What is Yoga Flow
Flow is a term we give in Yoga to a series of Yoga postures that are strung together in a continuous movement that is synchronized with breathing in and out. By doing this the yoga practice becomes a form of meditation as all your focus goes into this synchronization.
Flow Yoga is not a style typically taught to Seniors and those that are new to Yoga because it has been hijacked by those that practice a more difficult form of Yoga such as Ashtanga or Hot Yoga. This in my opinion has been a disservice to beginners or less flexible people because the practice does not have to have any level of difficulty to be effective.
Once a sequence of movements have been practiced enough to be familiar the next challenge is to move throughout the entire practice time without stopping for move than a few breaths in Mountain Pose or Down Dog. The benefit of this constant movement is that it will increase your metabolism, burn calories and make you sweat a little even at a more relaxed pace. More oxygen is delivered to the internal organs and brain giving you a general feeling of euphoria and wellbeing.
Flow makes you feel good!
Another benefit of practicing flow as a Yoga style is that it helps to increase your muscle strength, balance and build a mind body awareness that you may have lost. What does Mind body awareness mean, simply put as you think about doing something your body will respond without delay. When we are young we take this for granted but as we age if we are not working on things like balanced movements our body looses it's ability to react instantly to correct or lift the muscles required to keep us from falling down or not being able to get up. I found this out from personal experience before I began Yoga. Once I started a regular Yoga practice I regained this ability fairly quickly, that's the good news.
