I'm a runner which means I'm about as flexible as a stump. I have many friends who vigorously sing the praises of yoga to become bendy.
One of my besties happens to be a yoga instructor and we'd have conversations like this:
Jesi: Doni, you really should try yoga.
Me: But I'm just not flexible or bendy.
Jesi: (dying a bit inside) Duh, because you're not doing yoga. (Okay, maybe she didn't say the "duh" part, but I'm sure she thought it).
Me: Hmmmm, I don't know.
Jesi: I think there's a misperception that yoga isn't much of a workout.
Me: Not me. I KNOW it's hard. Too hard.
Jesi: Well, with your running, you didn't start with marathons. We'd start with the basics.
Me: Are you going to start going on runs with me if I try yoga?
Jesi: No.
These conversations went on for several months until Jesi broke me down with her astonishing yogi mind powers. I agreed to give it a try and signed up for two one-on-one sessions.
The first session was spent on really hard stuff, like "down dog". I think we ended up doing a total of three poses because she knew that I was a danger to myself and spent most of our session making sure I was properly aligned. My hamstrings were so tight that sitting up with my legs straight in front of me was a challenge. (Seriously. It hurt).
Jesi: Doni, you really should try yoga.
Me: But I'm just not flexible or bendy.
Jesi: (dying a bit inside) Duh, because you're not doing yoga. (Okay, maybe she didn't say the "duh" part, but I'm sure she thought it).
Me: Hmmmm, I don't know.
Jesi: I think there's a misperception that yoga isn't much of a workout.
Me: Not me. I KNOW it's hard. Too hard.
Jesi: Well, with your running, you didn't start with marathons. We'd start with the basics.
Me: Are you going to start going on runs with me if I try yoga?
Jesi: No.
These conversations went on for several months until Jesi broke me down with her astonishing yogi mind powers. I agreed to give it a try and signed up for two one-on-one sessions.
The first session was spent on really hard stuff, like "down dog". I think we ended up doing a total of three poses because she knew that I was a danger to myself and spent most of our session making sure I was properly aligned. My hamstrings were so tight that sitting up with my legs straight in front of me was a challenge. (Seriously. It hurt).
The second session, I really didn't want to go. But I'd committed and I didn't want to let Jesi down. I tried really hard to incorporate all the things she'd taught me a week earlier but my body had a mind of its own. Poses that Jesi lovingly referred to as "relaxing" or "restorative", I would describe as "torture" or "Holy Crap, when is she going to let me stop?!"
Fast forward six months and several hip cramps later and I can now do a down dog (sort of -- my legs still aren't straight, but I've made progress). We actually do "vinyasas" and I kind of know which pose she's telling me to do next even though she's still talking in a foreign language (She's Indian, so her pronunciations are very authentic - as far as I know).
Yoga has helped me build my core, improve my balance, and calm my mind.
Yoga has helped me build my core, improve my balance, and calm my mind.
I've even noticed a slight improvement in my flexibility, though I will never be mistaken for a gymnast, or probably even an actual yoga student.
Do I love yoga? No. But I do love spending an hour with a special friend and amazing, enthusiastic yoga instructor doing something I know I *need* to do. And when I've wrapped up a heavenly Savasana and we've bid each other Namaste, I know I'm walking away a better, stronger, more balanced person.
Do I love yoga? No. But I do love spending an hour with a special friend and amazing, enthusiastic yoga instructor doing something I know I *need* to do. And when I've wrapped up a heavenly Savasana and we've bid each other Namaste, I know I'm walking away a better, stronger, more balanced person.
RSS Feed