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Photograph by Robert Scheer

Yoga instructor Betty Strain leads a Friday morning yoga class at the Sunnyvale Community Center.

Yoga classes enjoy an upswing in Sunnyvale

By Julie Collier

In your body is the garden of flowers. Take your seat on the thousand petals of the lotus, and there gaze on Infinite Beauty.

--Kabir

Yoga. To some the word conjures images of people sitting around in leotards, chanting "om" and performing stretches no more challenging than those learned in seventh-grade P.E. This attitude is changing, however--a fact that's evident in the number of yoga classes listed beside aerobics classes on many fitness club schedules in the Silicon Valley.

A growing number of Sunnyvale residents are discovering the physical and mental benefits of yoga through classes offered by the Sunnyvale Parks and Recreation Department. Of the 12 fitness classes the department offers, its two yoga courses rank among the top three in popularity, according to Kristin Mingst, recreation coordinator in the leisure services division of the Parks and Recreation Department.

The students, most of whom are women, find that yoga provides not only an alternative workout but an opportunity to reduce stress. One student, Armando Gonzales, says yoga changed his life. "Before I started taking yoga, I used to go running every day. Now I've switched completely over to yoga, and I feel better than I did when I was running."

The two classes, Yoga for Fitness and Yoga for Relaxation, are based on hatha yoga, which emphasizes asanas, a sanskrit word for poses. According to instructor Betty Strain--who has been teaching her Yoga for Fitness class since 1985--hatha yoga is based on deep, diaphragmatic breathing that brings oxygen into the bloodstream and nourishes each and every cell in the body.

"If you do enough stretching and asanas, you will work every muscle in your body. You don't need to do anything else," Strain says.

Strain's comments may come as a surprise to those who have never considered yoga a viable alternative to their regular workout. Strain emphasizes, however, that for beginners, the aerobic benefit may not happen right away. But as they gain strength and flexibility, their yoga workout will become aerobic.

It's Thursday night, and Strain's students are learning and Sun Salutation, a combination of several poses that, when repeated several times, warms the entire body and increases the heart rate.

Halfway through the flow, Strain asks the students to hold a pose resembling a push-up. When the groans in the room become audible, Strain gently pushes the group to hang in there. "Remember, nothing good comes easy," she says. Later, during leg lifts, she instructs the students to lower their legs as she counts to 10. When the count gets to nine and legs are almost on the ground, she continues: "nine and a half...nine and three-quarters..."

Instructor Jennifer Haydon emphasizes that yoga is a different kind of workout. "It's not your typical workout where you sweat, strain and groan. It's also a mental, emotional and spiritual workout," she says. "People feel better after a yoga session, so if that's the goal of a workout, then yoga qualifies."

Yoga originated in India and has been practiced for thousands of years. The word yoga is Sanskrit for union, referring to the union of mind and body, the ultimate goal among ancient yogis and contemporary yoga masters. In the past few decades, yoga has spread to Western countries, where people are discovering its profound health benefits--stress reduction being at the top of the list.

Eric Schiffmann, a yoga master from Los Angeles, outlines three main benefits in his book Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving Into Stillness. The most obvious benefits, Schiffmann says, are balance, strength and flexibility. These three things, he says, contribute to an overall sensitivity which promotes an enhanced body awareness.

Haydon says her students have reported numerous unexpected benefits, including "a great night's sleep," increased concentration, improved handling of work-related stress and better posture. Haydon, who also teaches prenatal childbirth-preparation yoga, says yoga is a way to be more comfortable and relaxed during pregnancy and labor. Many of her students, she says, report easier labor and delivery.

Strain's teaching style is based on the B.K.S. Iyengar method, the most popular instructional method in the world. In her classes, Strain promotes the discipline and accuracy stressed by Iyengar, but she emphasizes that yoga is a noncompetitive sport and that self-acceptance is key.

"Accept yourself where you're at today and go from there," she tells her Thursday night students at Braly Park. "Yoga requires three things: time, patience and perseverance. Don't ever say you can't."

Haydon, who has been teaching yoga for more than 15 years, started with Sunnyvale in 1995. She was certified at the World Yoga Institute, which is based in New York. Haydon combines hatha asanas with various relaxation and breathing exercises, emphasizing stress release and letting go. She believes yoga can be a tool for moving inward and getting centered.

"I start and end every class with relaxation and breath awareness," Haydon says. "This helps students get centered and aware and helps prevent injury."

At the end of Strain's and Haydon's classes, students are asked to "bundle up" for final relaxation. Lights are dimmed, and students scurry for jackets, blankets and eye pillows, tiny silk bags filled with lavender-scented flax seed that cover the eyes. They are preparing for Shivasana or the "Corpse Pose." Shivasana requires only that the student lie down on her back, palms up, legs apart and body still. The idea is to relax completely, usually from 10 to 15 minutes. "For these few minutes," Schiffman states in his book, "willingly put aside your worries, fears and concerns of the day, and release every discernible hint of tension in your body, and then be aware of how you feel."

"It's everyone's favorite pose," Strain jokes. "And it's actually one of the hardest to do."

Classes start the first week of May. They cost $45 for residents and $55 for nonresidents. If you'd like general information, call 730-7350.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, March 18, 1998.
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