Jessica Sanchez, LAc

Welcome! Are you ready to dive into your practice? I attempt to answer some common questions.

Why yoga?

Yoga means “yoke” or to tie together, to create a union. Uniting breath with movement. Yoga started as a way to prep the body for meditation, and through different teachers and lineages throughout time passing down the knowledge, in some lineages the asanas (movement postures) became quite popular, especially in Western culture. Based on my training, I try to implement pieces of the whole in every class: meditation, pranayama (breath) and asana (poses).

Maybe you do not have a yoga practice yet. Yoga is inherently inclusive, designed for you, at your level. We all have different bodies and abilities. We all have our own unique physical range of strengths and flexibilities. Every asana (pose) has a range in which to progress the pose. Sometimes this calls for props, like blocks or straps, or sometimes this simply calls for challenging oneself to do the pose with a smile. The practice is in the accumulation of work over time. You will begin to learn about yourself over time, and the wisdom that gets revealed is unique to each of us (hint: the wisdom doesn’t always lead into a handstand).

While I teach yoga, I do not discount the other body movement practices that help people return back to themselves, such as tai chi and qi gong, or even running, swimming, or dancing, etc. Find your thing that makes you feel more like you.

What will I need?

You, your breath and a yoga mat is suggested.

Props, such as a bolster, blocks and a strap help in your practice but are optional. For whatever reason (financial, reducing consumption, etc.) yoga props can be substituted with household items such as pillows or a beach towel to replace a bolster, books or a water bottle to replace blocks and a belt or t-shirt to replace a strap. Most importantly don’t forget your breath! It gets misplaced often in the practice, but luckily it also gets returned to you just as easily.

Also, you will need some kind of device, a laptop or smartphone, to access classes with me, as we live through this pandemic together.

Will I see results?

This really depends day by day and the state of your body and mind that you bring to the mat that day. If you keep with the practice, just by noticing will lead to insight and will allow you to change course, self-correct, let go, embrace something or discover something about yourself. It may not always be a physical feature, something that our mainstream society really focuses on. For me, sometimes this is mental (realizing another piece of a limiting belief of mine that needs to be let go of, or accepting myself) or physical (noticing the sensation of my breath in other parts of my body or getting deeper into a pose one day and not being able to get back into the pose the next day).

If you are trying to purposefully lose weight or gain muscle, it may take a bit more than just a few yoga classes. While practicing mindfulness and holding plank may lead to some of these results, I suggest working alongside your doc or a personal trainer to really target and achieve your goals if that’s what you’re really here for.

Did I miss your question? Get in touch and let me know!