Q: Where were you at before you decided to open up a yoga business?
A: I was a stay at home mom and I loved it. It was something I always wanted to do. I stayed with the kids, worked with the school and was very involved in my kid's lives. Then they got to a certain point where they were in high school and things started to shift. They didn't need me so much and the schools didn't want me there as much, so I had to start thinking about what I wanted to do next. It was a difficult transition for me because I had no idea where I was going. I started running with some friends and I really enjoyed it, went back to school and got my degree in government. My plan was to go to law school but the plan got shifted when a friend introduced me to yoga. I checked out a class and I loved it. It was challenging and freeing and just what I needed to help me work through things. Running was getting old. I was getting tired and injured so yoga was fresh and I really enjoyed it. During the summer of 2007, I got injured in a biking accident around Natoma Lake. The injury shut down my running, cycling and even my yoga. I couldn't do anything. It was really depressing because I'm a physically active person and need to move. Then I had a friend introduce me to a style of yoga called Yin Yoga.
Q: What's the difference between Yin Yoga and power yoga?
A: Power yoga would be anything muscle based where you're moving quickly, getting cardio, sweating and working out doing a sequence of poses. I wasn't able to do power yoga after my injury. Yin Yoga, however, was something I was able to do because it consists mostly of seated poses. There aren't any big movements. You are getting into a pose and holding it quietly for an extended time. I didn't have to exert a lot of energy or use anything that was injured. I fell in love with it.
Q: What was it about Yin Yoga that made you fall in love with it?
A: I think I got to a place where I really needed the stillness and the quiet. Up to that point, I had been moving so fast with running, cycling and power yoga. When I sat down and did Yin Yoga, it was refreshing. Yin allowed my body to stretch and my mind to be quiet.
Q: What kind of advice could you give to other super-moms out there who are taking care of the kids, running errands, holding down careers etc. Is Yin Yoga something you would recommend to them?
A: Absolutely. Give yourself the gift of time and stillness. As women and mothers, we are naturally nurturers and want to give and take care of everybody else but we forget to take of ourselves. We need to do that on an emotional, physical and mental level.
Q: Would you agree that Yin Yoga is about slowing down in this fast paced world we live in?
A: Yes! Culturally it's just hard for us to justify slowing down and being quiet. But if we don't we can't hear the subtle information our bodies and minds are trying to tell us.
Q: How has yoga impacted your life in a positive way?
A: On a physical level I have more flexibility, strength and ease in movement as my range of motion has increased. As an athlete, it's definitely helped my running and cycling, which I can do better now than I did before. On a mental level, it has helped me with my focus and has taught me how to move through tough situations rather than reacting to them.
Q: When you say range of motion, simple things like getting out of a chair gets harder and harder as we get older. When you're 18, you don't think about things like that. As we get older, those are things we actually have to plan for: "Okay, how am going to get out of this chair?"
A: One thing that I really love to emphasize to my students is that it's not skill that we lose as we get older. We know how to get out of a chair, but we lose our ability to do so. This happens because of changes that happen in the body, but these are changes that can be worked on, and many times reversed. I had somebody tell me that he can get out of a car easier now that he's doing Yin Yoga. It's something so simple, yet so noticeable. I work with a woman that has had double hip replacement surgery and Yin Yoga has helped her gain flexibility back in her hips. I work with another woman who had complications from childbirth and one of her hips locked up. She tried massage and physical therapy and neither could get that hip to loosen, but after 3 months of Yin Yoga that hip let go. The healing aspect is amazing to me. The mental and physiological benefits are awesome as well. There has been study after study showing the benefits of meditation from doing yoga. It lowers blood pressure, helps with depression and anxiety, give you more creativity, clearer thinking, and can actually reduce the occurrence of heart attacks.
Q: Do you massage your students to help them relax and improve their yoga experience?
A: Yes, it's something that I have incorporated into my class. When doing yin yoga you’re in a pose for 3-5 minutes. You are given the gift of time to go inside yourself and clear out your mind and stay present minded. I like to help them move through their poses and stay in the moment by giving them assists, back rubs or neck rub etc. I help them to stretch the spine and the hips and it's really very healing and relaxing. People leave here saying they feel like they had a massage, and it lasts for days.
Q: How often do you recommend people come in to do yoga to really experience the benefits?
A: Once a week is fine and twice a week is great. Most people come to me once a week and notice a difference within the first month or two.
Q: I've heard that conventional yoga has an impact on the muscles, whereas Yin Yoga has a deeper impact on the joints and ligaments. Can you tell us about that?
While other forms of yoga are focused on stretching and strengthening muscles, Yin Yoga is focused on the connective tissues of the body; more specifically the ligaments of the joints. As the body ages, the ligaments begin to shorten and dry out, diminishing the joints range of motion. Yin Yoga creates space in the joints, lengthening, strengthening and rehydrating the ligaments.
Q: So, when people get older, they have more problems with arthritis because the ligaments and joints are closing up. Is that right?
A: Exactly. Arthritis is in the joints. As the joints begin to close up, we lose not just flexibility but range of motion. One of the most common surgeries right now is hip replacement surgery, especially among woman. The numbers are staggering. It's so important to take care of our selves now.
Q: Do you specialize in helping athletes?
A: I really like to stress the importance of Yin Yoga to athletes. When it comes to athletes, what injuries are they usually sidelined with? Knees, hips, and shoulders. The joints. Stretching and strengthening the ligaments is going to give you a different level of flexibility then just working with the muscles. I work with golfers, cyclists and runners. Athletes are very in sync with their bodies and they do notice a difference in their performance.
Q: Aside from athletes, are their any other groups you work with?
A: Yin Yoga is appropriate and beneficial for everyone. I go out to high schools and work with teens. I have college students and senior citizens in my classes. Yin Yoga simply works for everyone across the board.
Q: Many of us have been affected by the economy, so do you have affordable plans?
A: Absolutely. I offer private and semi-private sessions and I have some great package deals to help bring the cost down.
Q: Is there a limit to how many people you can work during a session?
A: Because of the space I'm in, it’s very comfortable with no more than two.
Q: Why did you decide to open your own business?
A: I teach several group classes around Sacramento and I had a lot of people asking me about doing private lessons so that they can get some personal treatment. I decided to jump in and see what would happen.
Q: So you decided to go for it! I like that!
Corrine: (Laughing) I have amazing people in my classes! They are just awesome and they make it so much fun to teach.
Q: What does the future hold in store for you?
A: The future looks great. I'm excited about the interest people are taking in Yin Yoga and about how quickly the word is getting out about this new form of yoga and the many incredible benefits it has for everyone.
Q: How do our readers contact you? A: There are a number of ways. They can call me directly at (916) 690-5000 or email me at corrine@fishman.net. My rates and group classes are listed on my website, which they can check out as well at corrinefishman.com.
|
