Hatha Yoga

Hatha Yoga is a 5,000 year-old art form that exercises and stretches the body at very deep levels and relaxes the mind profoundly. It was originally created to prepare the body and mind for meditation (the concentrating of the attention and sensory currents at the third eye center). Yoga is a powerful art form that has remarkable physical and mental benefits, and affects every organ and system in the body. It stretches and elongates the muscles, by toning them. Yoga develops cardiovascular stamina and cleanses and oxygenates the blood, bringing nutrients to the cells. It massages the lymphatic system, and deeply relaxes and strengthens the nervous system, sending fresh blood and oxygen to the brain and every organ in the body. This helps to clear up the skin and enhance the vitality of all internal organs. Mentally, it improves concentration, cultivates calmness and peace. It even works on the emotional body, releasing tension and emotional blocks and healing the self. As a matter of fact, the tradition speaks of several bodies or layers that human beings have, and yoga works on the physical body to enhance the inner bodies, the astral and causal body, to bring out our natural state of bliss, that is the organic state of being of our true self.

I am addicted to yoga and seriously recommend it to anyone who wants to feel really good, relax profoundly, get in great shape and get high naturally!

"Yoga raises one's self-esteem and self-acceptance, based on self-knowledge, self-validation, and self-empowerment. Yoga acts as a mirror to reveal to us exactly what we are on every level of our being: physical, emotional, psychological, social, cultural, and spiritual. We can use this revelation to harmonize these different aspects of ourselves, and live our lives from the rich, integrated wholeness of our being….Hardness in the muscles, tightness in the joints, dullness in the nerves, stagnation in the capillaries and veins, all combine to limit our range of physical, perceptual, emotional and intuitive responsiveness. In order to make available that responsiveness, we must dissolve the restricting tensions. Asana challenges the muscles and joints to access their full potential. When that is realized, the blood and nerve impulses can flow freely. The body and mind cannot be functionally separated."-Godfrey Devereux, Dynamic Yoga

PILATES

“Jinder is an amazing teacher and I swear by her workouts. She gives a killer workout for dancers, and I encourage my belly dance students to take her hardcore workout!”
–Hannan Sultan, founder of Hannan’s Belly Dance Studio in Toronto.

Often described as a mixture of dance and yoga on special equipment, Pilates is a wonderful fluid exercise style that is characterized by the East/West technique of precise, focused movement and flowing breath to create balance and strength in mind and body. Invented by the genius mind of Joseph Pilates in the early part of the century, it focuses on strengthening the core muscles of the stomach and back, or "powerhouse", from which all movements should originate. Pilates combines intense mental conditioning with physical training to teach people to work from the "inside out." The goal is to produce a lean, lithe, graceful physique, proper body alignment and balance. It's not about aerobic exercise or bulky muscles, and actually, it's not about exercise at all. It's about movement, about how to dance in your body, how to use your muscles in a controlled way so they work for you in harmony with the breath. Pilates strengthens the body through movement so that the muscles you work will become muscles that work for you in everyday activities. In Pilates, precision is much more important than repetitions. Precision engages your mind, and the mind is essential to controlling movement. Even someone accustomed to strenuous weight lifting will be surprised at the level of control needed to perform these exercises correctly. Afterwards, you feel exhilarated rather than exhausted, and three inches taller. The key to the method is pelvic stabilization and abdominal control. The workouts stabilize your torso and develop two primary control centers: the lower and deeper abdominals, and the mid-back muscles. There is no better abdominal workout on the market.

Pilates is very similar to Hatha yoga; both systems believe in individual progress in a non-competitive arena, and each strives to restore the body's proper alignment, engages the mind, combines movement with breath, and enhances strength, circulation, flexibility, and balance. Joe Pilates theorized that imbalances in the body and habitual patterns of movement caused injuries. He observed that when there was a weak or misaligned area in the body, a person tended to overcompensate or overdevelop another area (weak stomach=sore back, for example). Therefore it was critical not only to correct the misalignment but also to reeducate the body and strengthen it overall so that injuries didn't repeat themselves. By bringing awareness and breath to the movement patterns, clients can work toward changing those patterns structurally. Pilates is often used as a physical therapy/rehabilitation technique. Trainers in all major sports make use of the techniques for strains, sprains, stress fractures, and spine problems, such as scoliosis, sciatica, and fused vertebra. It is effective as rehab because it allows for more balanced use of the muscles, instead of just strengthening one muscle over another. It uses progressive spring resistance training and is isotonic, so it can support movements around the injured area. Furthermore, it deeply increases blood circulation, which helps to heal all injured areas and oxygenate the blood. Most of the activities are done lying down to keep the body in alignment, so there is little chance of injury. It can be done by people of all ages and health conditions, because it is low-impact. It is especially known to elongate the muscles and create a long, stretched "ballerina" body, rather than building bulk and contracting the muscles. It greatly helps to improve posture, as well as self-esteem by strengthening the third chakra, the solar plexus.