FINDING CENTER
Instructor says faith-based yoga unifies mind, body, soul
TEXARKANA, Texas — A local yoga instructor says a spiritually based approach to the practice has strengthened both her body and soul.
Yasmen Ritchey teaches faith-based yoga at Thrive Yoga Studio in Texarkana. Her class is all about connecting with God.
“I started my yoga journey when I was pregnant with my son. I started prenatal yoga, and it was a lot about connecting with the baby inside of you, and I just continued after I delivered my son,” Ritchey said.
A yoga instructor suggested Ritchey become a yoga instructor herself.
“I’m thinking, ‘OK, I didn’t really expect that.’ So, the yoga training we went through is called YogaFaith,” she said.
Movement of any kind can be therapeutic. The slow movements and deep breathing of yoga are said to increase blood flow and warm up muscles, while holding a pose can build strength.
YogaFaith is for people of all ages, Ritchey said.
“This class is for anyone no matter their beliefs,” she said.
Ritchey said before yoga, she engaged in strenuous workouts, including crossfit.
“The thing is I didn’t know how to breathe. I noticed after I started my yoga practice I learned how to breathe. And so the way I moved the weights, my body, I was yoking. That’s what yoga means: You’re uniting the breath with your movement.”
That uniting even applies to the spiritual, Ritchey said.
“I found myself when I was in child pose just speaking to God, just asking him questions, asking him to come into my life,” she said.
There are various types of yoga. Yin yoga incorporated in Ritchey’s class is a slow-paced style.
“Yin is stressing the deep tissue, the tendons, the ligaments that are in your body versus stretching. So when you’re stressing them, you are holding each position called the Goldilocks pose for anywhere from one to five minutes. You’re sitting in a position where you feel like you’re doing something, but you’re not in pain,” Ritchey said.
Ritchey described yin yoga as getting into a posture, sitting for a minute, breathing and meditating.
“In my class, let’s meditate on God’s word,” she said.
Ritchey encourages her students to pick an affirmation or a word to repeat during her classes, which she said is a good way for people to remember who they are and put stress behind them. “Leave it all on the mat,” Ritchey said. Ritchey’s class is 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at Thrive Yoga. Memberships are not needed, but the fee is $10 to attend. Equipment is provided.