Community Corner
Locals Get Tips on Holiday Stress Busters
A yoga instructor demonstrates poses that relieve tension at the public library on Saturday.
Local residents, who felt the weight of shopping bags and the wear-and-tear of gift wrapping, received a brief hiatus on Saturday.
The presented "Stress Busters for the Holidays and Beyond," featuring yoga instructor Allison Wilmes.
Wilmes began the program by telling attendees that the exercises shown should not cause pain but should "have you feeling something."
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"It’s important to listen to your body to know what it will or will not allow you to do," said Wilmes.
She explained that in yoga one should practice breathing through one's nose.
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“Breathing through one’s nose filters the air. It also warms the air which is especially important in the winter," she said.
The first exercise was one designed to build awareness of the body and breath as well as calm the nervous system.
Participants were instructed to close their eyes, sit straight with their shoulders pulled back and down, put their left hand on our abdomens and inhale and exhale slowly. Wilmes said it was important to concentrate on our abdomens drawn in and pushed out.
The program continued with several more seating exercises. Wilmes showed yoga poses to do while standing. Several involved stretching the hamstrings and calf muscles.
Wilmes explained that tight hamstrings can lead to lower back pain for most people.
On a different note, she gave mental health tips for the holidays. “Remember relationships - not things - are what is important in life," she said. "Let go of things and concentrate on your relationships.”
Meditation is frequently done at the end of a yoga session. Audience members learned that "'namaste' is a Sanskrit word that means 'the light within me bows to and honors the light within you'.”
Participants positioned their hands as if in prayer and held them up to their foreheads.
Wilmes said, “May our hearts overflow with peace, joy, generosity and love towards ourselves and others.” The participants replied with the word 'namaste' and returned to their holiday planning, shopping and (hopefully) breathing.
