Yoga helps body, soul

If you've been curious about yoga but have never gotten around to giving it a try, here's your chance.

Saturday is Yoga Day USA, an annual celebration aimed at raising awareness of yoga's benefits through free or low-cost workshops across the country.

Yoga has exploded in popularity in recent years. A survey released last year by Yoga Journal found 16.5 million Americans practice yoga -- a surge of 43 percent since 2002.

So why should you join the bandwagon?

"Because yoga provides you with all kinds of benefits," says Pat Gulya, a yoga instructor and co-owner of Dancing Hearts Studio, which opened in August on West Colorado Avenue. "Strength and flexibility are the two main ones that come to mind."

Yoga is more than an exercise routine, though. The ancient discipline stresses the connection between mind and body.

"It's a perfect way to reconnect with yourself," says Jessica Apodaca, an instructor at WeBeYoga in Colorado Springs.

Apodaca, 28, is also a personal trainer. She took up yoga about five years ago.

"It has made me look at the world a lot differently," she says. "I have a lot more compassion. I feel much more openminded and I feel more at peace with a lot of things."

Gulya, 55, has been doing yoga for more than 30 years and reports similar benefits.

"It really just helps calm you down, helps you feel very focused as to what you want to do."

Just about anybody can benefit from yoga, both say. Among the classes taught at WeBeYoga is F.O.G.Y., short for Fat Old Guy Yoga - - geared toward new students and "the flexibility challenged."

Gulya's 81-year-old mother has been doing yoga for about three years, "and she's doing really well." Gulya also has a friend who took up yoga six months ago after having two hip-replacement surgeries. "It's just amazing to see how over a period of six months she really can move around a lot easier."

YOGA DAY USA EVENTS

JANUARY 28

WeBeYoga, 108 E. Cheyenne Road, Suite 211. Free classes at 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and noon. Also door prizes, refreshments. For more information: 491-5765 or info@webeyoga.com.

Dancing Hearts Studio, 2828 W. Colorado Ave. Classes at 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Space is limited; call 685-1100 or e- mail patcookgulya@yahoo.com to register. A donation to benefit Dreampower Animal Rescue is encouraged.

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