Yoga has "a very strong emotional component," says Manena González Arsuaga, a family therapist and yoga instructor who runs Lotusmane, on the ground floor of Ciudadela, the still incomplete but visually striking apartment complex on Ponce de León Ave., near Stop 23 in Santurce. "IT opens you to being more compassionate about yourself so you can be compassionate with others," she said.
THE OHM OF EXERCISE
THEY say a little stress is good for you but too much and you've got a problem. It's not just that it lowers the body's defenses and affects emotional well-being but worse, it throws you into a state of imbalance that can sap away the pleasure of living. Which is why exercise is such a terrific activity to help counter the stresses we all live with these days and keep us stay healthy. Anything that gets your body moving and puffing and sweating and stretching will do just fine to energize you and get your mind off the worrying while building stores of serenity that you can put to use when the going gets tough. Well, that is the idea.
IT doesn't have to cost big bucks, either. Walking at a fast pace is a tremendous low-impact aerobic exercise with terrific side benefits: helps lower bad cholesterol as well as blood pressure, raises good cholesterol, reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, and helps control weight. Best of all, it is free and can be done practically anywhere although the safest place-- unless you enjoy the adrenaline rush that comes from skirting inattentive car drivers too busy talking on their cellphones to mind what is in front of them or keeping one step ahead of the hidden dangers lurking on cracked sidewalks -- is probably the running tracks at Barbosa Park in Ocean Park or Central Park of San Juan, off Espresso Luis Muñoz Rivera in Santurce.
JOINING a gym is another way of incorporating exercise into your life and while it costs money you do get the benefit of having a lot of different machines at your disposal such as weight machines, treadmills, stationery bikes, and free weights so that you are never stuck into any one routine which is sure to help keep the enthusiasm factor up. The fact that there will be other people around you pumping iron or doing their thing is bound to boost your motivation and serve as encouragement as you pursue your goals of mental or physical health. YMCA of San Juan is "a very good gym," according to one its devotees, plus it also has a pool (heated, no less!) and a nursery, in case you need to bring the kids, or grandkids, along. Membership is $85 a year, on top of which there is a monthly fee of $50. Golden agers, 55 years and up, get a break: membership is $40 and so is the monthly fee. YMCA is located at 800 Bulevar Sagrado Corazón and is open Monday through Saturday, from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information call: 787.728.7200.
SMALL and pleasant with a staff of four trainers, Presby Wellness is a clinical gymnasium at the Ashford Presbyterian Hospital and caters to the needs of people who require physical exercise to handle a medical condition as well as the public in general. To sign up to use this facility you will first need to go through a medical evaluation by one of the two doctors in charge of the center -- Dr. Carlos Jiménez Marchand and Dr. Janice Alemán. You can choose between several packages. A one-month package is $64.20; three months, $160.50; 6 months, $288.90; and one year, $513.60. Hours are 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m Monday through Friday and Saturday, 7 a.m. to 12 p.m.
THERE is something a little mystical about yoga but then that is understandable considering that it's about 5,000 years old and is associated with meditative practices of Hinduism and Buddhism. It is both physical and mental, stretching the body through a cycle of poses carried out purposefully while fully concentrating on breathing. It may not give the impression of strenuous exercise but as anyone who has tried it will tell you, every inch of your body will feel the workout. Yoga has "a very strong emotional component," says Manena González Arsuaga, a family therapist and yoga instructor who runs Lotusmane, on the ground floor of Ciudadela, the still incomplete but visually striking apartment complex on Ponce de León Ave., near Stop 23 in Santurce.
"IT opens you to being more compassionate about yourself so you can be compassionate with others," she said. On Tuesdays, Lotusmane offers a yoga class for seniors from 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. and a yoga Vinyasa Flow class from 7:30 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. On Saturdays, it's open air Yoga for Everyone held right on the plaza at Ciudadela. Prices per class are $15 with packages available for $60 (four classes to be taken within 30 days); $96 (8 classes, 60 days); and $160 (16 classes, 90 days).
ONE of the nicest yoga studios around is It's Yoga Puerto Rico, at 1950 McLeary Ave. in Ocean Park. It opened in 2005 as the first Ashtanga Vinyasa studio in the Caribbean under the mantle of David Kyle and Elizabeth Sallaberry, who are as passionate about yoga as they are talented at it. Ashtanga yoga is a vigorous fast-paced form of yoga. The cadre of formidable teachers at the studio run daily classes and schedules are designed to accommodate from early risers to busy professional people. If you are new at yoga you might like to take a couple of beginners classes to see how you like it before making a full commitment, in which case you are better off buying into one of several unlimited or limited membership deals starting with the $250, three-month introductory offer that entitles you to take as many classes as you like. For more information, call 787.677.7585.