Lyonne Carabott’s first encounter with yoga turned out to be a life-changing experience. She tells Stephanie Fsadni how her immersion into this ancient practice made her realise its various health benefits, including stress and anxiety control.

Lyonne Carabott believes that any holistic practice can help us get in touch with our inner selves.Lyonne Carabott believes that any holistic practice can help us get in touch with our inner selves.

At a particular point in time, Lyonne Carabott was going through a difficult situation. She knew she needed to change a number of aspects of her life in order to be happy. Always open to new experiences, Lyonne decided to try yoga and it turned out to be one of the best decisions she ever took.

“Yoga led me to places I had never seen or been in touch with before... deep inside of me,” she says enthusiastically.

“It awakened a part of me I had never known. Yoga and meditation retrained my mind on how to look at life, how to look at myself, how to look at this planet and our journey in it. Everything started to become more clear, the mind ‘expanded’, there was less confusion, and I realised I needed to listen to my heart and follow my dream.

As one stretches to make certain postures, one releases tension and removes toxins

With a good dose of courage, Lyonne thus closed her hairdressing salon in Tarxien, packed her belongings and left the island for Thailand. There she discovered more about yoga, took it seriously and attended various courses.

She specialised in Deepflow Vinyasa, which integrates all the different styles and philosophies of yoga, and started teaching the practice herself. She now organises various workshops and retreats.

“Yoga, meditation and any other conscious activity one does, bring such great transformation to oneself... starting off with healing, removing all those layers of conditioning, of past traumas and any other disorders.

“It can create a true sense of well-being. And anyone can really benefit from it,” maintains Lyonne.

She explains that yoga can also be used for physical health purposes.

It can help heal musculo-skeletal problems as “joints are moved through their full motion, encouraging better motion and flexibility”; and the cardiovascular system can improve through isometric yoga postures (asanas). These postures hold muscle tension for a short period of time, thus improving circulation. Certain postures can also help the digestive system by deeply massaging the organs.

The blood circulation in the nervous system can also improve, easing muscle tension, thus long-term benefits include less stress, anxiety and fatigue.

Yoga is particularly helpful in reducing stress because as one stretches to make certain postures, one releases tension and removes toxins, becoming more physically fit and strong at the same time. Using yoga speak, this creates a ‘better energetic flow in the system’, bringing balance to the body and soul.

“One is better able to calm the mind down, reducing any kind of stress,” claims Lyonne.

Asked whether there are any particular postures that may relieve stress more than others, she says that every posture has its own particular benefits.

“When you focus your attention on a single point, you recharge yourself and clear the mind from confusion.

“It could be anything from breathing exercises (prana­yama), meditation, dance, chants... anything that brings you in touch with the present moment is key to bringing balance and harmony within oneself.”

Certain types of breathing exercises are particularly useful to release anxiety.

“Pranayama helps to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which enables control of the body, and uses different kinds of breathing that reduce the levels of the stress hormone cortisol, thus triggering the relaxation response.”

Restorative yoga, used for healing purposes, and classical hatha yoga also work on activating the parasympathetic nervous system.

Lyonne laments that “we are brought up in a society of deep disconnection”. That is why any sort of holistic practice is important to connect with our inner selves.

She suggests trying to find some quality time every day.

“Tap into your creative side to help release any stagnant energy within you. Turn that energy into something beautiful, creative and made with love... This is pure therapy!”

Yoga disciplines

Some common yoga styles practised around the world

Ananda yoga: focuses on gentle postures designed to move the energy up to the brain and prepare the body for meditation.

Anusara yoga: pairs strict principles of body alignment with playful spirit.

Ashtanga yoga: involves synchronising breathing with progressive and continuous series of postures to detoxify muscles and organs.

Bikram yoga: a comprehensive workout that includes all the components of fitness: muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular flexibility and weight loss.

Hatha yoga: the foundation of all yogas; it incorporates Asanas (postures), pranayama (regulated breathing), meditation (dharana and dhyana) and kundalini (laya yoga) into a complete system that can be used to achieve enlightenment or self-realisation.

Integral yoga: this traditional type of yoga combines postures, breathing exercises, selfless service, meditation, chanting, prayer and self-inquiry.

Iyengar yoga: promotes strength, flexibility, endurance, and balance through coordinated breathing and poses that require precise body alignment.

Power yoga: the American interpretation of ashtanga yoga, a discipline that combines stretching, strength training and meditative breathing.

Restorative yoga: passively allows muscles to relax.

Viniyoga: commonly used as a therapeutic practice for people who have suffered injuries or are recovering from surgery.

Vinyasa: focuses on coordination of breath and movement and is a very physically active form of yoga.

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