Wednesday, December 19, 2007

In Today's Tough Times, Sumits Yoga Offers Stress Relief - and During the Month of July, It's Free to New Students

In Today's Tough Times, Sumits Yoga Offers Stress Relief - and During the Month of July, It's Free to New Students

In today's tough times, more people are feeling more stress for longer periods, and that has lasting negative health consequences. Sometimes it's not possible to eliminate the source of stress, but we can find stress relief by learning how to better cope - that's one benefit offered by Sumits Yoga at its three Valley locations. To reach those who wouldn't otherwise be able to reap the benefits of yoga practice, Sumits Yoga will offer free yoga classes to all new students during the month of July.

Scottsdale, AZ (PRWEB) June 30, 2009

Mounting bills. Looming job losses. Stock portfolios down 40%. Housing values down 50%. It's a recipe for stress. And we all feel it - our temples pound, our shoulders and necks are tight and sore, we have a hard time sleeping. Over short periods of time, stress doesn't have lasting negative effects - the headaches abate, the shoulders and necks relax, the peaceful slumber returns.

But today - in what's labeled as the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression - more people are feeling more stress for longer periods of time, and that has lasting negative health consequences. Constant stress can make a person more likely to get sick more often; it's linked to high blood pressure, abnormal heartbeat, blood clots, and hardening of the arteries. It's also linked to coronary artery disease, heart attack, and heart failure. And we all know that stress affects a person's mood: we feel unable to deal with even small problems; we lose our tempers easily; we find it hard to focus on even simple tasks.

Sumits Yoga helps students cope with stress through mind and body wellness

Sometimes it's not possible to eliminate the source of stress - financial difficulties in today's tough economy, for example - but we can find stress relief by learning how to better cope, to reduce the negative effects stress has on our health. That's why Allison North turned to Sumits Yoga. "We're all dealing with financial and other problems. My daily dose of yoga gives me the strength I need to cope better - physically, mentally and emotionally," said the jewelry designer and owner of Allison North Designs.

Sumits Yoga focuses on both the body and the mind. "Nurturing the body, mind and spirit as you do in the practice of yoga will help you to cope with any kind of stress that comes your way," said director Sumit Banerjee. As both a physical and a mental practice, yoga is designed to translate into how students live their lives. "Yoga practice doesn't end when you leave the mat. It applies outside in the real world, too - it helps our students to be less reactive to stress, to be more calm and centered," Banerjee added.

"Sumits Yoga has taught me to be more in tune with my mind and my body. I've been going to Sumits six days a week for three years - and it's helped me bring balance into my life," said student LaVerne Romberger, a clinical nurse specialist at Scottsdale Healthcare.

That's especially important today when so many people are working more hours for less money. As a nurse, Romberger sees the effect that has on her patients. "Stress particularly affects our immune systems, and that starts a vicious cycle - we don't feel well, so we don't eat right, we don't exercise, and then we feel even worse. Sumits Yoga teaches us to break that cycle," Romberger said.

Sumits Yoga will offer free classes to new students in July

"We recognize that during this recession, many people have had to significantly cut their spending. So we're reaching out to people who wouldn't otherwise be able to reap the benefits of yoga practice by offering free classes to all new students in July," said Banerjee. "At Sumits Yoga, we want to be a sanctuary, to offer a sense of relief."

Anyone can practice yoga, said teacher Patty Callahan. Sumits Yoga students comes from all walks of life - all ages, all shapes and sizes, both men and women, those who are flexible and those who aren't, those who have practiced yoga before and those who haven't. Callahan said, "It's not about competition. It's not about perfection. It's about something as simple as breath - and finding contentment in the present moment." In today's world, we could all use a bit of that.

About Sumits Yoga

Sumits Yoga offers hot yoga - classes are held in a unique heated environment, designed to warm students' muscles and allow deeper, safer practice - at three Valley locations: in North Scottsdale; in central Scottsdale; and in Glendale.

# # #