Yoga

[logisticslad]

I tried my first Yoga class at the gym last night and had a good time and a good workout! It was fun! I was surprised at how much I could actually do (or at least come close to doing). I clearly have a long way to go to be any good at it, but the point is to do something that makes me feel good about myself. My biggest challenge will be maintaining regular breathing. That's not something that I've ever been good at, but it seems like working on it could go a long way to helping me feel more relaxed and centered. The teacher was great and she suggested several alternate forms for those of us who were unable to do the ones that she was presenting. For example, I learned how to do "Puppy Dog" in place of "Downward Dog." Halfway through, I was sure that I'd never make it to the end of class, but she switched gears and had us sitting or laying down so I made it through. My back felt great and every muscle felt tired. I felt exhausted by the end of it, but had a great sense of accomplishment. I'll be back next week!

Comments

[noire.livejournal.com]

Wow! I just started doing yoga regularly in May, and it's really hard but I think I'm making progress. I can't do a lot of the poses, or even come close yet. I *think* that my balance may be improving, and I am getting a little more stretched. I think.

But--excellent that you're doing it! I can't say I *enjoy* it actually, but I think it's doing good things...

I hope you post about your progress as you continue.

[logisticslad.livejournal.com]

Just to clarify - I could do most of the first level poses and a few of the second and third level ones using support blocks, since I could not stretch very far. I've always had good balance, but I found it incredibly hard to maintain many of the positions due to lack of muscle strength or poor stretch. It's way cool that you're doing it! Do you have a favorite resource book to recommend?