It’s a gray drizzly Portland afternoon, a likely time for spirits to flag.
But on the top floor of Catholic Charities of Oregon, a group of women sit in a friendly circle to breathe, stretch and energize.
Rose Bak, chief operating officer, leads a monthly chair yoga session for clients and staff. There is no charge.
“This yoga makes me aware I can do small things to make a big difference in my life,” says Christine, a longtime resident of Esperanza Court, a Catholic Charities affordable housing site next to the agency’s offices.
Christine had a hip replaced 10 years ago and the Catholic Charities yoga class has been key to helping the joint heal and stay strong.
“I used to be a wheelchair and cain person, but no more,” Christine says.
Yoga reminds Christine to keep working on fitness in general, which is vital for better aging. She laughs, saying that she thinks yoga keeps wrinkles at bay.
But Christine gets serious when she explains that yoga has an impact on her mental wellbeing.
“It helps me have strength to not worry about everyday life,” Christine says. “There is less anxiety.”
Christine finds that yoga also increases her energy. She uses it to volunteer at Providence Portland Medical Center and other sites.
Most yoga in the United States, including the version led by Bak at Catholic Charities, is not a Hindu religious act, but a secular health and healing exercise that focuses on the wellbeing of the whole person.
Many Catholics practice yoga. Father Todd Molinari, one of the highest officials at the Archdiocese of Portland, said he knows priests who do it.
Bak wants the Catholic Charities yoga session to be a safe refuge where people can relax. It’s not only free, unlike a yoga studio, but it’s grounds for conversation, laughter and being oneself.
“People who are experiencing homelessness and other trauma are in a heightened state of adrenaline all the time,” says Bak. “The nice thing about yoga is that it starts to let the body release that adrenaline dump. They can come back to their bodies and release that and breathe more deeply.”
Bak offers ways to help tension. Poses for wrists and arms can reduce injury. For one staffer who spent the morning walking to visit camps of people who are homeless, she offered ways to relieve tight calves.
Bak is a certified yoga instructor, including special knowledge for people with disabilities, those with larger bodies and frail elders. She adjusts her guidance according to the student’s abilities.
“My whole goal is to make yoga more accessible,” she says. “I tell people I am just a guide. I say to them, ‘Listen to your own body.’”
Several Catholic Charities staff are regulars at the session.
“It’s relaxing and community-building,” says Ann Marie Latka, peer support specialist for the agency’s homelessness services. “You meet like-minded people.”
Latka appreciates the meditation, which seems to relieve life’s worries.
“It’s also good if you have a desk job,” says Latke, for whom this is the first yoga experience.
Emma Bacon, a health outreach specialist, says yoga helps center her so she can be more receptive to clients who ask for help.
“People just can do better with challenges if they are unstressed,” said Bak, who herself averages eight demanding meetings per day.
Christine, the resident of Catholic Charities housing, says that both yoga and Catholic Charities have an open and welcoming way.
The yoga class is a sacred and confidential space, where the practitioners can be themselves, no matter their body or experiences. What happens in yoga stays in yoga.
To people who are uncertain if it’s for them, Christine says it’s worth trying as a way to increase wellness.
“I would tell people to try getting away from the TV,” she says. “This is a way to keep living a healthy life.”