Have you ever watched a cat waking up? They always stretch out beautifully. First, they reach forward and then they stretch back while rounding their bodies and yawning. Slow stretching feels good and the body likes it. In fact, our body wants to move and was designed for it. Basically, it feels better to be flexible and free than to be tense and stiff.

Yoga is a form of exercise which originated in India. When practicing yoga, we use our bodies as tools to experience freedom from tension. The Sanskrit word ‘asana” means seat and describes a Yoga pose. This implies yoga practitioners will stay in a Yoga pose for extended periods of time. We are holding a Yoga pose to build strength, concentrate on our breath and give the body time to become flexible. This is how Yoga creates a union between the body, breath and the mind. We say “We practice Yoga” rather than “We play Yoga”, because it takes practice and repetition to become focused, strong and flexible.