As part of the South Bronx Food Co-op’s mission to empower locals on healthy eating habits and better their health, yoga is provided 3 times a week. So not only are you benefiting your body but you are also doing some good for your mind.
Most people think of yoga as simply sitting in a lotus and chanting mantra but it is more than that. The word itself means “union” in Sanskrit, the language of ancient India and that union is that of the mind, body and spirit. Yoga has a rich tradition that goes back over 5,000 years and while most of the time it was pretty much confined to the Eastern world but over the last 50-60 years it was slowly introduced to Westerners through people such as Swami Satchitananda who was the opening speaker at Woodstock back in 1969.
- Flexibility
- Strength
- Posture
- Breathing (can increase lung capacity due to the deep breathing that yoga involves)
- Can reduce stress
- The ability to better concentrate and focus
- Heart benefits are also one of the benefits from Yoga as it can help lower blood pressure and heart rate which is a benefit for people with hypertension. In fact, this is one of the leading benefits discussed and demonstrated by Dean Ornish, MD the founder and president of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute. Considering that many residents in Melrose and the South Bronx are obese and are at high risk for heart disease this a major plus for our communities.
So that being said, come over to the South Bronx Food Co-op and not only learn how to eat right but also go and participate in one of their yoga classes.
Classes are currently as follows:
Tuesdays at 3:30PM (In Spanish)
Thursdays at 6:30PM (English)
Saturdays at 11:00AM (English)
Suggested donation for yoga classes is $10.00 and all classes are held at:
La Casa de Felicidad
3097 Third Avenue at East 158th street, directly across from the co-op