Sunday, March 7, 2010

Yoga Revisited

So here is the long awaited update on my first time to do yoga. Ameera and Reshma had already been before- and promised that this was a good class for "beginners." I'm not quite sure if I fit the category for beginner- there must have been some prerequisite I missed- everyone in the class could at least touch their toes - much unlike myself. Let me remind you, I begged my friends to bypass the class they refer to as "sweaty yoga" to let me try out yoga at a normal temperature. When I walked in the room, I thought I had been tricked- by normal temperature, they really meant at least 80 probably hotter. Not an ideal temperature in which to exercise for a California girl like myself.  So, I tried to put my mat at what I thought would be the back of the classroom to avoid embarrassment as much possible- oh no... the teacher invited us to come forward, and before I knew it, we were in the 2nd row. AWKWARD.

I rolled out my yoga mat, which I had purchased especially for this occasion. Unfortunately, the only ones at Target had symbols on them- mine has a tree- save your laughter for later please:
 
Yoga is a quiet exercise, which allows you to focus on breathing. Some people are very good at it- others are very loud at it. Before the class even started, the woman in front of me (who looked like she had been yoga-ing for years) started what I will refer to as "loud-breathing." I'm not talking breathing that sounds like a loud sigh- I'm talking about deep-down guttural breathing. I felt like such a pansy with my normal quiet breathing!!!

So, the class started- the first instruction was to lie down on my back- so I was feeling pretty good about this one- maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. We did some more breathing- then... the stretching started. 

Long story short- we were asked to flex our bodies in ways that my poor body had never before flexed. I was sweating (I thought this wasn't supposed to be the sweaty yoga class) and my poor muscles were shaking. I took quick peeks around the classroom while in the "downward facing dog" position. In case you don't know what this pose is- it's when you get on all fours, and thrust your hips into the air while facing downward. I'm pretty sure you AREN'T supposed to peer through your legs at the person behind you. Oh well- I had to assess my lack of ability- and the downward facing dog seemed like the prime time to look at the person behind me. 

Ameera and Reshma were more flexible then they let on.... I looked at Reshma once- during our "pigeon pose" and she looked like a pro. While I was struggling to manipulate my body into the proper form- she was making it look easy. 
Needless to say- my favorite part of the hour long class was the end- not because I could put my body out of its misery, but because I got to take a quick nap during out final breathing exercise on our backs. I'm not sure you are supposed to nap, but the room was hot, I was tired and the lights were off- it had been a long week. 

This is NOT the traditional form of exercise I am used to. I run- outside- and listen to rap music while I do it. I have never before taken the time to breath, stretch and listen to "yoga music" to get in my daily cardio. All in all- I was SORE the next day. Muscles that I didn't know existed, were hurting- but I felt good. Needless to say, I would try it again- maybe this time, I will set my goals high, and try to touch my toes without bending my knees. With my life as crazy as it is right now, it was nice to take an hour out of my day- and really focus on other things besides graduating, finding a job, my masters report and all of the work I still need to do. Reshma and Ameera were great yoga partners- and we have plans to do it again soon!!!!

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