Benefits of Yoga

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.”