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Nancy Sutton's
“Poise, Strength, Endurance... Yoga.” Redding, CA 96001 (530) 246-7256
FYI: Holidays we observe by closing our studio are: New Year's Day, Memorial Day Weekend, 4th of July , Labor Day Weekend, Evening classes on Oct 31st, Thanksgiving weekend, and two-weeks at Christmas ...SUMMER SCHEDULE HERE!
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I want a good work out, isn't Yoga just breathing and stretching? Isn't it just a different way to relax? Fitness • Thank You 24 Hour Fitness! The Challenge... A couple weeks ago at our corporate offices just north of San Diego... the battle of the sexes began. It all started when a couple of us guys were sitting around discussing our workouts from the previous day. The ex-Marine who had the perfect set of squats, the personal trainer who reached his new bench press goal and the college jock who finally got the phone number of a young "coed" on the Stairmaster... we had all made great accomplishments. "The challenger" appeared: a young female business analyst from the other end of "cubical central" joined the discussion. She listened, smiled and casually said "you guys want a real workout, you should try my yoga class." We scoffed (OK we actually laughed) "yoga... that's not a workout... that's relaxation!" The challenger disagreed, asserting that yoga was just as demanding and difficult as our familiar and beloved exercise routine. The banter went back and forth throughout the day, trying to decide which activities truly qualified as a "real" workout. Hey... this may have seemed like a poor use of time but we're a fitness company, it was research! We really had no clue what we were talking about but we knew we could do it. Hatha, Iyengar, Ashtanga... these meant nothing to us yoga newbie's. No matter what you call it, in our remedial understanding of yoga it was still just a bunch of stretching and breathing. Still skeptical we could get a workout in a place called a "studio," we accepted the challenge and planned to attend the 6:30 class. If "the challenger" could do it, so could we... even if it did kill us. Six healthy guys who lifted weights 2-3 times per week and averaged a minimum 3 hours of cardio per week... we were not going to be outdone by a little yoga! Upon arrival we noticed the room was full of women... we were the only men in the room. We look at other and share a brief smile, feeling that somehow victory was going to be just a little bit sweeter. Our female challenger may have her pliable pals for support but we have determination, the fear of failure and the potential for office ridicule for motivation. The first pose, pranayama, was easy stretching and breathing... just like we expected. The second pose, a side-bending, torso-twisting sort of thing was still fairly easy but slightly more difficult than the first pose. This was going to be a piece of cake! By the end of the fourth pose, garudasana, we realized that there was more to this yoga thing than met the eye. We were sweating as though we had just finished a 3 mile run and our muscles were twitching just to hold the pose. Our female challenger and her flexible friends were just now getting warmed up and we still had 22 poses and 75 minutes to go! We finally made it through all the poses (some of us more gracefully then others) but it wasn't easy. "The challenger" and her bendable buddies had shown us who was boss. Not only did they make it through all the poses but these yoga veterans could reach all of the poses and hold them for what seemed an eternity. Of course we realize that practicing at anything (including yoga) is going to make you better at it but our bruised male egos couldn't get over the fact that we were losers. While technically we lost the challenge... we all gained from this experience. Yoga is no piece of cake! It requires mental concentration, stamina and flexibility... things often overlooked in our regular weight training and cardiovascular workouts (unless you're an endurance athlete). What we didn't expect from yoga was to use much physical strength. Boy were we wrong! To "strike a pose" is one thing but to hold it for 60 seconds... now that's strength! Different from the kind of strength needed for a bench press or a squat, yoga uses a lot of core muscles to stabilize the body during the various asanas. Core body strength is often overlooked (and underdeveloped) so anytime the opportunity to develop these muscles and have this much fun presents itself we should jump at it! Yoga's popularity has been increasing over the last few years and is becoming one of the hottest trends in the fitness industry. Yoga can be an excellent addition to your regular workout routine helping to increase flexibility, improve balance and strengthen core body muscles. Most 24 Hour Fitness locations offer Hatha and/or Ashtanga yoga classes. See your club Class Schedule for details. As for the challenge... it's not completely over! Next month "the challenger" will be on our turf... Turbo Kick Boxing! |
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nancy at
nshouseofyoga.com with
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House
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