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Yoga strengthens the body and mind

University Relations
News Bureau (662) 325-3442
Contact: Jennifer Rousey
July 18, 2003

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Contrary to popular opinion, not everybody who practices yoga can tuck their legs behind their heads and their heads between their legs.

“Some people think you have to be a gymnast to do yoga, but that’s not true,” says Aneva McMinn, who teaches a yoga class at Mississippi State’s Sanderson Center. “If you’re not flexible, you’re a prime candidate for yoga, which is non-competitive and causes no pain.”

McMinn, a 26-year yoga veteran who also teaches in the university’s English as a Second Language program, says “this most ancient science of life” offers benefits to all.

“The relaxation is good for your mind and body,” McMinn adds. “Your body reflects what’s going on in the mind, so the more your body relaxes, the more your mind relaxes and vice-versa. If your mind is inflexible, your body’s inflexible.”

In teaching people how to relax, yoga often utilizes “sound breathing,” which involves deep breathing through the nose that may produce sounds similar to sobbing or that omitted by a seashell held to the ear. McMinn says the breathing exercises—“ultimate,” in traditional yoga terms—works to unite body and mind and create a feeling of “wholeness.”

Other benefits that McMinn attributes to yoga include:

--Relaxation;

--Aerobic exercise;

--Increased flexibility, body tone and strength;

--Circulation boost; and

--Posture improvement.

Reaping the benefits of yoga is simple, McMinn says. “If taught correctly, the nice thing about yoga is that you can start wherever you are and benefit,” McMinn says. “I’ve been doing yoga for 26 years and there are still some poses that I can’t do, but I keep trying and moving toward them.”