Yoga incites various responses from people. Some love yoga and couldn’t imagine their lives without it. Others cringe at the mere mention of the word. I have gone to my fair share of yoga classes over the years.

When I was in college and you had free access to the gyms, I loved to take different fitness classes to see what I liked. I didn’t hate yoga, but I didn’t love it either.

As my life has gotten busier and I struggle with balance, I’m thinking I should give yoga another try. And it’s a good time to try as September is National Yoga Month.

The practice of yoga can be traced back to India with the first mention being more than more than 5,000 years ago. The word yoga comes from the Eastern language of Sanskrit meaning to unite the mind, body, and spirit. Yoga is a full-body workout that increases your flexibility, endurance, and your ability to focus. It strengthens, tones, and stretches your muscles, helping to increase your flexibility.

Most yoga practices include physical postures, breathing exercises and meditation to unite the mind and body through slow intentional movements with breath. Yoga leads to improved physical fitness, increased ability to concentrate and decreased stress. All of those sound like amazing benefits that I would love in my life, especially as I try to juggle work/life balance.

So how do you get started? There are several places you can go here in Winchester that have yoga classes if you want specific instruction. If you check the library schedule, it appears as though they have different types of yoga classes during the day on Mondays and Thursdays.

Winchester Clark County Parks and Recreation also has several yoga classes that are available with membership or on a drop in basis for $5.50 per class. We also have a yoga studio in town and there may be others to look into as well.

You can try it on your own. Try to set aside at least 10 to 15 minutes to do it. Head to the library and check out some books or DVDs to get some basic poses to start with. There are also some websites that have information on beginner yoga.

Look for a level area that is large enough for you to stretch all around yourself. You’ll need room for standing poses, floor positions and stretches. If you are doing yoga on a carpeted floor, you will not need any equipment, although many people like to use a yoga mat or “sticky” mat for cushion and to help with grip.

Wear clothing that allows you to move your body fully. Check out some videos online or just search ‘yoga moves’ and work through some of the poses that look as though they are in your comfort zone.

As always, you should check with your health provider before starting a new movement routine. Yoga ranges from gentle to strenuous, so listen to your body, you may need modifications such as chair yoga that will still help you get the great benefits of yoga but doesn’t tax your body. The extension office will be offering a short class on chair yoga Nov. 25 at noon if you want to learn more.

There is a Sanskrit proverb that reads “for breath is life; if you breathe well, you will live long on earth.” Research shows that slow, deep breathing can trigger the ‘relaxation response’ which slows down respiration and heart rate, reduces blood pressure, soothes digestion, improves energy and reduces stress.

Even if you can’t always do the physical parts of yoga, we can all implement some of the breathing aspects to help invoke the relaxation response.

When you’re sitting at your desk or when you first wake up in the morning or when you’re feeling especially overwhelmed, practice Three Part Breath. This is where you fill your lungs completely with air as though you are breathing into your belly, ribcage and upper chest. Then you completely exhale to reverse the flow.

This type of breathing helps to increase oxygen supply, which helps to decrease stress and anxiety. It also helps to bring awareness to the present and helps to calm your mind and focus on the here and now.

This is just a small introduction to yoga. It is so much more and can impact your health and wellness. There are several great resources here in Winchester that can help you start on this journey if it interests you. Feel free to reach out to the Clark County Extension office as well for other information about yoga and wellness.

Shonda Johnston is the Clark County Extension agent for family and consumer sciences. She can be reached at 859-744-4682 or by email at shonda.johnston@uky.edu.