Chair Yoga at the Mullis Center
Posted January 17, 2017 at 5:51 am by Peggy Sue McRae
Peggy Sue McRae shares this story…
Delphina Liles Teaching Chair Yoga – Photo Peggy Sue McRae
On Friday I went to the chair yoga class at the Mullis Center. Chair yoga is a gentle alternative to getting-down-on-the-floor yoga. Whether you have physical limitations or would like to learn yoga that you can do at your desk, chair yoga offers yoga’s benefits without the strain.
Teaching the class is Delphina Liles. Delphina was hired by the county in September. She serves Orcas, Lopez, and San Juan Islands as the aging and family case coordinator. She serves people needing long-term care and provides support for family caregivers. One of her goals is to keep seniors moving in ways that are beneficial as well as fun. The Mullis Center, she said, “is an opportunity to create community”.
Delphina is trained as an instructor in Anusara Yoga (Anusara means “flowing with grace”) and has taught chair yoga, restorative yoga, and has worked with at-risk youth. She has even worked in the attorney general’s office teaching stress release.
The popular media view of yoga, lithe bodies in acrobatic poses, can be intimidating but yoga is adaptable to all bodies and abilities. Even the subtlest movements in yoga can be deceptively effective. In the article Seniors Can Find Confidence and Flow in Yoga Practice, Anne-Marie Botek writes, “Research on yoga is still in its infancy, but some promising results regarding the benefits of practicing the discipline have been published. Yoga has been shown to: improve sleep quality and improve depression, reduce stress, help control blood sugar in people with diabetes, enhance respiratory function, help alleviate arthritis pain, increase bone density and prevent osteoporosis, improve balance, and moderate chronic pain”.
Classes are Friday at 10:00 am at the Mullis Center. There is a suggested donation of $3 – $5 for the facility. Wear warm comfy clothes; bring a water bottle and a desire to learn.
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Categories: Community, Health & Wellness
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