Last month, Daniel, a new student, came to class with his girlfriend Lauren. Lauren is a regular at the studio with a strong and beautiful yoga practice. They come across as an effortless kind of cool couple with great energy.
To my surprise, without knowledge of the postures Daniel was able to come into the poses with relative ease. He was able to find Warrior I and Warrior II adjusting hips and shoulders, seemingly falling into the postures. Additionally, he had great balance, not something that comes without effort to someone as tall as Daniel.
After class we talked about his athletic interests and I learned that in addition to playing basketball, and being a runner, he is an avid competitor in ultimate frisbee. Having played on a championship team in college, he continues to compete in a local league.
I am very aware of how yoga improves performance in a virtually all sports. However, until meeting Daniel and Lauren, I didn't know much about ultimate frisbee. I now have an appreciation for the sport and have developed an understanding of how the stretching and alignment of yoga transfers to this graceful and fast paced sport.
BTW, Daniel now attends yoga classes regularly with Lauren, and Mindful Motion Yoga will be a proud sponser of the Jacksonville Ultimate Frisbee league this season.
For more on how a regular yoga practice can increase sports performance: http://www.mindfulmotion-yoga.com/terristhoughts.html
An interesting list of professional athletes practicing yoga:
http://www.holisticmed.com/exercise-yoga.html
Namaste,
Terri
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
George
Last fall we had a new student in the studio, George, he came with two female friends, his partner, Joella, and their friend Mary. George’s physical presence was impressive, much taller than most. However, this physical presence paled in comparison to the energy surrounding him. Although he was facing a relatively new diagnosis of lung cancer, he was surrounded by positive energy. He had a humor that seemed to resonate with everyone. You don’t have to believe in the presence of physical energy surrounding us to have felt the beautiful, positive energy radiating---truly surging from George. This lovely trio returned to class. Some days George participated in class, other times he simply sat and observed, encouraging Joella. Inevitably, those in the class would ask about George. Unanimously touched by him. He had a way of making new acquaintances feel like old friends. George’s physical life ended this past week. I am grateful to have crossed paths with George and his friends. In such a brief time I benefitted immensely and hope to never lose the joy and lightness he brought. My heart goes out to those who are feeling experiencing this loss. Light and Love to you all.
Terri
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
