helps you become more in touch and aware within your body.

5. It can help your breathing. A big part of yoga is the breathing exercises, or  pranayama. As someone with asthma, it really helped me to breathe consciously.

6. It can improve your posture and help you walk a little taller, especially if you're hunched over at a computer all day.

7. It improves mental health. Yoga is a great way to clear your mind, and alleviate stress.

8. It’ll help improve your sleep. Yoga is an effective treatment because it addresses insomnia’s physical and psychological aspects.

9. Sculpt muscles. Yoga uses the weight of your own body to build muscle mass and strength.

10. It’s great for injury prevention. Flexible, well-stretched muscles will heal and recover more quickly after working out or getting strained.

11. Yoga is a judgement free zone. Check your ego at the door and get on your mat. Do your best that day and know that our practice may look different everyday and that's ok.

12. It helps calm your mind. Yoga helps you to slow down and breathe. This leads to greater concentration as you work your way through each pose and creates a calmness that lasts the rest of the day.  

13. Yoga allows you to become more present in the moment. Put down your smartphone for 60-75 minutes and get on the mat. Let go of your day and settle in, it’s time to take care of you!

14. It’ll push your limits. There are many types of yoga classes, some gentler than others, but when you find the class that matches your abilities (and pushes them), you’ll amp up your cardio and build whole-body lean muscle mass. Find a class with Power, Vinyasa, or Flow in the title, and you can skip the gym that day.

15. The more you practice yoga, the better you become at accepting whatever life throws your way. Yoga can help you stay present and positive, even through the hard times.

16. Yoga helps you to make better choices. Becoming healthier and experiencing all the benefits of yoga will make you more aware and able to choose things in life that support a positive journey.

17. Yoga makes you feel better. It’s just that simple. It’s why so many people get hooked on yoga. You will always feel better after a yoga class.

Enough reasons for you to try it out?!?!