Sean Birger of Tristar Martial Arts instructs students in karate.
Photos by: Kelly Heck, Anne Marie Parish
One would hardly expect to find a yurt in Carroll County, but Mountain High Yoga conducts its classes in one.
The yurt, a circular, wood-framed hut used by nomads in Central Asia, is located in Piney Run Park, a fitting bucolic setting for yoga classes that concentrate on physical, mental and spiritual discipline.
As exotic as it may seem, yoga is only one of several Asian forms of exercise available to local residents hoping to shake off the lethargy of the cold winter days.
With spring coming you may be thinking of becoming more fit. Yoga, tai chi, or martial arts classes are popular. All three forms of physical activity include meditation, which can help you move towards a calmer and stress-free state. Meditation is an oasis in the desert of noise surging from TV, radio, cellphones, and the constant busyness of your day.
For most classes all you need is loose, comfortable clothes and a mat. Take along some water to drink and some energy for the routine. After an hour of deep breathing and practicing the discipline’s poses or moves, you will be focused and centered, better able to concentrate. In addition, your blood pressure and heart rate will probably be lowered.
Yoga routines vary depending on the reason you do them, i.e., for better fitness, managing your stress, or for specific ailments. Meditation, pranayama (breathing), relaxation and cleansing are important aspects of every yoga class.
According to Lyndsay Pyles-Rogers of Mountain High Yoga, more people – especially older students – are turning to yoga to build strength with less stress on their joints. “Some beginning students initially think that they have to be flexible or a contortionist to do yoga,” she said. “Students can be at any level of flexibility to begin yoga; they can do each pose at their own level.”
Center Street Yoga in Westminster offers Hot Vinyassa Yoga with the room heated to 85-95 degrees. “By heating the room your body is warmed, allowing for deeper stretchingÉ muscles, tendons and ligaments become soft and more flexible,” said Lynn Olexy, general manager and instructor at Center Street.
Gail Keil of Hearty Yoga in Westminster is a plus-size woman who is flexible, so she designed a class for plus-size women and those recovering from an injury. Hearty Yoga’s first level is Chair Yoga, which is beneficial if you find it difficult to get up from the floor. Keil encourages anyone to try yoga:
“If you breathe you can do yoga,” she said. “Yoga helps you to connect mind, body and spirit.”
Certified Christian Yoga instructor Melissa Shock, who teaches at Crossroads Community Church in Westminster explains: “I have the pleasure of helping people connect with Christ in a real and awesome way. I link breath with movement and honoring their bodies.”
Tai chi is another form of meditative exercise. Bob Ciampaglia, who teaches qi gong, a form of tai chi at the Westminster YMCA, explained: “It is a 5,000-year-old Chinese movement exercise of slow movement with timed breathing. It is a spiritual meditative relaxation practice that helps heal the mind, and with the relaxation practice chi flows through the body and helps the body to heal.”
Martial arts is becoming more in demand. Tristar Martial Arts Academy has three locations in Carroll County: in Eldersburg, Mt. Airy and Westminster. The academy staff believes that training can have a profound impact on one’s self-development.
The instruction emphasizes self-defense and teaches values and skills, such as discipline and concentration.
“I love to empower young women. Anti-bullying is emphasized here,” said academy instructor Debbie McCarron. “We have a culture of respect which is the most valuable aspect we can give to the community.”
At Global Martial Arts Academy in Westminster the same philosophy is instilled in each student, according to Joe Borucki, “Character development is not a side effect,” he said, “But is written into lesson plans.”
The word “yoga” comes from Sanskrit, the language of ancient India. It means union, integration or wholeness. It is an approach to health that promotes the harmonious collaboration of a human being’s three components, body, mind and spirit. All three physical activities, yoga, tai chi and martial arts, include these components in their classes.
If you are stressed-out or out of shape, just take the first step and begin a class this spring. Engage in physical activity – yoga, tai chi or martial arts. You will reap the mental as well as the physical benefits. And many studios offer the first class for free!
