A GOOD YEAR - Fitness Challenge: Yoga

I am totally impressed with Cathy's courage to try something new during an especially tough week.  Yoga has many, many faces!  The yoga that we do in studios in the physical limb of an ancient Indian practice that has spiritual and mental aspects as well. 

It is truly worth calling a studio and letting them know what you have going on, if your a beginner, any new or old injuries, prior to attending class.  The super flexible need to be careful of overextending joints, and the not so flexible, like myself, need to work within their own limits.  And what you can do on one side of your body may be vastly different than the other side.    Definitely start with a beginners class, and ask for modifications if they are not being offered up, as there is usually a similar pose to get a similar result.

 A yoga class is typically structured as such: 

• Usually starting seated on your yoga mat, the instructor may set an intention like letting go of fear or negativity or setting aside your to-do list.
• The teacher usually next asks you to focus on you breath.  Then encourages you to keep this ease of breathing and leads the class with some warm up poses.  If your breathing is compromised, you are most likely beyond your limits!
• The rest of the class progresses through poses that might be seated, standing, sidelying, prone, or any combination of!  The poses have Sanskrit names, and an English translation.  For instance, Downward Dog is translated from Adho Mukha Svanasana.
• The last pose of a session is called Savasana, or Corpse Pose, where you get to just lay on your back and relax.  I have fallen asleep during this wonderful let-it-all-go part of class.

Try a few different entry level classes and see what instructor fits you best.  Each instructor shines in different ways, just as each class is unique.  Also if you feel your ready to try something more challenging, ask the studio.  They know there instructors and classes best.  Also most studios have mats available, so you may not need invest in one prior to trying it out.

Lastly, be careful with yourself and stop if you are overextended.  Whenever I need a break in class, I take Child's Pose or Balasana.  

From Cathy:

To be completely honest, this hasn't been the best week.  The workout stuff is going really well.  I am feeling good, I have more endurance, and I am looking forward to my walks (even in the heat).  But I'm participating in this divorce recovery program this week in the evenings and I think it's consuming a lot of my time and eating up a lot of my mental energy.  I'm also working through some legal stuff and that's always hard too.  Anyhow, I've tried writing this post about going to a yoga class at least three times and feel like it sounds depressing which isn't at all how I feel about the class or the workout program.  If anything the workouts have been a saving grace.  They help clear my head and let me refocus my attention in the present and not revisiting the past or stressing about the future.

I guess that's why the tone of this post is so important to me.  I am getting a lot better physically and I think it's helping me to feel a lot clearer mentally.  My mood is better, my tension is reduced, and my energy is increasing.  So while things aren't perfect this week and I'm stressed and I'm tired, it's important that I properly convey how much worse it could be if I wasn't getting out and moving.

With that, I went to yoga on Sunday...

This month's challenge was to take a beginner yoga class.  It was my idea.  Overall, I have been feeling really good this month as I get more comfortable with the walks.  My body has started to crave more movement (which is really cool) so I thought I could add a little something else to my workout program. I also figured that practicing yoga will be incredibly beneficial to me while I'm healing from some emotional stuff.  As I understand it, yoga can help significantly reduce tension, relax muscles, and improve strength - all things that I could super use help with.

Having said that, it's kind of surprising (even to me) that I suggested yoga. I have tried yoga on a number of occasions but never really got to a point where a yoga class left me feeling like I got enough of a workout (see unhealthy thinking in my previous post).  At the same time, I didn't feel more relaxed after class either.  A lot of times I would end up getting frustrated while struggling with a pose or get mad at my body for lacking basic flexibility. But, in the spirit of starting over, I am erasing my memories of yoga not being super great and trying again.

I found Northville Yoga Center using "the Google."  Mostly I chose this studio because I liked their philosophy (which you can get a sense of from their homepage) but they are also reasonably priced and offer a good number and variety of classes. For all the classes I've taken in my life, I don't know much about the different types of yoga.  I've tried Bikram (hot yoga) but that's pretty intense and the heat would be too much for me right now.  When I dug into what each of the classes are I decided to try the Hatha class.  I'm sure Beth can tell you more about Hatha but I chose it because what I read made it seem like it used the building blocks of yoga poses and would be a good starting point. 

