Yoga helps athletes heal

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

Pranava Yoga Studio is continuing to establish new programs for youth in the community to help train them to live a healthier lifestyle.
The studio will introduce a new program called ‘Yoga for Young Athletes’ which will enable instructor Kelly Montford to aid athletes in Grades 6-12 to heal injuries and to stretch properly to prevent them.
“Injury prevention is the big one,” said Montford. “We push our kids so hard. I have so many parents say ‘my kid plays year round sports, there is no rest.’ We have to somewhere find somewhere we can give them that rest … and take it down a notch. We teach them not only the movement but the breathing.”
She mentioned that a lot of the athletes have anxiety and do not know what do to with it, where if they attend the sessions the players will gain knowledge on how to deal with their issues.
“If you give them that option, they can do a lot of self-help techniques,” said Montford. “Most yoga classes end with Shavasana. Sometimes instead of ending with it I’ll start with that, and you just give them five to 10 minutes right at the beginning of the class and just talk to them. Put them in a situation like find a comfortable room, place, a picture that you seen in a magazine, somewhere that settles you.”
Montford did add this will not happen in the first class, but emphasized that the athletes need to know that they are in a safe place and the issues can be dealt through relaxation.
Pranava Teens will be returning this year, and program that the staff are excited about because of the success in the past.
“This is a girls only class,” said Becky Stone, co-owner of Pranava Yoga Studio. “This is a bit of a different focus than from young athletes, which has a real focus on alignment and biomechanical specifics. The Pranava Teen girls class is more focused on building self esteem, body awareness and body acceptance, creating a sense of community for the girls.”
The class is for girls in Grades 7-12. Any girls that are interested in trying the program, can come out and do the first class for free.
The Yoga for Young Athletes begins in a couple of weeks and will run on Tuesdays from 4-5 p.m., while the Pranava Teens will run every Thursday from 4-5 pm.
Fees will be $15 for drop-in and $170 for the 12-week series. Registration is still open and you can contact Pranava Yoga Studio at (587) 365-3651.