Frequently Asked Questions

Yoga can improve flexibility and strength.  It also helps prevent cartilage and joint breakdown.  Yoga protects your spine by keeping your discs supple. Weight bearing exercises like yoga strengthen bones and help ward off osteoporosis.  Yoga increases blood flow, improves circulation, can help ease chronic pain, boosts immunity, helps lower the blood pressure, improves focus and concentration, boosts your mood, improves balance, releases muscle and emotion tension, helps ease digestive problems, builds awareness, improves inner strength, and connects you with yourself.

Plan to arrive 5-10 minutes before the class starts.  Wear comfortable clothing that you can move in.  Bring your own yoga mat, blocks, or strap, if you have them.  Also, a sturdy blanket can be helpful.  (I have some extra mats and blocks if you want to try things out before you invest in your own supplies).  You may also want to bring a water bottle.  If there are any medical conditions I should know about, please let me know beforehand.  

We will be meeting in the church basement.  When you arrive, please enter quietly, in a state of mindfulness.  Please remove your shoes once in the basement. Silence your phone.  Please leave all your personal effects on the table provided (don't worry, they will still be within your view).  My goal is to have the practice space as uncluttered as possible.  After you unpack your things, roll out your mat and lay on your back, with your head towards the teacher's mat. Although most newcomers to yoga tend to want to hide in the back corners of the room, I recommend that they place their mats in the middle of the room so they can see what is going on from every angle.  Once on your mat, focus on your breathing and begin to settle yourself.

"I'm not flexible" is something I commonly hear from new students.  It is something I myself said to my first yoga teacher.  While some people are born naturally flexible, most of us are not.  Losing our flexibility is a natural part of aging and will continue to progress, unless we naturally work at it.  Consistent, continued effort over months and years will maintain and improve our flexibility.  It will allow us to continue to pick up things we drop, put on our socks, and be able to do shoulder checks as we drive.  For  students who are uber flexible, the challenge is to never lock out the joints.  These students must aim to keep a slight bend in the joints and bring the work of the pose into the muscle.

The word namaste is used in Hindi as a greeting.  It is used to acknowledge the divinity in each one of us.  I will close each class with this salutation.  It is customary that the students verbally return the blessing to the teacher and to each other.

It's never too late to join!  If the session is already in progress and you would like to join the remainder of the session, I will prorate the remaining classes left in the session.

I invite prospective students to attend their first class at NK Yoga free of charge.  This offers a risk-free opportunity to try things out.