Marie Muscatello in a warrior pose, at her studio in
Sports Focus of Orchard Park. (Photo by Ashley Gerwitz)
Over the years, yoga has
been more known to be beneficial for the body.
Marie Muscatello, 50,
from Orchard Park, has been teaching yoga for about 10 years now and agrees
that yoga is beneficially for the body.
Muscatello was teaching
an exercise class for overweight kids and their families at Sports Focus in
Orchard Park. She said that there was a certain mindfulness that wasn’t being
dealt with and yoga had a certain approach that filled that void.
Besides yoga, she is
also an occupational therapist at Elderwood Nursing Facility in Orchard Park,
where she talks to patients about their bodies and health, even when they don’t
want to hear about it. But with yoga, her students seem more interested with
their bodies and what works for them.
Muscatello finds
benefits with yoga just like Granger. She said that she was able to notice her
back pain go away after taking a few classes. She also noticed that she’s more
flexible, calmer, and stronger.
“My favorite pose is the
relaxation pose,” she said. “I also like the sun salutation sequence because
it’s all about strength. I usually follow it up with a twist pose.”
She took a certification
class for 18 months at the Himalayan Institutes in Buffalo. It was a 200-hour
course she would go to every Tuesday and various weekends. She now teaches
Hatha yoga every Thursday at Sports Focus.
“It’s more of an easy
beginner class,” she said, “with a slant towards mindfulness. It’s to help
people become more aware of their bodies and their breath, and that way
themselves. I like that they keep coming back, that they can get something out
of my class.
“I like teaching it
because I get to share information with people who are interested in learning
more about themselves and their well-being.”
Anne Granger, 26, has
enjoyed Muscatello’s class for the past few years. Granger said it helps her
create a routine during her week.
“Her classes are very
fun,” Granger said. “I also notice that she helps her students with a pose,
which I think a lot of people avoid yoga because they think it would be
difficult. Her class is very assessable class, which I enjoy.”
Beyond being an
enjoyable class, Muscatello can agree that yoga is beneficial.
“The word yoga means to
yolk,” she said, “to bring together your mind in body; that’s the point of
yoga…Being mindful, you have choice. You can choose how you’ll react and how
you’ll be.
“With there being a
mindful benefit, there are also health benefits as well. Lots of my students
are more relaxed after they leave and have a better awareness of what helps
their body.”
Benefits Include:
·
Increase flexibility
·
Lower blood pressure
·
Increase in strength
·
Increase in mindfulness
·
Increase in relaxation and peace
·
Strengthens the immune system and
nervous system
“I notice that I sleep
better,” Granger said. “I feel better. It’s nice to do something positive and
social with a group of people.”
She sees yoga splitting
in the next 10 years between mindfulness and exercise-based yoga. She thinks
that there will be an increase towards the mindful side of yoga because it’s
become more apparent that our brains are constantly changing throughout our
lives and we have the power to contribute to which direction it goes. Yoga can
play a part in that.
“Yoga is a way of life,”
she said, “a way of health. It’s about balance and a balance in life that
anyone can participate in.”
