Local Firefighters Try YOGA

Firefighters from Lynden pose in Warrior II with Summer from Fit Body Wellness.

Firefighters at station 71 in Lynden got to try out a FREE demo yoga class, thanks to their dedicated Clubbell trainer Kelly LaBounty. She is the health &  fitness coordinator for many of the county stations, and saw the benefit of having a professional come out and lead yoga. Firefighters handle a variety of high stress situations on a regular basis, and yoga is a great way for them to decompress. A key component of this particular class was strengthening the core as a preventative measure for low back pain. Often times, people won’t seek help or yoga until the problem is so bad that their backs and necks are in constant pain. However, by taking just one yoga class each week you can start to prevent chronic low back pain.

You may ask, how does yoga really help prevent low back pain? Well it does so in a variety of ways, most of which you won’t even notice because they are so well integrated into the class. First, vinyasa yoga is a flowing yoga that bathes the joints in what is called synovial fluid. Think of this as your WD-40 for the joints in the body. When the joints don’t get that juice, they become dry & more susceptible to injury. However, flowing yoga is a wonderful way to move the joints through their full range of motion (giving them the juice) while working on ’stress reduction breathing’. Which brings me to the second component of yoga: Breathing. Vinyasa yoga focuses on coordinating movement with breath, which can detox the body by exhaling Carbon Dioxide, facilitate meditative states and increase lung capacity. All of these elements contribute to the super relaxed feeling you may experience after a good yoga class. Lowering stress in the entire body can keep your muscles from seizing up in your low back. Lastly, your core is being worked in every single exercise because I will cue you to engage your internal trunk muscles. Expect to hold the postures until these three things are happening: navel is drawn in toward spine, lumbar (low back) muscles are contracted & pelvic floor muscles are engaged. You know you have a strong core when you can do all 3 at the same time. By increasing the muscle endurance of the internal core muscles, you will have less pressure between the vertabrae because the trunk muscles will contribute more. Good posture comes from strong internal core musculature, which is a result of proper core training. Poor posture can lead to stress on the joints and misalignment of the spine. Do yourself a favor and start yoga before the pain starts!

I love to do outreach in the community for local non-profit organizations, so if you work for one – call and schedule a free yoga demo for your employees (360)927-2710.