Yoga - Completely Complimentary To Dance! YOGA IS A MUST

Well I wanted to say a little bit about Yoga today. I had a great session yesterday morning in the studio and did some good work on my choreography. I have almost finished one verse - well roughly finished as it needs to be polished. About a minute or so of the song.

YOGA!

I am doing yoga 1-2 times a week as part of my dance training. I think it is the best and most complimentary exercise to do with dancing, especially hip hop. I find that I am jumping up and down on my joints and working my muscles with dancing in a way that can leave them tight and stiff. Now stretching is always important, but I find yoga a whole other level of stretching.

A one hour yoga class doesn't just stretch out almost every muscle, it facilitates your body being able to drain out any toxins or build up of waste. By the end of the class I am completely zen'd and blissed out and my body feels amazing.

I can't recommend enough 2 yoga classes a week for anyone, especially dancers. I have been doing yoga on and off for about 12 years now and I cannot say enough how essential it is for every person to do some. It completely works your whole body.

The kind of yoga I am talking about is not the yoga where you are sitting in very relaxing and peaceful poses. This is also great and is Hatha yoga.

I do Iyengar Yoga which is full on and works your whole body. I sweat the whole time. Here is some info about Iyengar Yoga - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iyengar_Yoga

I do Mandy Whites class at Les Mills on Tuesday Lunchtime which is amazing. She is one of the best and most challenging teachers I have come across and works with all levels. Go to www.mandewhite.co.nz to see more of her classes at her studio.
Very recommended.

I also do Ashtanga yoga which I find similar intensity to Iyengar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashtanga_Vinyasa_Yoga

Here are some other links to yoga stuff.

http://www.yoga.co.nz/home.asp

http://yoga.org.nz/

http://www.yogajournal.com

So if you have never tried it then I recommend getting into it, and if you already do - GREAT! You are giving your body the best treatment it can get!