b'YOGAWhat does that word mean to you?A calm, serene, incredibly flexible person happinessmountains and beaches a human pretzel only for fit people?Or none of the above but something that just isnt you?Think again. As a yoga teacher, Ive lost count of how many times I have heard the words, I cant do yoga; Im just not flexible. Yoga holds many perceptions. One being that it is primarily an exercise class for health-conscious people; but it is so much more than that. The greatest of which is learning how to breathe correctly and consciously to induce a calm space alongside building strength As the body physically and mentally.Take a breathrelaxes, the mind We are all constantly breathing, mostly in an unconscious state; yet the breath and body iscalms as the mind intrinsically linked. Our breath is incredibly conscious of our mental/emotional state and it changes and adaptscalms, the body accordingly.Under stress or during anxiety, the breath is likelyrelaxes.higher up into the chest; putting you on high alert and causing you to breathe quickly and erratically. When you become conscious of your breathing, you can take back control; calm the breath and, in turn, your body and mind.Breathing slowly and deeply from the belly rather than the chest will instantly induce a calmer state. The connection between your body and mind are mutually interdependent and this connection is translates through your emotional and mental states. The good news is that you can empower yourself by becoming conscious of your breathing; such as through a counted breath or placing the hands to the belly and breathing into the hands. Yoga traditionally is about moving the body in preparation to meditate. The yoga poses are a tool to help relax and let go of the body to work with the mind. B.K.S. Iyengar (founder of the style of modern yoga known as Iyengar Yoga) stated the hardest yoga pose is Savasana. Savasana is the part of the class where you lie down and relax.26'