Hiking and Yoga

It’s the summertime and a great time to go for a Hike. There are many similarities between Hiking and Yoga. Both Hiking and Yoga help connect us to the present moment. When you go for a hike you begin to feel the earth beneath you as you root your foot down with each step. Your breath reflects the exertion you use to climb over rocks or wade thru streams. You meditate in a moment of stillness, feeling the sun on your skin, softly gazing at mountains, lakes and waterfalls. Cool breath in, warm breath out, your heart beats faster, flooding your muscles with blood and fresh air. These are the same feelings you get in a Yoga class.

Going for a Hike can improve your cardiovascular health and bring greater lung capacity for deeper, fuller breaths. Hiking also challenges muscles and joints by walking on uneven terrain. A regular Yoga practice can improve strength, flexibility, and alignment. Hiking and Yoga can increase focus, body awareness, foundation and core. No wonder Yogis like to Hike and Hikers like Yoga.

What I like best about Hiking and Yoga is the way it connects us to nature through the elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water.  We start by rooting down into our foundation (earth) we deepen our breath creating space and expansion (air) our muscles and core begin to heat up (fire) allowing us to melt and flow with the present moment (water). Hiking and Yoga together bring us closer to our natural state, connecting us to the peacefulness and beauty in us and around us.

So take a Hike, take a Yoga class, do both, but most of all go outside. Be grateful for the beauty of trees, the sound of birds, the color of flowers, the cool water of the lake. Be grateful for the air, food and water nature provides. Be grateful for every breath and every step. Appreciate every moment you spend on this planet, and remember yesterday is just a dream, tomorrow only a vision the only place we live in is now. Now get going.

Happy Independence Day!  May your summer be happy, healthy and peaceful.

“Peace is not Something you wish for,

It’s Something you make, Something you do,

Something you are, and Something you give away” - Robert Fulghum

Shanti, Shanti, Shanti, (Peace, Peace, Peace)

Ony Antonucci

E-200 hr RYT, Kripalu 500-hr RYT   (518) 832-8249

For more information and class schedule: www.onyyoga.com or Facebook onyyoga