You have many options when it comes to how to spend your time when visiting Northern Arizona. With the beautiful forest, looming mountains, and captivating scenery, there are many ways to spend your time. One of the best kept secrets, although it’s starting to get out, is that doing yoga in the crisp clean air of Northern Arizona adds an enriching level of purity to the practice. A core principal in yoga is the connectedness with ones breath. The quality of the air in the mountains is unrivaled and directly results in a fulfilling yoga experience.
Yoga is over 4,000 years old, originating from India. There are many different styles of yoga with many different focuses unique to each. Some will focus on the cultivation of prahna (life force), others will focus on flexibility and strength, while even more will focus on creating an aerobic workout. Regardless of the goal in mind, many of the health benefits of yoga are universal to all styles. You will enjoy a relaxed peace of mind, a looser more relaxed body, and newfound strength and flexibility.
Asanas, or postures, are a variety of poses that yogis do throughout their practice. They are a fundamental pillar of how yoga is taught and practiced. Each asana has it’s own name, such as the Warrior Poses, Sun Salutations, and the ever popular downward/upward dog. The various asanas will lengthen certain muscles, relax others, and allow your prahna to flow in expansive new ways.
Perhaps the most refreshing, and often unexpected, health benefit is the mental relaxation that can be cultivated throughout your practice. Meditating goes hand in hand with yoga, they are one in the same. While meditating, you will continually be focusing on your breath. The focus is most often on extending and lengthening your inhales and exhales. This increases your lung capacity, opens up your rib cage, and expands your diaphragm. The immediate result is a soothing relaxed feeling. All of the deep breathing increases the flow of your prahna, which will also aid in the relaxation of your muscles and nerves throughout your body.
With those yoga principles in mind, practicing yoga in Northern Arizona on your vacation would be an extremely nourishing way to spend some of your time. It would also be a great way to begin or end your day! Imagine a soothing session of Yin yoga after a long hike, or an invigorating Kundalini class to prepare you for it before. Northern Arizona Yoga Center, located in Flagstaff, is a well known yoga center with a vast array of classes for you to experience. They have drop in rates as low as $15. For more information, visit their website at NorthernArizonaYogaCenter.com.