“It makes my day go better.” “It quiets my mind.” “It keeps me healthy.” “Everything flows better afterward.” “My back pain and stiffness are gone.”
“It just plain feels good.”
Just a few quotes David Fishman of Mountain Yoga in South Lake Tahoe hears from happy and healthy locals and visitors.
David is a co-founder of Mountain Yoga, South Lake Tahoe’s first yoga studio, and runs its with his partner, Brandy Davis. David also serves as a founding director of the Yoga Studies Institute and assists in the development of their programs.
David began his study of Eastern philosophy and spiritual practices in the Tibetan tradition over a quarter century ago while living in a small Himalayan village where he earned a Diploma in Indo-Tibetan Studies from Visva Bharati University in West Bengal. After studying and traveling in India for five years he returned to the U.S. to obtain a J.D. degree in law from the University of California at Berkeley and pursue a career in international estate planning. He began to explore hatha yoga studies in 1995 and since then has traveled extensively, studying with many of the foremost yoga practitioners of our day.
Experiencing the health and mental benefits of yoga firsthand, David was determined to bring a yoga studio to South Lake Tahoe to enrich the social and spiritual fabric of his mountain community. Not to mention to help the athletes quiet the mind and focus more powerfully and effortlessly.
David discusses the Benefits of Yoga:
No matter what your age or level of fitness, the benefits of yoga are available to you. I like to think of yoga as a complete reconditioning process. On a physical level, it helps us to develop a fit and agile body, while training us to breathe more efficiently. And on a mental level, yoga’s focusing and relaxation qualities can not only prevent heart disease and strengthen the immune system, but they can also reduce stress by virtue of their effect on the physiological reactions triggered by stress–blood pressure, respiratory and heart rate, perspiration and muscle tension. And by moving each joint in the body through its full range of motion, yoga is even said to be able to reverse the aging process.
Yet even more impressive than its usefulness in health maintenance and injury rehabilitation is yoga’s contribution to competitive and recreational athletes seeking ever higher levels of performance. While increased range of motion and respiratory efficiency enable the athlete to train harder and more effectively, the ability to concentrate and to shut out noise and other distractions contributes to the total integration of body and mind—often enabling the athlete to enter “the zone” nearly at will.
You can find David at Mountain Yoga located at 585 Tahoe Keys Blvd. in the Tahoe Keys Village in South Lake Tahoe. Special events and a wide variety of yoga classes are offered daily. Call 530-543-1400.