Even though i can run 4+ miles a few days a week, i am not fit. I
found out how much when i started babysitting Baby Brady and my hip flexors (didn't even know what those were before) kept giving me troubles because of how i carried him. Whenever i did anything that wasn't involving sitting or running, sleeping or eating, my muscles would picket the next day and let me know this wasn't in their job description. (Little union joke.)
found out how much when i started babysitting Baby Brady and my hip flexors (didn't even know what those were before) kept giving me troubles because of how i carried him. Whenever i did anything that wasn't involving sitting or running, sleeping or eating, my muscles would picket the next day and let me know this wasn't in their job description. (Little union joke.)
I couldn't get a buddy to commit just yet so i venture out to the YMCA all by myself. I haven't been to the Y for probably 8 months though we've been paying for it. (In other words, we donate to the YMCA and regular attendance was another thing i promised to keep up with in retirement and failed to do.)
I got my yoga mat, my shoes are off. I am ready for Gentle Yoga.
Oh good, the instructor is late. Like 10 minutes late. (Is this allowed in yoga?) Everyone is here and ready and get this, I am probably the next the youngest person in the room of 14 people. One woman came in with a walker!
Finally he arrives in a rush. (Hmm, there is no rushing in yoga, is there? Also i am the third youngest person in the room now. But that's a good thing in an instructor right?)
And then he starts us in a stand up pose, eyes closed, arms loose and palms out. I like the nice music. He's talking to us about relaxing and NOT being in a rush, he's talking about breathing. He's talking about waves at the oean. He's talking about breathing. He's telling us to feel our toes and our fingers. He's talking about breathing. Now relax your neck he says and think about the beautiful place we live. And then the breathing again.
(FOR GOD's sake.... I am breathing! How long are we going to keep doing this? It seems like 5 minutes have gone by already, i sneak a look at the clock, yep it's a quarter to 11:00)
He's back to the seasons, I'm breathing. Inhale and exhale, ( though like like Zumba, i have it backwards every time). Also i noticed every single person has their eyes closed when i peeked at the clock.
I'm breathing, he's still talking about the season, then he say something like this: "spring will be melting into summer, you know like that song "Turn, Turn Turn" by the Beatles."
WHAT???? By the Beatles? I open my eyes again to see if anyone caught that. Nobody. Then i keep thinking. Who does that song anyway? Why can't i remember? I know for sure it's not the Beatles and i would bet all my Jeopardy money on that, but who is it? The Turtles? No, that doesn't sound right at all. Yes! This is what is going through my head for the rest of the time. It's making me crazy i can't think of the band.
Finally we are done just the standing and we do some more stuff that involves a chair. If you're good, you don't need the chair. After about a minute in that pose, i got a chair.
So far, so good though. Wow, these stretches are pretty easy. Gentle Yoga is maybe TOO gentle. I only need to work on the breathing but i'm good at this! We do balance on one leg, one arm extended, pretty good at that too ...especially if i lean my hip against the mirror. (When he comes around I don't do that though. He never saw me.)
He helps me get my back flat when i have one leg extended balanced on the chair and one arm straight out. But he had to help others too, not just me, the newbie.
It was all pretty gentle actually. Finally we are done. That was a fast hour, well, 50 minutes. Not sure this is going to be enough yoga for me I'm thinking. I'm going to check the schedule for a different yoga class.
hahahahahahaha...... It's now the next morning as i write this. My shoulders, butt, backs of my legs, even my arms are screaming! They are not only picketing, they already went on strike!
They lied! (Is lying in yoga allowed?) If this is Gentle Yoga, what is the other yoga going to be like? Thank goodness our instructor was 10 minutes late!
So I'm going to keep going. Besides those new muscles which have been on permanent L&I for years, i need to work on my breathing and yes, my judgement!
Besides, where else can you go at 58 years old you and be nearly the youngest person in the room?
