Living Well January 9, 2008

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

By Teresa Griswold

Breathe, stretch, begin
Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Reaching. Lifting. Stretching. Yoga is one way expand into the new year with a brave, fresh start. It can enhance your everyday living and make you feel better each day.
Making it easy to begin, Jackson-based Yoga Today has teamed up with  prAna to offer a brand new yoga starter kit. It includes prAna’s extra sticky, environmentally friendly yoga mat, a beginner’s block, strap and bag to carry it all along with a beginner series DVD produced by www.yogatoday.com.

The three-hour Beginner Series DVD features Jackson yoga instructors Adi Amar, Sarah Kline and Neesha Zollinger who teach yogatoday.com’s daily web classes.  Having taken a live beginner series with Zollinger at Akasha Yoga, I was curious how the DVD would compare. By not having a live instructor right in the room aligning my misaligned moves, and lacking the peer pressure from other members of the class, I thought the DVD would be pure yoga-slacker bliss.

Think again.  Though the DVD classes are set outdoors, I felt as though I was right inside a yoga studio. I was drawn into the detailed, sequential and effective instructions. Both focused and relaxed, I tried hard to perform all the moves correctly and with engaged passion.  I found the results to be surprisingly invigorating, refreshing and truly blissful.

In the first class, Zollinger  focuses on establishing a solid foundation and creating a tall and elegant posture so that you can move with grace in all your positions. Next, Amar links your breath with movement, calming the mind, followed by Kline who moves you through yoga postures to build power in the body.

The lack of pressure is what makes the Starter Kit a good thing. You can practice at your leisure until you are comfortable joining with others in a formal class setting. You are not locked into a date and time. You can wear your pajamas. You can stop and answer your phone. And you can have your little ones right beside you. These things might initially be distracting as you practice yoga, yet your focus and dedication will be strengthened, ultimately changing your patterns.

A complementary match, both Yoga Today and prAna are companies that are mindful of sustainability. prAna is a member of the Organic Trade Association, and use organic cotton, natural fibers and innovative recycled/upcycled materials in their products. Yoga Today is a green company and each show is produced completely with clean and renewable wind power.

The Yoga Starter Kit is an affordable and effective way to kick off a new exercise regimen and establish a yoga practice. Visit www.yogatoday.com.

PERMALINK:
Living Well January 9, 2008 | Planet JH News Article: Living Well

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