17 May Amy Kelley May 17, 2017 Live Fit. Live Well. - a lifestyle Body, Life 0 Comment Yoga has been part of my life for a long time. The thing about yoga is, you are always learning, always changing and growing. I have come to understand that maintaining a healthy lifestyle is also about growth and change. In the last few years, yoga has helped me heal from surgeries, chemo and side effects. Unfortunately, when you go through a long illness that permanently changes your body, change isn’t always welcome. I had a hard time looking at my body after a double-mastectomy, chemo and six subsequent surgeries. I had a hard time doing the things I used to do. The meds made me gain 40 pounds. Whoa! Aren’t you supposed to lose weight with chemo?! Equally challenging, the neuropathy in my hands and feet was incredibly painful, inhibiting me from exercising. Yes, intellectually you know that you need to do these things, but mentally, emotionally, spiritually, it changes the way you feel about your body. I decided it was time to try and tackle one of those goals I have had on my list for a long time. I took the opportunity to enroll in yoga teacher training at the Sunstone Academy. It was four weeks of intensive 12-hour days of yoga and deep learning. I found it fascinating, from the anatomy and physiology to the history of yoga to the practicums. There were a few moments there where I didn’t think I could make it, but my teachers were there with gentle guiding hands, and pushed me to keep going. I had a really hard time looking in the mirrors. I didn’t recognize myself anymore. But I made it! Now I am a teacher. Funny how things work out sometimes. The change in me these days is obvious. My practice is so different. I go to class every day for myself. Even on the days I teach, I now crave the hour that I get to work on me, for me. I take everything to the studio now, be it frustration or gratitude. And a large part of that is being in a community where I feel supported and understood. Even more important for me, is being in a place where I feel safe enough to be challenged, physical limitations and all. My teachers believe in me (when I don’t), so what was now yoga has grown to also include the Barre, Pilates and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) classes. I had no idea HIIT would be so fun (while also being so challenging – and worth it!). It’s great having so many options – Sunstone works hard to meet students where they are, whether that is taking it to the next level or dialing it back. I look forward every day to going to SunstoneFIT. They have everything I need, from lockers, towels, mats to smiling faces that are genuinely happy to see me. Every class I take and every class I teach is a victory that I never thought I would see, and I hope to pass that along to my students. One of my teachers told me, “Every day is a fresh start” and I truly believe it. I hope you find a community where you too feel supported, encouraged, challenged and able to grow into your very best self. --Amy Kelley, Director of Brand Marketing - SunstoneFIT Related Articles Why You Should Invest in Coaching in 2020 Consider a few questions: Yoga vs. Fitness Get out of the box: Yoga vs. fitness – Are you achieving your absolute best? If you would have asked me ten years ago – “Do you prefer yoga or fitness?” I would have said, without hesitation, “yoga”. That’s it, end of story. Fitness wasn’t even on my radar (Ok, maybe for a little while in college I got into circuit training, but it never got very serious.) The Health Benefits of Hot Yoga Yoga Yoga is a surprisingly effective cardiovascular exercise and caloric burner that offers many health benefits. It is one of the very few efficient forms of exercise that creates minimal impact and carries minimal risk of injury when practiced properly. The asana, or poses, practiced in hatha (physical) yoga stimulate the affected muscles more completely and across a greater range of motion than such exercises as running or weightlifting. The result is a higher calorie burn and greater increase in muscle tone, without the loss of flexibility that can result from some exercise routines. Classes Resume Thank you for supporting our Sunstone community. Tomorrow, Monday, May 18th, we are resuming classes in the studio. Without committed community members like yourself, this would not be possible. *** Thank you! *** Rebuilding our community is going to take some time and cooperation as we navigate Covid-19 together. During the lockdown, your Sunstone Team members have been working hard to adapt to our new situation. Here is a sampling of the things we have been doing: What Is Suspension Training? If you are like many people slowly coming out of quarantine, you want to get yourself back in shape. Gyms have been closed, we have been shut up in our homes, and we are just itching to attain our prior levels of health and fitness once more. For those of us who have never started a consistent fitness routine and regime, the concept of suspension training can seem very intimidating. Suspension training takes standard exercise to the next level by working with the combination of gravity and your body weight to give you a very effective workout in a relatively short period of time. What is suspension training? You may be asking yourself, what is suspension training? With the addition of some heavy-duty straps attached to an anchored surface, you can take your workout to new levels of effectiveness and efficiency. Virtually any standard exercise can be transformed through the addition of suspension straps, making your workout more effective in less time. Navy seals and other fitness professionals swear by this method of working out, as they claim that no other form of workout protocol has quite the same effect on both balancing the body and improving strength. While you must be careful when first attempting this type of adaptation, it is possible to undergo successful suspension training for beginners, provided you follow proper form and function instructions. Let's take a look at some of the suspension training benefits you stand to gain with this type of monster workout: What to Wear for Hot Yoga You have decided you’re going to practice hot yoga. Good for you! Comments are closed.