Loosen up with yoga

BY BILL BRADLEY

Feeling stiff lately? Have poor circulation? Hands and feet always cold?  Stressed out?

Jennifer Armstrong and Meena Singh have a routine for you-the Eastern practice of yoga combined with proper breathing techniques and more.

The two Greater Sudbury residents showed Northern Life reporter Bill Bradley how to limber up his body at their studio in the South End at 28 Wagner St.

Armstrong and Singh insist this is not a traditional yoga class where there is an emphasis on doing body postures.

Their repertoire for wellness includes yoga, breathing practices, meditation, chanting, relaxation, mindfulness while walking, massage of the hands and feet and physical and mental alignment.

"Yoga is only a subset of what we teach. A real important aspect is proper alignment linked to proper breathing," said Armstrong.

"Alignment means the body should have proper poise when standing, sitting, kneeling,walking and running," she said.
If your body is not aligned you can get circulation problems. The feet are indicators.

"If you have tired or sore feet or they are cold that shows you have circulation problems. It works its way up the body to the fingers."

The result is that people feel tired, lacking energy. The body tends to slouch and slump.

Another problem is people do not breathe deeply.

"They are not getting enough air into the lungs. That can affect the heart since it is affected by poor blood circulation caused by insufficient oxygen in the bloodstream," she said.

Learning to being quiet is also important said Singh.

"Quietness allows things that have been bothering you, tying up energy, to come up and dissipate. It makes us realize what is inside our minds. The mind must be quieted to be in the same place as the body."

Armstrong trained in Toronto at the Canadian Association for Fitness Professionals. For seven years Armstrong taught yoga at the now-closed Cambrian Fitness Centre on Lorne St.

"I also had regulars with Sudbury Hydro. I enjoy working with groups."

Singh has been involved with yoga and deep breathing all her life.

"Yoga and proper posture has been part of my life since an early age in Guyana, South America."

And how did I make out? After doing a Sun Salutation, yoga style, followed by a foot massage, I felt a lot different from when I came to visit the two women.

My feet felt good for days afterwards.

"The feet can be the repository of a lot of the body's stress. By relaxing them throughly all that stress is allowed to pass out of the body naturally," said Armstrong.

For more information, or to book an appointment, phone 523-6577.