Yoga Classes Santa Cruz

Being busy all day long (even if you do get all your “things” completed) still leads to a slightly out-of-balance life. However, finding time in your day to relax, possibly meditate, and let go of worries and responsibilities will give your body and mind the balance they need for a healthy life. In fact, a huge stepping-stone to vibrant health is making time to go within—allowing yourself to feel calm, balanced, and re-energized.

Are your joints weaker than you’d like? Do you sometimes feel off balance, even if you don’t fall? Joint instability can make your whole body feel weak and increase your risk of injury. However, improving stability builds confidence and helps you feel strong enough to enjoy more physical activity.

Do your joints ache often? If so, that’s a sign your body needs attention. Aches and pains are frustrating. Wouldn’t it be great to reduce or eliminate them? In fact, moving your joints helps your body produce synovial fluid, which keeps them lubricated and reduces pain.

Yoga is considered a gentle workout and discipline. Compared to many other physical practices, your movements are more controlled. As a result, yoga allows you to move into your full range of motion and remain there, feeling the energy flow through your body in that moment of stillness. At the same time, you’re calming your mind, stretching your body, finding balance, increasing flexibility, and strengthening your joints.

This concern is one of the most common reasons people hesitate to start an exercise class or program. It can feel unnerving to think you won’t be able to keep up—or that you might not finish the class, or worse, feel embarrassed.

But don’t worry. Our instructors guide you at your own pace. You won’t be asked to do anything that causes pain or feels too uncomfortable. Instead, adjustments will be made as you build flexibility, balance, and strength.

During class, you’ll relax into the poses (asanas). By focusing your mind and breath in the present, you’ll begin to feel calm and centered—yet energized—by the end. In fact, you’ll start to create more energy for your day. (Ah… if only we could bottle that up and sell it!)

Yoga practice helps you learn to control your mind. Yes, you actually can learn to do this. It focuses on the moment and the breath, so your mind becomes more calm—regardless of what happened in the past or what “might” happen in the future. As a result, a calm mind releases tension, stress, worry, and fear, and gives you a new perspective on your life. This, in turn, allows you to make better choices for yourself.

It makes no sense to work on one part of yourself (mind) and let the other part go (body), or vice versa. Both are intricately connected and balance only works when you incorporate the balance of both mind and body.
Through the asanas (poses) in Yoga practice, you’ll learn proper alignment when moving into the poses (and you do so at your own pace). That way, your physical balance improves, as well as your “life” balance, and your mind learns to focus easier and easier. In stressful times, you will be able to become calm. 

You can get healthy with a sound body and a sound mind through Yoga practice. Tone your muscles and your internal organs with this centuries-old method of aligning your body for a healthier life.
Your life, through Yoga, will change in profound ways. Ease of tension through the body and mind produces a less stressful life.
Yoga practice benefits your mental, physical, and emotional capacities and puts you on a path to better, more vibrant health.