So like I said, making yoga my challenge this month was my idea.  But that doesn't mean I wasn't intimidated by the prospect of being the only beginner in the class.  To make me more comfortable and be accountable to someone so I didn't back out, I dragged a good friend with me to test out the class.  We went to a 9:20 am session on a Sunday.  The instructor greeted us as we entered the studio and was super nice.  Honestly, it made me wonder why I ever feel intimidated by these classes.  I've never met a mean yoga instructor.  They are always super nice and super helpful and just glad that I'm there (they also seem super at peace - almost zen-like in their calmness and energy).  Anyhow, we told her we were beginners so she could anticipate that we might need extra instruction/help with the poses.  If you are a first timer at a class I always think it's helpful to let the instructor know.  We obviously didn't really know what we'd need for the class and she helped us pick up the tools the class would be using:  mat, blanket, bolster, and block.

The yoga space itself was really cool.  The room wasn't huge and was set up so the instructor was in the center so it was easy to see her.  She also dimmed the lights, lit some candles, and played soothing music. I felt relaxed in the space and we hadn't even started!

The class started of slow and I really, really liked that. For our first pose, the instructor had us align the bolster with our spine and lay back on it.  She then had us stretch our arms out so that we formed a "T" (here is a picture of what we were doing).  That seems like a pretty basic movement right?  Well it wasn't, not for me.  I felt like there was a rope tied to each of my wrists and when I reached out my arms the rope was being stretched and I could feel a strong pull across my chest.  It was so eye opening for me.

When I first came up to Michigan in January after the separation I was kind of a mess.  Mentally, I was distraught.  Physically, I was so anxious that I was visibly tense and stiff in my movement.  I've worked hard across the last six months to get to a better place and while I had reduced my anxiety and tension significantly, I am clearly still carrying around much of the physical burden.  Honestly, for me it was a revelation that this tension was still such a big problem.  Since this yoga class, my awareness of the clenching and tension has increased significantly.  I still need to learn better techniques for reducing it in the moment, but identifying it feels like a big step.

So as the class progressed the poses became more challenging - moving from the floor to our knees and then up to a standing position.  The kneeling poses really hurt my knees but I learned that you can put a blanket under your mat (perpendicular to mat) and that will add some cushioning without disrupting your poses. By the time we got to the standing poses, I was working up a sweat.  If I'm being totally honest, this part was hard and not super fun.  I felt uncoordinated and didn't totally know what I was doing.  But fortunately I recognized my unhealthy thinking and responded by reminding myself that I am new to this and much of the experience is in enjoying the journey, so I tried to relax and kept going.  That doesn't mean it was fine after that, it was still hard, but I pressed on. I also started to focus on time at this point and was kind of ready to be done.  Fortunately, there was no clock in the room so I couldn't divert my attention to watching the the minutes tick by.  And after the most difficult movements we did go back to some super relaxing closing poses that felt really good.  

At the end of class we packed up our stuff and walked out of the studio.  A woman from the class approached us and told us that it was a really hard class for a first session and we should feel great for getting through it.  First of all, that was really nice of her to go out of her way to make us feel included.  Secondly, compared to other classes I've taken, this one seemed like a super good beginner class because the poses weren't complex contortions that left me feeling like I was trying to bend myself into a pretzel so I was surprised to hear that an experienced yoga practitioner found it challenging as well. 

I have to say, walking out of that class I realized that I felt lighter than I can remember.  My muscles were tired and I felt so refreshed and relaxed.  I'm not making that up!  I really did!  I couldn't believe how grateful I was for that feeling. The tension that I went into the class with had been lifted and I felt happy and calm.  I don't know if that feeling is the result of an overall improvement in my thought patterns and well-being or if it was just a really good class to start out with.  Either way, I immediately began to plan my next visit.  I have rearranged my schedule this weekend to go again - which is shocking to me that I liked it that much.

I can't say I'm "hooked" yet, although I could totally see that happening, but I do think even adding one session a week to let go of the stress (even if it does still come back a few hours later) would be so healthy for my body and my soul.   I hope I can start implementing some of the concepts from the class into my daily life (ex. focus on your breath) to help me reduce tension on an ongoing basis as part of the healing process.
 
I really didn't think going to yoga would be any different this time than it has been when I've gone before.  I haven't isolated exactly what made this class so special.  Maybe my attitude is better this time around?  Maybe letting go of some unhealthy thoughts allowed me to stay focused?  Maybe I'm just more determined?  Regardless, that yoga class made a significant difference in my overall mental an physical health and I am excited to go back.

