Story and photo by Jena Goldberg
Special to GUIDON
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Every Tuesday and Thursday morning it happens; a crowd of folks with mats tucked under their arms flip flop their way down the hall to class. There are no headphones in their ears, and none of them are strapping on any weight gloves or even a pair of running shoes. And, as odd as it may seem, it appears that they are equally as excited as I am as I make my way to a gym floor filled with beautiful dumbbells.

I wondered more than once what exactly goes on in that room with the soothing music and the bodies all stretching in sync to elegant poses. It crossed my mind so many times that I finally decided to find out. Here’s what I discovered:

“Yoga” goes back as far as 500 years and comes from the Sanskrit word “yuj,” meaning to unite or integrate. It stresses the union of a person’s own consciousness and the universal consciousness. Sounds like a lot of “false energy,” right? I must admit that I was skeptical, to be perfectly honest. However, I assure you that by the time the hour was over, I definitely felt a bit more connected with my body and spirit.

Until I was introduced to loosening them up in class, I’d never given my joints much thought. And it was truly surprising to feel just how tight running and weight lifting had left my hips. It’s just not something we notice with blaring music in our ears trying to push out another rep or another mile. It’s when we turn the music off and tune into our bodies that we realize how much we have neglected it. The class can seem a bit intimidating watching from afar, but I assure you that once you take the step and actually make it to your first class, the regular “yogis” welcome you with open arms and you become a part of their community.

We have truly been blessed with an awesome yoga  instructor here at Fort Leonard Wood. Claire Chisolm comes to us with an impressive background. She completed her teaching course with Jason Brown of Zenjasa yoga in Alexandria, Va. She has experienced AntiGravity Yoga, acro-yoga and Kundalini yoga while on her path. Claire stated that many of her students have physical limitations and challenges. She offers free classes to the Warrior Transition Unit, and it’s great to see these Soldiers accompanying us in class. Claire says that “A yoga practice is complimentary to many physical disciplines.”

“I offer modifications to help the practice be accessible to various fitness levels and needs,” she said.

All classes include breath work, joint mobilization exercises, some Vinyasa (breath linked movement), single asana (pose) work, and a guided deep meditation. The classes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 9 a.m. at Specker Gym focus on correct alignment to facilitate safe practice and emphasize listening to your inner teacher to discover a form of pose that works for the individual. Classes are also offered Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 5:45 p.m., and each Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Classes are open to Fort Leonard Wood patrons with a pass, which is available at the Specker Gym desk for $2.

My final word is this: There are many ways to achieve optimum fitness. A combination of strength training and cardio are always the best combination to a likely success. However, adding something new can sometimes make working out a bit more enjoyable. Yoga is the perfect opportunity to settle down a bit and listen to what your overworked body is trying to tell you. Joint mobilization, poses and challenging stretching can assist our bodies in reaching higher levels of strength, endurance and flexibility. Yoga reaches far beyond the physical benefits and integrates your mind and body bringing awareness to your body from the inside. Workouts provide the body with additional energy and decreased stress and anxiety completely opposite from most of our daily workouts where we are encouraged to “punish” our bodies. I encourage you to take a day that you just give it a try and I’m certain the benefits will lead you there again.

(Editor’s note: Goldberg is a military spouse, mother, certified personal trainer, National Figure competitor and fitness writer. Her column appears bi-monthly.)