Should getting back to yoga be on your list of New Yearโs resolutions? Director of Canberra Yoga Space, Eli Haski, says 2022 might be a better time for it than ever.
โWith everything thatโs going on right now, we are all in an elevated state of stress,โ said Ms Haski, who is coming up on eight years (3,000 hours) as a yoga instructor.
โThe active practice of calming our nervous systems can help us integrate with the new normal.โ
After coming out of lockdown, we may find ourselves falling back on sedentary habits. Mindful practices, like yoga, meditation, and Tai Chi, can help us be more โpresent-moment aware,โ according to Ms Haski, โduring a time when itโs tempting to distract ourselves from fearโ.
โMovement is medicine, and weโre built to do it.โ
But is it enough to keep me fit? Getting into shape may be a priority for many Canberrans, looking to lose the โQuarantine 15โ in the new year. Ms Haski says itโs all about finding the yoga that fits your needs.
โAshtanga, for example, is very fast-flowing, while other practices are gentler and restorative in nature.
โIf you are an athletic person, you might want to consider whether a faster-paced practice is what you need. Or would your body benefit more from a restorative practice that will help down-regulate the nervous system?โ
Psychologists recommend that effective new yearโs resolutions are based on what approaches worked for us in the past.
If online classes just arenโt proving as effective for you as in-person learning, you are not alone.
โZoom is only the next best thing,โ said Ms Haski. โOften an environment designed to be a sanctuary for that class canโt fully be replicated at home.โ
For those who have capacity to go to an in-person class, Ms Haski recommends grabbing the opportunity to leave the world behind. โFor me, doing a yoga class is like pressing pause on life.โย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
Canberra Yoga Space is running a short-commitment beginnersโ course from 17 January, perfect for those starting at square one or resuming after a hiatus.
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