So I'm all ready for this 90 minute "Hot" Yoga class this morning. Well...... to be honest, I had some work to do to get myself psyched up for it. After all, Mandy was home. We were up until 1:00AM gabbing, etc, etc .... Imagine my reaction when I walk into the studio and find out that I am the only person in the 9:00AM class. Yup - me, myself and I. I looked at the instructor and I think I said something like "do you do solo acts here?". She asked me if I felt comfortable being the only person in the class. I thought about how it costs $100 for a scheduled private instruction, and that pretty much made up my mind.
As per usual, the sweat was pouring down my face at about the 2 minute mark of the class. It was kind of cool - sort of like a choreographed duet. The instructor stood next to me instead of in the usual instructor spot facing me. Choreographed.... in that I have taken the Hot class enough times to know all of the moves and follow her with minimal vocal direction. A mostly silent practice. I felt more in control than I thought I would. Somehow I was able to push myself more than usual without pushing too far, maybe because I've reached a certain comfort level with all of the instructors. I know that none of them are judging any of us in their classes. I also found out the difference between the Hot classes and the Flow classes. The primary objective of the Hot classes is to improve blood flow to our core and internal organs. The Flow classes are designed more for improvement of muscle tone. The instructor who had advised me over a month ago to alternate Hot and Flow classes had hit it right on the mark. So many people go to primarily one or the other for various reasons........ BORING! More and more I am reading that the key to integrating exercise into your life is to not allow it to become routine or too familiar. The Hot classes don't change much, but the Flow classes are different because each instructor is allowed to design their own class. I believe this equates to.......FUN! No need to elaborate any further...
Now that I have all of that sorted out (it only took 3 months!), I can expend more effort toward the mental challenges posed by Yoga. Clearing the mind, focusing on the practice, etc... Oddly, the silent practice today did little to advance my development in this area. The weirdest, most random thoughts started popping into my head this morning. As I laid on my back, supposedly concentrating on my breathing and heart rate, I started making a mental list of the names of all of the Bee and Metro newspapers in Western New York. Ummmm..... what the hell?????
Baby steps...
No comments:
Post a Comment