Yoga = Sanskrit for "Life-Changing" - Part 2

New Year's Eve 2012...A time for reflecting, celebrating, and hoping for a happy and healthy upcoming year. On a whim, Marty and I decided to sign up for a beginners yoga series at Whole Body Yoga studio, which is close to his work and to our home. It had been about 8 years since I stepped foot into a yoga class. I remember liking it back then, so I figured why not give it another shot. Neither of us had been to this studio before, but it seemed nice and was something we could do together. My only concern was that I didn't know how my back would hold up in class. Would I be able to get through a session? Would yoga aggravate my back? Would I spend the next week in more pain? 

The Mat - this is the BEST mat ever!

I went to the first class armed with all the things I thought were necessary for a tough, new workout. I had my mat, a water bottle, and a towel ready for sweating. I wasn't thinking that this was the first night of a beginner's class. It wasn't going to be a balls-to-the-wall session of blood, sweat, and tears that might occur in a spinning class or a high interval training session in the weight room. I didn't use my water or my towel. As a class of 12 people, we learned some new asanas, or poses. And we were reminded that everyone is at a different level of practice so we need to be accepting, ie non-judgmental, of what our bodies can do on any given day. I have to remind myself of that a lot.  

In the beginning, just sitting 'Indian style' (modified lotus) was extremely difficult given my back pain and tightness. I was surprised and disappointed that even the simplest pose was challenging. 

Lotus

But it also showed me that I was probably in the right place to help get my body back on track. As each week went by, new poses we added and my lumbar pain decreased significantly. It seemed to be going away and staying away. I can't point to one particular pose that was working its magic; maybe it was a cumulative effect. But for the first time in several years, I was seeing a light at the end of this painful tunnel. I felt good!

I have a love/hate relationship with some of the poses we do. I usually like the balancing poses because I tend to have decent balance. For example, I like tree pose even though I still can't get my foot above my knee. But I'm working on it.

Tree

I am not so fond of the Warrior I, Warrior II, and Warrior III. I'm getting a much better understanding on how to do the poses with all the different instructors guiding me in classes, but my body doesn't always want to cooperate the way I need it to. Oh, and they hurt! I think I'm getting better, but they are still extremely difficult for me to do correctly. Reminding myself again to be non-judgmental...

Warrior I, II, III

Shavasna (corpse pose) is my all time favorite pose. Go figure! My back sinks into my awesome black mat, the work is done, and it's time to enjoy the accomplishments of finishing yet another class. Sometimes I lay there listening to the music or the sounds outside. Sometimes I drift off to another place. I'm at peace.

Shavasna

Namaste!