Since we are physical beings we often relate our strength to how physically strong we are. Our physical strength can and does influence our entire being. We are all one. Our physical strength can be the gateway to finding strength in our emotional and mental being as well. Many of us first came to yoga for its physical benefits and discovered so much more. We connected and maintained a practice for many more reasons beyond the physical.

Yoga, meaning union, to yoke, gives us the means to integrate physical, mental and emotional strength to support the whole of our being. Being strong in our bodies, in our spirit, in our centre, brings us to that inward calm.

Yoga is an inward practice designed to cultivate awareness, non-attachment, equanimity and contentment.

Benefits of Yoga

For your body . . .

• Improves flexibility, strength and balance
• Improves muscle and core strength, and cardiovascular endurance
• Improves immune function and digestion
• Increases energy and vitality
• Calms the nervous system
• Weight management

For your mind . . . 

• Releases stress and anxiety
• Improves concentration, mental focus, and determination
• Calms the mind

For your soul . . .

• Greater self-awareness and well-being
• Emotional stability
• Uplifting
• Connection to spirit and others

Flow through a balanced practice of asana(postures), pranayama(energy & breathwork) and meditation. Beginning with sun salutations and engage in vinyasa(flow) sequences that include milder variations for students who are just starting out or require a gentler approach to honour their bodies, or embrace increasingly challenging variations as the student’s experience, comfort levels and bodies develop. Students are encouraged to embrace challenge at the appropriate level of intensity, ease or asana variation that will support their personal comfort, healing and inward reflection. Time on your mat can foster growth, acceptance and re-discovering True Self and your highest potential.

When you consciously rest the body in an awakened state you experience the restorative and healing benefits of full relaxation, releasing physical tension and calming the mind. Simple movement exercises, conscious breathing, meditation and lingering in supported restorative yoga poses, are the elements that make up this gentle yet powerful practice. Restorative yoga creates a deeper connection, through inward focus and relaxation.

A Yin Yoga practice is mainly a stationary practice that allows many of the muscle groups to soften while exposing the joints to pressure as the skeleton is pulled apart. In Yin Yoga, the longer the body is still, the more the energy, or Chi, becomes concentrated in the deeper yin tissues of bone and ligaments. Yin tissues are naturally less elastic than muscle, or yang tissues, with much less fluid content so they do not have the same ability to stretch and elongate. Yin Yoga postures gently pull and compress the joints, bone and ligaments in order to maintain their pliancy within their natural ranges of motion, as well as nourish the meridians that run through them.

Yin Yoga practice can maximize:

• the physiological benefits by working into the joints and connective tissue
• the emotional or psychological benefits of deepening mindfulness practice
• the increase of energy flow and remove blockages

The principles for a Yin practice:

Find tolerable appropriate edge ~ coming into poses non-aggressively and with sensitivity to detect the appropriate depth of sensation that allows expansion

Be in Stillness ~ become still and soften the muscles, allowing gravity to take over, allow qualities of surrender and observance and a willingness to feel a greater tolerance for uncomfortable experiences

Hold for time ~ to fully nourish the meridians, allow time and patience to engorge the respective energy pathways and organs with refined energy

Enhance your yoga practice by incorporating aromatherapy – the science and art of using essential oils with Young Living Essential Oils (therapeutic-grade)- to naturally decrease symptoms of stress, improve physical and mental focus, that lead to increased health and well being. Essential oils can enhance pranayama, meditation and relaxation, help cleanse and purify the body, as well as activate and balance the chakra system, or energy centers. With AromaYoga®, feel more alert, connected, receptive, grounded, uplifted and present, and experience less muscle or joint tension.

LightBody provides an accredited service supported by AromaYoga® trainer Tracy Griffiths.