Oh yeah, and right as I am pulling out of the parking lot of the Y it came to me: Turn Turn Turn is by The Byrds! I should have known that immediately but it's one of those kinds of things that usually keep me up in the middle of the night. So maybe yoga can help me with my memory too! That would be the best!
13 comments:
This is a duplicate for folks on Facebook, but i needed a new post and there are a couple of people who read here who are not on FB. I think.
When I saw it on FB, I thought it would make a great blog post!
Good for you for stretching (ha!) out of your comfort zone. I get impatient just watching a yoga class from the door.
Bethany, i also wanted to put this up on my blog so i have a record of when i started. (It's hard to find historical posts on FB because there are too many). I am hoping to make yoga a regular part of my routine, like running has been for 35 years. I want to remember how it started.
Today was a better day though i imagine i am going to still be really sore in the morning again, but i like knowing that even GENTLE yoga is working stuff. I am going to take a regular yoga class on Monday. Now i have a few buddies ready to accompany me.
And even though today was a better instructor, i am still not clearing my mind. I don't care. I'm there for the stretching, for my hip flexors and all those other muscles that need work. But i kept opening my eyes again watching everybody and don't really pay attention that much about my breathing as long as i don't keel over from holding my breath i'm good. I do notice though that some folks are really seeming to be in that zone. I doubt i will ever get there, but i am liking what it can do for my body i think.
I'm glad you like it! I was always skeptical of it. Good to know it gives you a workout.
In one week i have been to yoga FOUR TIMES! Two were Gentle Yoga and two were Vinyasa Flow yoga. I've had four different instructors and i like that for variety. I don't want to be doing the same routine all the time. I am going to love this i think. Especially since now i have a yoga buddy. My friend Karie (who i run with sometimes) just joined the Y today. I love that i have a variety of a morning or afternoon class too. This is helping me get into a routine that i was kind of missing in retirement.
It's still hard and i wobble and balance doesn't come easy, but i'm not the only one so that's good. But the hour goes by in a flash. And i swear this morning was one of the better mornings i've had in a long while achey wise.
I am still running, i think it helps with running. I have been running a couple of hours before going to yoga, but today louie and i went for a very long walk instead. One hour 38 minutes!
Ok, just to clarify. I am NOT running for two hours. I am only running about 35-40 minutes two hours BEFORE yoga.
Time to change this blog tonight while Brian's band is practicing. I had another good morning waking up without hurting as much as i usually do! Yoga rocks!
I lied. I forgot i had to write in my anniversary journal. On Monday Brian and i will have been married for 13 years. We don't celebrate with presents or cards but we write in these journals as a way to recap the year and our feelings about the year. I got the idea from Gumbo YaYa. Can't remember now who had the idea for me because i had asked but it is perfect. I realize how much you can forget if you don't write it down and this is a way to encapsulate it in one place.
So i worked on that tonight while he was at band practice instead.
I love the anniversary journals!
I need a yoga buddy.
Testing.... this for some reason is now asking me to prove i'm not a robot. i thought i turned that off! Is it doing it for everyone?
Hi Amanda? Have you done yoga before? Are you able to now? I highly recommend it . I've been i think 5 or 6 times now since i posted this. I am not going to worry about the ooooommmmm, meditation, clearing shit out of my mind right now because i just can't do it. I keep my eyes open most of the time. I'm just there for the stretching right now. Maybe i will get more into the 'namaste' of it, and maybe not. But i like how it's making me feel and i swear i am not so hobbly in the morning when i wake up. One night i even slept all through the night for over 8 hours without waking up once and that NEVER happens. I can probably count on one hand how often that has happened in the past three or four years.
i still need to change this blog but right now i'm in Port Townsend with louie/Sarah. And it's difficult to do on an iPad.
Hey I found your blog on my new MacBook using DuckDuckGo a search engine that doesn't track where you've been.
PS. I had a hard time proving I wasn't a robot because I could not identify all the photos of bread.
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