Tag: health

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Women to Watch: Ingrid Yang

This article was originally published on STRONG. Read the original version here.

 

Age: 41     Hometown: San Diego, CA     
Gig: Physician, Yoga Therapist & Meditation Teacher     Follow her: @ingridyangyogamd

For physician and author Ingrid, achieving optimal health for herself and her patients is not simply a matter of practicing “this” or “that.” Instead, she firmly believes that a broad approach to fitness is key to living your best life. She says, “I like to mix things up in my fitness routine. I practice yoga almost daily, but I also cycle, run, surf, hike, and swim in the ocean regularly.” Ingrid says she’s motivated by helping others understand why it’s beneficial to incorporate a variety of modalities into their fitness plans. “It’s important to keep your body challenged, your mind engaged, and prevent injury.”

Ingrid believes that exercise should also include meditative aspects such as breathing techniques, posture control, and meditation.

Ingrid knows first-hand how critical a mindful movement practice can be, especially when you’re not feeling 100%. “I recently fractured my ankle and it took months of rehab to get back to even walking,” she says. Throughout her rehab, Ingrid continued with yoga because it helped her regain balance and stamina, and with her book, Adaptive Yoga,Ingrid is helping individuals with disabilities learn to improve their wellness, too. “I practice yoga therapy in the hospital setting with my patients. Even if you are in the hospital bed, you can still practice plenty of yoga,” she says.

 

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Offering Hands-On Assists? Don’t Make These 5 Mistakes

After you’ve made sure your student wants to be touched, follow these hands-on assist upgrades.

As yoga teachers, we often default to providing hands-on assistance to guide students into more comfortable asana positioning. But despite our earnest efforts, we may sometimes cause more harm than good. As yoga teachers guided by the principle of ahimsa, staying informed and observant as we guide our students may be our highest expression of non-harming.

Read the full article on Yoga Journal!

 

 

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You’ll Be Ready to Move After This Short Series of Spine Stretches

This was originally published in Yoga Journal. Read the original story and watch the video here.

Dr. Ingrid Yang, yoga teacher, yoga therapist, and YJ’s September/October cover model, shares a 4-minute practice to warm-up your spine.

It’s been said that you’re only as young as your spine is flexible, and there’s some truth to that. The spinal cord holds our lifeforce energy, so warming it up properly before any form of movement—including yoga—not only helps unleash that energy, but also supports your spine’s health (and yours).

In this short practice, Dr. Ingrid Yang—yoga teacher, yoga therapist, and YJ’s September/October cover model—guides us through stretches that move your spine in every direction, so you’ll be ready to flow.

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How meditation helps me cope with COVID-19

Now, more than ever, I have called upon my meditation practice to help me through each day. Every morning, whether I’m headed to the hospital or self-isolating at home, I find my way to my meditation pillow for 30 minutes. This is a very stressful time for a physician. There is no question that I love my job, and I thrive in stressful environments. However, these times are unprecedented. No doctor has trained for this. But my mindfulness practice has guided me through the stressful hospital days and has helped me navigate the challenges with dignity, grace, and compassion.

I remember when I first started meditating; I was living in NYC, 9/11 had just occurred and I felt stressed about everything. I could hardly sit still for even 5 minutes. But regardless of how hard it was (and it was hard!), I would practice every day. Even for just 5 minutes. Eventually, I started to notice the benefits — I was no longer ruled by my concerns about the future or dwelling in the past — I felt more present in my daily life, and consequently, more free.

My meditation practice really took flight during med school. I was filled with so many feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt. How could I ever have the knowledge and healing instinct that seemed to come so easily to my mentors? But when I committed to the practice, I found it inside me — that sense of knowing… the confidence and self-love that it took to believe I could be all the things I set out to be. It motivated me to study harder and work longer hours. It took years of practice, and some days are harder than others. But it’s in those moments, I know I must go back to my practice. In moments of doubt and fear, I sit– to stay grounded and centered. In times of discomfort I call upon meditation for comfort and guidance — and it has never failed me. In these times of the

COVID-19 pandemic, I practice meditation daily. And without it, I would be a very different person. Who knows, I may have let the stress get to me. But because of the support of meditation, I know myself better, and I can summon the courage needed to take on these difficulties ahead, and step up to the plate the way my patients need me. You can too.