The Health Benefits of Yoga

Yoga, the 5,000-year-old physical and spiritual practice, is a scientifically proven method for improving health and wellness. In addition to increasing muscle strength, tone and flexibility, yoga can help with weight reduction and maintenance, cardiovascular and circulatory health, athletic performance, injury prevention, and energy.

Studies suggest that yoga can lower not only your blood pressure and risk of hypertension but also your cholesterol levels and resting heart rate, reducing your overall risk of heart disease. It can ease chronic back pain, depression and anxiety, and the physical and psychological stress of breast cancer treatment.

Research shows that yoga also helps:

• Arthritis
• Asthma
• Cancer-related fatigue
• COPD
• GERD
• Migraine
• Pregnancy
• PTSD

But without proper guidance, yoga can lead to injury, which is why you should practice at a studio with only highly trained and qualified instructors, such as those at the Integrative Health and Wellbeing Program at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine.

Our studio and approach emphasize safety, which is why our classes are:

• Clinician-led.  Experienced, clinically trained yoga instructors with a thorough understanding of human anatomy will tailor their teaching to your needs, so you can have an optimal experience without fear of injury.
• Condition-focused.  Our approach to yoga reflects our evidence-based, holistic approach to patient care. Our classes promote healing before and after surgery, reduce stress, and relieve symptoms associated with a disease or its treatment. We modify instruction based on your specific abilities and needs.
• Personalized. Because our classes are small, our instructors can focus on healing particular parts of your body, while also focusing on meditation.

We offer a variety of classes, including:

• Chair yoga:  This gentle, modified form of yoga is perfect for older adults or people living with a physical disability. You can participate sitting or standing, using a chair for support.
• Tai chi:  This  form of martial arts is often referred to as “the gentle way to fight,” but is also a gentle way to relax. This class focuses on meditation and stretching. Each posture flows into the next without interruption, keeping your body in constant motion.
• Qigong:  A form of meditation, qigong is associated with tai chi and focuses on coordinated body posture, movement, and breathing.
• Yoga for the spine:  This class focuses on yoga poses that improve mobility and decrease back pain.
• Yoga for those living with cancer:  The healing power of yoga can help cancer patients and survivors manage their side effects and recovery. This course consists of gentle therapeutic poses that create a feeling of well-being. Because yoga can gently restore motion, flexibility, and balance, it is ideal for recovery from surgery.