Yoga provides many health benefits that are often overlooked
Ashly loves to live an active lifestyle and has been a member of the YMCA for over 3 years. Whether she is running, lifting, or taking part in a dance class, you can usually find her at the Y. But one day, she sustained an injury and was concerned about making the damage worse.
Ashly Takes Advantage of the Free Injury Checks at Irsay Family YMCA
She went to the free injury checks provided by Franciscan Health Sports and Medicine located in the same building as the Irsay Family YMCA at CityWay. “I overworked myself on a long run, and knew about the injury checks when I signed up, so I figured I should take advantage of the offer to make sure I didn’t hurt myself more, and learn how to heal properly,” recalled Ashly.
“The experience was great – I walked in, signed my name and waited for about 5 minutes while others were getting their injury checks done. They recommended a lot of rest & recovery, as well as a few different exercises with resistance bands to keep my muscles strong but not overworked. They also helped me pick what exercises I could continue to do and had to stop completely, since I like to do a lot of different types of exercises and classes.”
Ashly Turns to Yoga in Response to Her Running Injury
The physical therapists at Franciscan Health suggested Ashly practice yoga for 6-8 weeks as she waited for her injury to heal. She visited some local yoga studios, but ultimately decided to upgrade her Y membership to include Y+Studio that would get her access to yoga classes at the Y.
Ashly Preferred Yoga at the Y Over Other Local Yoga Studios
“I’ve taken several yoga and Pilates classes at the Y before the pandemic, but I decided to venture out to yoga studios to see what options and class schedules were available.” Ashly said, “Turns out, there aren’t many more options for my schedule at the other yoga studios.”
And Ashly felt more welcomed at the YMCA anyways, “I felt like I didn’t fit in with the strictly yoga/Pilates crowd at the other studios, and felt more at home at the Y, so I decided to upgrade to the Y+Studio membership.”
Recovery Goes Well and Ashly Looks Forward to Trying Small Group Training
Once Ashly recovers, she is looking forward to trying Small Group Training—another benefit of her Y+Studio membership upgrade.
“I definitely want to get into the small group training when my leg is completely recovered. I love doing yoga to clear my mind and stretch out any lingering stress, so I’ll continue to do those as well.”
Recovery Has Given Ashly Time to Reflect on What the Y Means to Her
“I love the Y. It’s comforting seeing the same faces (staff and members) each time I visit. Recently I feel like I’ve been missing out since I’ve been taking it easy, but always feel inspired to get a good workout in while I’m there, and always see friendly faces, which makes me happy.
Working out is my ‘me time,’ so I always remind myself that no matter what I’m doing at the Y, it’s for myself – sometimes I want to burn 600 calories, and sometimes I just want to walk on the treadmill and listen to new music for an hour.”
Y+Studio at the YMCA
We are so glad that Ashly took advantage of the free injury checks offered at the Irsay Family YMCA and is on her way to recovery. If Ashly’s story has inspired you and you’re interested in upgrading your membership to include yoga and small group training, sign up for the Y+Studio membership upgrade online at INDYMCA.org. Or, if you’d just like to try it out, your first class is free!
Just sign up in the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis App.
