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Posted Mar. 02, 2004 The temperature inside Midwest Power Yoga studio in Appleton hovers around 90 degrees. Deborah Williamson, the petite, energetic instructor and owner of the studio, directs her students into chair pose – a posture that has them bend into a sitting position without the actual support of chairs. Beads of perspiration drip from temples and slide down clavicle bones as the students lengthen and contract their limbs into the physically challenging posture. “The thighs may be screaming, but stick with it,” Williamson instructs. Fifty minutes later, though the participants range from beginners to instructors-in-training, Williamson hasn’t lost a single practitioner. “With power yoga, the first 20 minutes, it’s very intense. It will make you want to run out the door,” she says. “But when you stay you feel good at the end of class.” Whether it’s power or a less intense form such as anusara, the number of westerners embracing yoga as a means for getting fit, decreasing stress and addressing physical injuries and illness is expanding at warp speed. That trend is no exception here in the Fox Cities, where the interest in learning the ancient eastern practice is increasing. A holistic fitness approach People who are taken with yoga say they love it because it engages their bodies, minds and spirits. Where most forms of exercise require physical exertion but very little mental engagement, yoga demands that your mind and breathing be focused in order for you to achieve and hold the postures. And, just as directed physical exertion has residual benefits on the body, directed breathing and mental exertion can have long-term benefits for the spirit and mind, say practitioners. “It’s a very solitary activity,” says Appleton resident Fred Blumers, who started practicing yoga just two months ago at age 65. “One of the things I compare it to is fishing.” Laurie Ackell, 43, agrees. She began taking yoga classes under the direction of Tina Romenesko at Appleton’s Massage Connection in October and the discipline has quickly become one of her favorite activities. “My husband asks me, ‘why do you like it so much?’ I say, ‘probably because it’s all about me.’” Ackell also plays tennis several days a week, walks daily, cross-country skis and bikes. While she enjoys these activities, she says yoga is the only one that has given her a tool for consistently relieving stress. “I do find myself using the yoga breathing throughout the day, like if I’m driving in traffic. My 4-year-old even jokes with me now and says, ‘Mom, do your breathing.’” Real health benefits Physical therapists and athletic trainers say yoga also is a proven method for overcoming physical limitations and injuries. “Some people with fibromyalgia – they may find that it’s less stress on the joints and that it helps release some of their constant pain,” says Julie Zuleger, licensed athletic trainer with Affinity Sports Medicine in Oshkosh. Zuleger incorporates yoga as a part of her clients’ rehabilitation programs because she feels it helps strengthen core muscles (abdominals, lower back and pelvic region), which are key to preventing strain or injury of other muscles and joints, which often compensate for a weaker core. Zuleger isn’t the only health professional to prescribe yoga as a part of a rehabilitative program. Renowned cardiologist Dr. Dean Ornish has long used yoga as a part of a program for reducing heart disease in his patients. According to editors at MayoClinic.com, the deep breathing and stretching components of yoga may also help ease asthma, carpal tunnel syndrome, osteoarthritis and memory problems. Combined with other therapies, yoga may also help lower blood pressure. Recent studies have also found that yoga can help reduce the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, and currently, the National Institutes of Health is funding three clinical trials that will study the practice’s usefulness in treating insomnia, low back pain and obstructive pulmonary disease. Massage Connection instructor Romenesko, 46, has been practicing yoga for 25 years. For her, its healing powers are more than speculative. “Honestly, I was in the middle of an eating disorder. Yoga just kind of fell into my hand and it felt like I reclaimed my body, mind and spirit,” says Romenesko, who suffered with bulimia and anorexia during her college years. “Alone, in my room, I would get into the postures, and I’d feel my feet, and I’d feel my breath. It let me claim my body inside out and helped me see my body for what it was. The breath work was empowering.” Williamson, a former competitive athlete and sports trainer who previously managed Kohler’s exclusive Sports Core health club in Kohler, says yoga helped her recover her range of motion following three surgeries on her right shoulder. “I couldn’t even reach up into the cupboard I had so much pain.” Appleton resident Patricia Porras-Ballard, 52, is a folk dancer who takes classes and regularly attends international dance events to stay in shape. Recently, she added yoga to her routine, and she credits her mother for the move. “She’s 82 and she does tai chi and yoga regularly and she’s very fit,” Porras-Ballard said. “She’s flexible and strong and the posture is amazing.” Porras-Ballard says yoga has helped her become more relaxed and also gain strength and flexibility. A no-compete clause For many practitioners, one of yoga’s most appealing features is that it is appropriate for and challenging to people of limited physical abilities and those with substantial strength and flexibility. “There’s no competition in yoga,” says longtime instructor Bruce Van Dyke. “You work at your own pace and your own level. What inspired me was my teacher. She was 65 years old and she didn’t even start yoga until she was 60. When I met her, she was doing the kind of poses that you see on book covers.” Romenesko concurs, saying the main point of yoga is to listen to your body and be aware of its limitations. A good instructor, she says, will challenge you, but will not push your body beyond what it can safely perform. “I try to tell people in class that where they are is right where they need to be.”
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