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Fall 2020 Health & Wellness Directory

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FALL 2020 / HEALTH & WELLNESS DIRECTORY 6 By Karen Stokes Special to The Freeman Almost any form of exer- cise or movement can increase your level of fitness and can decrease stress. Choose an activity that you enjoy. Whether it's walking, jogging, biking, kickboxing, dancing, gardening, weightlifting, swim- ming or yoga, staying active is the key. Lou Ann Pitts has been doing yoga for 15 years and has a 200 hour yoga teacher certifi- cation. "Yoga is the study of life, it's a lifelong journey to your true self. Trying to find your timeless sense of who you are. It calms your mind," Pitts said. "During the practice of yoga you are constantly brought back to paying atten- tion to your body to connect with your healing in your body and what you're feeling in your body." Pitts continued, "So for 30 minutes or an hour you're com- pletely single-minded so when people are done they feel great because they've been away from all their mind games. You're not letting your mind worry about what's for dinner or what bills are due, you get off the train for a while." The whole yoga process can be considered a meditation. Yoga relieves stress due to the stillness it brings to your mind and body. There are benefits to yoga — flexibility, muscle building and cardio. It improves your circulation and as you age it improves your balance. Doing yoga at home can be cost effective and easy, no traffic or parking. "You don't need a mat, you just need enough room to do a push-up. You want to wear stretchy or loose clothing, you can even wear pajamas, just not restrictive clothing. It's economical and you can use YouTube for free," said Pitts. "After a while you will notice improvement and in a while you will see increased strength and flexibility." You can subscribe to Yoga with Lou Ann on YouTube. Take control of your health and relieve stress with yoga Benefits include flexibility, muscle building and cardio Submitted photo While many are working from home to stay fit, yoga can be comfortably done at your home using little space. Lou Ann Pitts, a certified yoga instructor, demonstrates how not much space is needed for yoga practice.

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