After a recent yoga workshop, Bob Gonzalez sat on the bamboo decked patio of the Santa Barbara Yoga Center. His face was glowing, a smile rippled across his lips. A hefty, middle aged man with a bad back and arthritis in his shoulder, Gonzalez was marveling at his yoga experience. He had been able to sit on the floor, relax into various positions, and stretch in ways that unknotted muscles and released tension.
He felt better than he had in years. Most important, he was looking forward to playing with his 15 month old granddaughter, who spends much of her day crawling on the carpeted floor. She was the reason he sought out yoga teacher Cheri Clampett’s Therapeutic Yoga class. 'Now I know I can do it,' said Gonzalez, breathing deeply. 'This was incredible.'
Instructor Cheri Clampett offers 'healing' yoga classes that focus on meditation and stretching positions rather than athletic moves.
Instructor Cheri Clampett offers 'healing' yoga classes that focus on meditation and stretching positions rather than athletic moves.
Gonzales is just the kind of person Clampett would like to reach with her style of 'healing' yoga. Many people incorrectly believe that yoga is an activity for the young and limber. Therapeutic yoga is not athletic. Rather, practitioners are helped into resting and stretching positions, propped up by pillows and blankets. Soft music is playing and the instructor gives suggestions about 'sinking deeper' and 'letting go.' Postures are held for several minutes to allow joints and muscles to move gently or relax. And teachers will do pleasing hands on adjustments; for instance, pressing on a shoulder to help 'open' it up.
Students are instructed to meditate on parts of the body that need help and healing. It's a time to connect with the body and be focused in the moment. Students are urged to keep their minds from wandering, from worrying about things outside the elegant walls of the yoga studio.
Clampett's classes are a respite from life's challenges, and they offer a path to wellness for everyone. Some who attend are generally healthy, but they work on a computer for several hours a day and need a physical counterbalance. Some, like Gonzalez, are hoping for relief from the ravages of age or injury. Others come to fight cancer or other life threatening disease.
By Cathy Murillo
THE LATEST YOGA THERAPY NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
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