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Cyndi Bulka,
Director,
Moving Mantra Yoga Studio
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Balancing
Your Workouts with Yoga
Have you ever found
yourself sore and achy after your workout? Do
you wake up stiff and uncomfortable the next day?
It may be that you are missing a key component in your
fitness regime.
In
order to keep our bones, hearts and lungs healthy, we
need weight bearing and aerobic exercise on a regular
basis. Many women enjoy running, walking,
aerobic classes, and lifting light weights, all which
are impact exercises and can cause compression in our
spines and joints over time. This
can lead to lower back pain, pain in the feet and knees,
stiffness in the spine and discomfort through the shoulders
and neck. While it is important to maintain
our health with more vigorous forms of exercise, we need
to balance the effects of impact types of exercise with
stretching, so that our joints remain optimally mobile
and our spines supple and able to move in all directions.
This becomes even more important as we age and the natural
changes in our spines and joints occur.
Yoga is the perfect
compliment to any exercise program. It directly
addresses the need for stretching muscles and connective
tissue in a mindful, gentle manner through the practice
of Yoga poses, or asana. It works all the major
joints in the body, increasing their range of motion and
keeping them functioning to our best advantage. It
helps us to unwind and relax deeply, which contributes
to our ability to have a calm and focused mind and manage
our everyday stresses.
Yoga
systematically works the body in all directions: front,
back, sides and rotationally. It becomes
easy to identify any asymmetry or weakness that exists
in our bodies, and with
regular practice, Yoga can bring the body into symmetry
and balance. This is especially true for
golfers and tennis players and other athletes whose sports
are asymmetrical by nature. Should this asymmetry go unchecked,
the long-term effects can be quite uncomfortable.
A sound Yoga class
also incorporates breathing techniques, known as pranayama,
which teach students to breathe deeply and thereby more
fully oxygenate the blood and tissues, encouraging greater
lung capacity. This is an
important aspect of health and wellness that Yoga uniquely
addresses.
When
we sit for long periods at our desks or in the car, we
often are breathing shallowly, which
makes us feel sluggish and tired, creates stress in the
body, and impedes digestion and respiration.
The rehabilitative
benefits of Yoga can be deep. Since
Yoga works to create more space in the joints and bring
more blood flow and energy into injured tissues, the healing
process is accelerated. A well-rounded,
comprehensive Yoga program has a profound effect on the
nervous system. With regular
practice, injured nerve pathways are activated and energy
blockages are cleared.
Perhaps
the most delicious aspects of Yoga practice are the relaxation
and meditative benefits. A good teacher
is skilled at guiding students through a relaxation process
that leaves you feeling relaxed, refreshed and renewed.
I often describe the practice of Yoga as “innercise,”
because we bring mindfulness to our movement, and we consciously
take the time to relax and “absorb” the benefits
of practice as part of the class. Although
there are strong athletic forms of Yoga available, a Hatha
Yoga class is a generally a gentler approach that takes
the time to address body, mind and spirit. Yoga
truly is for every body, regardless of
age, size, activity level or fitness level, and can enhance
your quality of life and health in deep, meaningful ways.
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 Cyndi
Bulka has been practicing Yoga for nearly 20 years and teaching for
more than 10. She opened Moving Mantra Yoga Studio in 1999 to share
with others her eclectic approach to Hatha Yoga, focusing on organic
movement and gentle unfolding from the “inside-out.”
Cyndi’s teachings are the
combination of years of instruction and practice under nationally and
internationally reputed Yogis. Her exploration and study of Yoga is
continually expanding as she attends educational courses and workshops
annually. |
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 As
a teacher Cyndi shares her wisdom with students in a manner that is
inviting and simple to comprehend. With extensive experience in the
field of wellness, her knowledge of anatomy, injury and recovery aids
in her ability to help students balance the therapeutic and spiritual
benefits of a continuing Yoga practice.
Specializing in therapeutic Yoga
for healing, Cyndi views the practice as an empowerment accessible to
everyone and every body. Her interactions with students create a playful
environment that gives the freedom to experience and explore the inner
self.
The foundation of Moving Mantra
rests on a range of classes that inspire a journey to understanding
our true self which include therapeutic, prenatal, meditation and gentle,
as well as beginner to advanced levels. Cyndi also offers workshops,
corporate classes and private and semi private sessions by appointment.
Cyndi Bulka, Director
Moving Mantra Yoga
(919) 449.0530
www.movingmantrayoga.com |
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