Yoga: Mind and Body

This morning I went to my first yoga class in more than a year and only my third ever.  It was absolutely as hard as I thought it would be but I was also pleased that I was not the only beginner in the class and peformed well enough.

The teacher, Mara, was great and she was not the nazi yoga teacher that does the advanced classes   Part of the class is how one envisions: dark, soft music playing and a sense of serenity generated through her words.

The hardest parts for me were definitely quieting the mind to keep from going to other places and stay focused on the pose or routine.  Also, even though I tried very hard to get the moves technically correct, I definitely was not able to work the right muscles at the right times – because I would know if I was doing it right.  Some performance anxiety

I learned warrior I, II & III, star, down dog, corpse and some other positions that I’ve already forgotten the names for.

My huge takeaway was around how yoga (flexibility and core) will supplement running and strength/weight training to help achieve upcoming goals for races and ultimately for Everest.

I guess it is the “rule of three”.  Running works mostly the lower body, weights the upper body and yoga/stretching the middle body (and to the top and bottom of course).

I also think it is one of those things that I can see myself starting from a place where I can only get better and improve on based on how much I can take parts of my body to new positions.  If I can really quiet the mind and really focus on the moment, that would be a huge accomplishment also.

After I left the class and was walking to the locker room, I heard my name being called and Mara wanted to talk to me.  She asked how I was doing as she said she could tell that some of the moves were difficult and that I need to work on breathing better.  I kind of laughed and said that yes, breathing was definitely on the current agenda.

Mara wanted to understand the moment of summiting a mountain and if that was “peak” moment.  I told her that it was, but that most deaths occured on the descent, so getting back down was more satisfying – unlike crossing a finish line when you are really done.  She then talked about being proud of these individual achievements and moments and this made me laugh also!  I showed her a motion where you hold your hands out like fans and rotate them to the sides and explained what that means.  She got it and smiled also.

So, it’s just one morning and I’ll see if by the end of the year I’m able to continue – while smiling, laughing and breathing along the way