Cathy in her best zen pose

Angie's 30 day CHALLENGE!

Hello Everyone,

I am Angie! I'm a Capricorn and like long walks on the beach... oops, wrong blog. The studio I regularly practice yoga at recently held a 30 day challenge. The rules were - do your best to practice 30 sessions of yoga in 35 days (they gave a few extra days knowing people travel, get sick, etc) & no back to back classes (a morning class and evening class in the same day was acceptable).  Well, let's just sat they had me at the word 'challenge', kind of. 

From the moment I heard about the challenge I wanted to sign up! I'm part meat-head, so I'll do just about anything with word 'challenge' in it.  Physically, I knew I could do it. I typically workout 6-7 days a week anyway so I knew I was strong enough. Plus, I usually don't attend the gentler, more stretchy 'slow flow' classes, so adding those to my repertoire would certainly help me get through the 30ish days without injury! But, my biggest concern was how in the world am I going to make it to the yoga studio EVERY DAY for 30 days!?! Most of my workouts are at 5am when my household is asleep. I have 3 young kids. My husband works long hours and doesn't have an 8-5 schedule. What if my kids get sick? What if I get sick? I had travel plans already scheduled for 6 of the 35 days which would mean completing at least 1 double. Did I mention that I'm a meat-head? Just because they're allowing 35 days doesn't mean I would want to take that liberty. Travel or no travel, I'm completing this in 30 days!! 

After about a week of computing various 'if the stars align every day and nothing unusual comes up I can do this' schedules, I signed up! I knew there would be times I  would need to get a sitter to watch the kids and I did. I felt horrible mom-guilt for about the first 2 weeks when on more than one occasion I would be at yoga while my husband put the kids to bed and be back at yoga when they woke up the next morning. I even told the kids I was taking them to their preschool's daycare before school because I had a doctor’s appointment (lies, lies!!!) because they were so sad every time I went to yoga! At about the same time, I was getting sick of yoga too. Yep, I said it. For people who have completed the challenge before they would say 'this is where the yoga really begins'. What the heck did that mean? Regardless, I kept on trucking and before I knew it, I had completed 25 sessions in 21 days!! The kids eventually got used to me going to yoga so much and no longer made a big deal about me leaving. I eventually got used to my daily practice, sometimes twice daily, and leaving the house during ‘business’ hours (when the kids were awake).

Then I went on my first trip. It was an awesome 4 day girly weekend in NYC! We exercised (no yoga), ate & shopped and had a simply fabulous time! When I returned I got right on track and went to 2 more classes, just 3 classes left to complete my goal of 30 classes in 30 days, not 35 days! Then it happened. I got sick. Eyes watering so I couldn't see, sick. Go to bed as soon as my husband gets home from work, sick. I missed my first day of yoga (with the exception of when I was out of town). No problem, I could still complete my goal if I went the next day and did a double the day after. But the next day came and I still felt awful. I realized going that day would be a really poor choice and completely the opposite of what yoga is all about. Ding (light bulb turning on)! It's about listening to your body, not having bragging rights to a yoga challenge! When I finally gave up the power of simply wanting to complete a goal (and be one of the first of the 60 participants to do it) I started letting the yoga 'really begin'. I stayed home that day, went to 2 classes on day 30 and completed my 30th class on day 31, the morning of my second out of town trip. 

I finally figured out how to 'let go' as they always say in yoga. I let go of my meat-head expectations. I listened to what my body needed. I let go of going to yoga for getting my check mark for the day. I learned that it's okay to set a goal knowing that I may need to readjust and recalibrate along the way when factors outside of my control arise. It's okay that it took 31 days instead of 30. I still completed an amazing goal considering I manage a household of 5 people (and a dog) and don't have regular family or hired help. And guess what else? While I was gone so much the kids, husband & house didn't fall apart/explode/disintegrate/etc! Everything was fine. No one else worried about those things, just me. They are my worries and if I can learn to let go I may just start gaining so much more than I ever could imagine.  

Physically, the journey was quite do-able. I made sure to only go to 3-4 of the more strenuous classes each week and filled in the rest of the slots with the gentler classes. Spiritually, going to my mat each day and taking those moments of rest and mediation were fantastic and calming! Mentally, learning to ‘let go’ was the most valuable take away from the challenge. 

Namaste!