Transcription
Yoga and Cardio
7-18-2018
1658L
I always wanted to try yoga. A couple of years ago, three or four inmates working with our LTS (leisure service) staff began a Saturday morning session. I immediately experienced benefits. I've read that it helps with anxiety (PTSD), and I admit my stress levels dropped greatly for the year we had yoga here.
It didn't cure my PTS, but I was just starting out when it was canceled.
A couple of guys in our vet hours still do yoga almost every day in the day room (common area). All my neck aches and twisted joint pain from the prison mattresses went away went away thanks to the "super stretches", as I call yoga.
We're hoping to bring back a yoga class, but it's a year now since they canceled it. A great organization called Yoga Faith on the west coast (www.yogafaith.org) has been trying to help us with books and encouraging mail. If we could get an outside instructor to visit weekly, we could really launch a permanent class.
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Our LTS staff is wonderful but limited in time and resources. In place of yoga, they conduct a daily cardio class that uses videos from P-90-X and insanity classes. I've attended for four-five weeks, and it kicks my butt every day. I love it!
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Seems like good sense to me. Keep people healthy. Health care costs and fighting from stress will drop, and the prison saves money.
Until next time.
David
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Replies (3)
- phxfinn
Just as a friendly warning: there are some super conservatives who may refuse to do yoga or tai chi due to its ancient religious ties to Hinduism, Buddhism, and so on.
If this causes unwanted conflict amongst your group, suggest pilates to them. Unfortunately, there is no evidence to suggest that pilates is the same or better than the various forms of yoga and tai chi. Unlike yoga and tai chi, pilates only helps with abdominal muscle toning if the person is already healthy and fit. But pilates does include stationary stretches and breathing techniques that may provide some stress relief, if nothing else.